On August 26, 1951, an AD-4Q Skyraider (bureau number 124051) with a crew of two launched from the USS Essex (CV 9) off the coast of North Korea. Immediately after takeoff, however, it caught fire in mid-air. The aircraft plunged into the sea within view of the ship and quickly sank. Rescue boats and helicopters searched the water for survivors but were unable to find any sign of the crew.

Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Phillip Kendall Balch, who joined the U.S. Navy from New Hampshire, served with Composite Squadron 35 embarked aboard the USS Essex (CV 9). He was a crew member aboard this Skyraider when it caught fire and crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Balch is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.