40 years after his death, captainÕs remains make it home
By Jutta Biggerstaff / Hi-Desert Star
Capt. Warren Orr is finally coming home from the war. Not the current Iraq War. Not the former Iraq War. The Vietnam War.
Orr had been listed as missing in action since May 12, 1968, when the Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying him, Vietnamese civilians and other military personnel was shot down as they evacuated the Kham Duc Special Forces Camp near Da Nang, South Vietnam. The crew reported taking heavy enemy ground fire on take-off, and a forward air controller flying in the area reported seeing the plane explode in mid-air soon after leaving the runway.
It was MotherÕs Day. Orr was 26 years old.
But last month the Orr family was notified that WarrenÕs remains had been found and were being returned to them. OrrÕs father, 86-year-old Warren Robert Sr., and his brother, Greg Orr, experienced many emotions that day, including shock, sorrow and relief.
ÒWhen I received the news it was like he just died,Ó Greg Orr said. ÒEven though I was fairly sure all these years that he was killed that day, since there was no body recovered there was always a question.Ó
Orr said his father, from whom heÕs been estranged for 15 years, was relieved at the news and was looking forward to final closure at a burial service with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery scheduled for sometime in the next couple of months.
Not knowing for sure if his brother was even on the plane or not and wondering if he was taken prisoner kept troubling thoughts in the back of his mind all these years. The rumors that American POWs were executed after being forced to dig their own graves haunted him, Orr said.
ÒItÕs always been a struggle not knowing, and thereÕs always been a sad place in my heart,Ó he said.
Orr, 60, also served in Vietnam, in the infantry; in fact, the brothers were assigned there at the same time about 90 miles apart, but were never able to get together. Greg Orr suffered a serious injury in February of 1968 and was sent home.
Older by four years, Bob, as Greg called his brother, started his military service as an enlisted soldier in the Signal Corps. During his first tour in Vietnam he developed reconnaissance photos for the Army.
After that tour, Bob came back to the States and went to Infantry Officer Candidate School, Airborne School, Ranger School and Special Forces Training. Eventually he went back to Vietnam as a lieutenant with the 4th Infantry Division and later transferred to the 5th Special Forces in Da Nang.
Orr, who now lives in Vacaville, lived in Yucca Valley and was the resident game warden for the Hi-Desert from 1980 to 1992.
His daughter, 29-year-old Jenny Wagner, has lived almost all her life in Yucca Valley. She grew up knowing about her uncle and hearing her dad talk about him. She even accompanied her parents on a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the Vietnam Memorial.
The trip to the Wall was difficult for Orr.
ÒGoing to the Wall was very emotional for me, not only seeing BobÕs name but the names of those who served and died next to me,Ó he recalled. ÒI didnÕt feel any healing, just memories of harsh times and loss.Ó
As a child, Wagner wore a silver POW/MIA bracelet identical to her dadÕs, which he recently gave to her. The same bracelet graced thousands of wrists throughout the country during and after the war in Vietnam.
As an example of how prevalent the jewelry was, Orr related as story about a stop he made at a Los Angeles Taco Bell many years ago. He was wearing a T-shirt depicting the Wall and the faces of POWS and MIAs. The server commented that she liked his shirt and said she was wearing a bracelet of a POW/MIA. The name engraved on the silver bracelet was Warren Robert Orr Jr.
ÒI told her that the name was that of my brother,Ó he said. ÒI showed her my driverÕs license with my last name and showed her a picture of Bob. She was crying as I gave her the picture, and I thanked her for wearing the bracelet.Ó
Because of her upbringing, Wagner considers herself to be a particularly patriotic person.
ÒGrowing up my Dad would talk about what happened to him to my sister and me,Ó she said. ÒVietnam was a really hard thing for all those who returned, and especially those who lost family members over there.Ó
Wagner said her dad has had a tough time dealing with Vietnam all his life; the loss of his brother only exacerbated his feelings. One of the ways he dealt with this was to instill in his daughters, by personal example, a deep respect and honor for veterans.
Orr said finding his brotherÕs remains has helped to heal the rift with his dad, who lives in Orange County. His daughter is hopeful the healing will continue.
ÒMy grandpa is 86 years old now, so itÕs kind of neat for him to finally find out,Ó she said.
OrrÕs mother died about 15 years after his brother was shot down.
Wagner said the crash site remained hidden in dense jungle until excavations of the area began in the early 1980s.
ÒFrom what weÕve been able to gather, in 1983 a Vietnamese bone trader went through the wreckage, found the bones and eventually sold them back to the U.S.,Ó she said. ÒThe remains finally got back to the United States in 1993, and DNA testing was only recently completed.Ó
The remains of Warren Robert Orr Jr. consisted of two pieces of a femur bone. As devastating as losing their family member was, Wagner said knowing he was not a POW has eased the minds of her dad and her grandfather.
ÒI think itÕs good for them to know he was not a POW and had to go through torture, that he didnÕt suffer,Ó she said.
Wagner said she expects the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery will be meaningful.
ÒWhat it means to me is to see my dad finally able to get closure because itÕs something thatÕs defined him for so long,Ó she said. ÒHis own experience in Vietnam was hard enough, but to lose his brother over there and not know what happened to him was, IÕm sure, just devastating over the years. So IÕm hoping this will give him some closure and help in the healing between him and his dad.Ó
© 2007 Hi Desert Star