Samuel Gold was citizen of the United States, and an officer in the United States Air Force. In 1954, Gold held the rank of Lieutenant, and he was the co-pilot of the Vixen 03. He died when the Vixen 03 crashed soon after taking off from NAS Buckley. In 1988, his body was discovered in the sunken wreck of the Vixen 03 by a NUMA expedition led by Dirk Pitt.