News-Info-Alerts

Re: Navy Remembers Recovered Crewmen

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: August 12, 2003

"The Source for Navy News

Golden Eagles Host Fallen Vietnam War Veteran Families

Story Number: NNS030804-17

By Lt. j.g. Lauren Ihrig, Patrol Squadron 9 Public Affairs

KANEOHE, Hawaii (NNS) -- June 14, Patrol Squadron (VP) 9 hosted family members of four maritime veterans who were killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1968. The aircrew members were assigned to Observation Squadron (VO) 67 at the time of the mishap.

The son and daughter of Cmdr. Delbert A. Olson, the commander of the mission; the wife of Lt. j.g. Denis L. Anderson, naval flight officer on the crew; and the sister of Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Michael L. Roberts, crew ordnanceman, were in Hawaii to retrieve the remains of their loved ones, recently recovered in a remote area of Laos.

Thirty-five years have passed since the crew disappeared during their ill-fated mission from Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base. Through developments in recovery techniques and the families’ dedication to the recovery effort, the remains of the OP-2E Neptune crew were finally located and identified.

Joint Task Force-Full Accounting and (JTF-FA) the Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI) sent multiple recovery teams to the crash site beginning in March 2001. The wreckage was located at 4,400 feet elevation on an isolated mountainside, deep in the Laos wilderness. The challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions hindered early rescue efforts. Finally in March 2002, members of a JTF-FA/CILHI recovery team recovered the last of the remains.

When the squadron was notified that family members of former Golden Eagles who flew in the Vietnam War wanted to visit, the squadron jumped at the opportunity. Olson, the pilot-in-command of the fateful mission and known to have made the aircraft’s last radio transmission before they struck the mountainside, served as the executive officer of VP-9 prior to his assignment to VO-67.

The families were given a short brief on the current maritime patrol mission and VP-9’s most recent 7th Fleet deployment, and then a tour of a P-3C aircraft.

Throughout their visit, the family members expressed the importance of the crew’s recovery. The recovery and identification of the remains finally gave them closure after years of uncertainty.

This engagement with the families of the repatriated aircrew was a memorable experience for the “Golden Eagles.”

Cmdr. Rod Urbano, executive officer of VP-9, commented, “This opportunity to host the families of fallen comrades was very special to the Golden Eagle family. First, it was a sobering reminder to our Sailors how dangerous this business of naval aviation is, and it gave them a tangible link to patrol and reconnaissance heroes of the past. Lastly, and more importantly, this visit from these heroes’ families clearly demonstrated that this great nation does not forget its fallen heroes and will do everything in its power to never leave anyone behind.” "