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Smith 324 Compelling Cases - Part 4
Laos John M. Sparks
Richard M. Garcia
Frederick L. Cristman
(1730)
On March 19, 1971, Chief Warrant Officer Cristman and his crew were in an armed helicopter on a mission to provide fire support during the pick up of South Vietnamese airborne troops at Fire Support Base Alpha in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Their helicopter was hit by heavy automatic weapons fire and was forced to make an emergency landing. One of the crewmen, Specialist 4th Class Langenour, was pushed out of the aircraft by Sp5 Garcia and he was able to reach a group of nearby South Vietnamese troops. He was told by one of the troops that the other crewmen had exited the aircraft and headed away from the front of it into the path of advancing North Vietnamese forces. Specialist Langenour later walked out of Laos with the South Vietnamese soldiers. U.S. aircrews flying overhead after the crash landing did not see the three missing airmen escape from the aircraft.
In September 1973 a People's Army of Vietnam defector reported his battalion engaged South Vietnamese Army forces in Laos conducting Operation Lamson 719. They captured an injured helicopter pilot who was taken to nearby field hospital B-7 where he later died. Other crewmen from the downed helicopter were found dead and buried. The defector identified a photograph of CW2 Christmas as resembling the individual captured alive by his battalion.
In March 1987 a private American POW hunter reported a live American in Laos. The background of the purported American correlates to a crewman from this incident.
None of the three crewmen from this incident were reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. All were initially reported missing in action and in October 1978 were declared dead/body not recovered.
South Vietnam Manuel R. Puentes
R D McDonnell
Richard J. Rossano
(1736)
On March 25, 1971, Private First Class Puentes, Staff Sergeant McDonell, and Private First Class Rossano were members of a twelve man patrol from the 23rd Infantry Division operating in Quang Tri Province. They had gone to check an area of hostile bunkers when they were ambushed. PFC Rossano was reportedly the first hit by an exploding grenade and he fell to the ground covered with blood. PFC Puentes was also wounded and when last seen was attempting to seek cover. Sergeant McDonell was apparently killed instantly when a grenade exploded in his hand.
Following the ambush the three men were not located and they were initially declared missing in action. In June 1971, Sergeant McDonell and PFC Rossano were declared killed in action, body not recovered. In August 1978, PFC Puentes was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate.
South Vietnam Isaako F. Malo
James A. Champion
(1742)
On April 23, 1971, a six man radio relay team was inserted into a landing zone in the area of the village of A Luoi in western Thua Thien Province. The team came under intense hostile ground fire and efforts were made to extract the team. Two helicopters were shot down by hostile ground fire during the extraction attempt. The helicopter crewmen and radio relay team members all came under extremely heavy hostile ground fire and became widely dispersed. On board one of the helicopters were members of L Company, 75th Ranger Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, including PFC Malo and PFC Champion.
PFC Malo was last seen by survivors on April 24th and was wounded that day after a close-in air strike by a U.S. Cobra helicopter which apparently wounded two of the survivors. PFC Champion was last seen on the morning of April 25th when he left to look for water. One of the survivors later heard small arms fire from the area where PFC Champion had first gone. A ground search of the area during April 25-30, 1971, failed to locate either of the missing soldiers. This included a psychological warfare operations aircraft which conducted broadcasts over the early during April 25- 28, calling on PFC's Malo and Champion to go to the landing zone for pick-up. Neither soldier came to the landing zone.
PFC Malo was captured by Vietnam People's Army forces and taken to North Vietnam. He was repatriated during Operation Homecoming in March 1973. During his debriefing he stated he never saw PFC Champion in captivity.
PFC Champion was declared missing in action at the time of his loss incident. In 1978 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
Laos Walter H. Sigafoos, III
Jeffrey C. Lemon
(1743)
On April 25, 1971, Captain Lemon and First Lieutenant Sigafoos were the crew in an F-4D on an operational mission over Saravan Province, Laos. Their escort marked a truck target for them and their aircraft went in to attack the target. Crew in another aircraft on the scene observed a large explosion of their apparent crash but due to darkness were unable to observe any parachutes. They flew over the area of the crash which was a large fire and several smaller ones with flames shooting several hundred feet into the sky and smoking reaching 8500 feet. A search of a 15 mile radius of their crash site failed to disclose any evidence of either beepers or survivors. Both airmen were declared missing in action.
After this loss incident, a North Vietnamese unit reported two aircraft may have been shot down, an OV-10 and an F-4. These shoot downs were believed to pertain to the Ban Karai Pass area in Khammouane Province which is well to the north of this loss incident. A pilot was reportedly captured. A report from an North Vietnamese Army unit on May 8, 1972, reported that 37mm anti- aircraft guns had fired on an F-4, the pilot had been shot at while coming down on a white parachute, and the pilot was dead. The F-4 portion of these two reports were placed in the intelligence files of those associated with this loss incident.
Early in 1972, a North Vietnamese Army soldier assigned to a People's Army of Vietnam logistical element in Saravan Province reported to a U.S. Army Attache Exploitation Team in Vientiane, Laos that a U.S. jet had been shot down near the village of Ban Bac in 1971. Two pilots on board the aircraft had been reportedly killed and People's Army of Vietnam soldiers said they recovered the watches from the two bodies. This report was believed to possibly correlate to this loss incident. U.S. POWs who returned during Operation Homecoming were unable to provide any information on the precise fate of this air crew. After Operation Homecoming the two crewmen were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In December 1982, the Defense Intelligence Agency received information from an American citizen claiming to know about live U.S. POWs in Vietnam. The individual was interviewed by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The individual stated he knew of 19 American POWs alive in Vietnam. He provided the names of seven of the 19, one of whom was Captain Jeffrey C. Lemon, and described a recent visit to Vietnam. U.S. investigators noted that the seven names provided were the last seven U.S. servicemen declared dead in 1982 and believed the names he provided was taken from publicly available information for reasons which were unclear. The source provided no other POW/MIA information.
South Vietnam Lewis C. Walton
Klaus Y. Bingham
James M. Luttrell
(1745)
On May 3, 1971, Team Asp, a long range reconnaissance patrol from the 5th Special Forces Group, was landed in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam. The team included three American Staff Sergeants and five Vietnamese from the U.S. Army Vietnam Training Advisory Group. Fifteen minutes after landing the team keyed its transmitter once but, in keeping with established procedures, did not establish voice contact with friendly forces.
On May 5, 1971, two pilots saw mirror and panel signals and later observed two individuals in green fatigue uniforms move the panels. Efforts to enter the area on May 7th were met by hostile fire and the search team found enemy bunkers just off the team's landing zone. Another rescue team landed in the area on May 14th but was unable to locate a members of the team.
One American POW returned alive during Operation Homecoming reported intercepting a radio broadcast that "Walton and Entrican" were captured. This comment was equated to a possible reference to Sergeant Walton. No returning POWs were able to provide any information about the presence of either individual in the northern Vietnamese prisons.
The three servicemen were initially declared missing and in the late 1970s were declared dead/body not recovered.
In August 1991 Joint Task Force Full Accounting team members interviewed witnesses in Vietnam in an attempt to learn the fate of this team. The Team was told about a firefight in the area of the team's last known location on approximately July 7, 1971 during which six "enemy" were reported killed. The Task Force included this information in the casualty files of those involved in this incident.
South Vietnam David P. Soyland
(1747)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
South Vietnam Danny D. Entrican
(1748)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
South Vietnam Madison A. Strohlein
(1756)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
Laos Daniel W. Thomas
Donald G. Carr
(1758)
On July 6, 1971, First Lieutenant Thomas was the pilot of an OV-10 on a forward air control mission over Attopeu Province. On board with him was Captain Carr, deputy commander of the Military Assistance Command Studies and Observation Group element at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, a passenger on the OV-10 for an orientation flight. They did not make radio contact at 1700 hours, did not return from their mission, and were declared missing.
Their flight coincided with an area of ground operations of Team Hoang Loi, a Vietnamese led cross-border operations team from MACSOG's base at Kontum, South Vietnam, which had been inserted into the J-9 target area in Laos and in the vicinity of enemy Base Area 613. The team was extracted from its operating area and returned safely at approximately 1630 hours. Upon its return it reported hearing an explosion or impact northeast of their location at about 1600 hours. This coincided with the time and general area where the OV-10 was last believed to be located. A search of the area failed to disclose any evidence of the aircraft or its crew.
Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on either Captain Carr or Lieutenant Thomas. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
During 1991, photographs of a German national were correlated by various individuals to be Captain Donald Carr. Defense Department analysis of the information led to a conclusion that the photograph and report that Captain Carr was alive was a hoax.
South Vietnam John W. Kennedy
(1768)
On August 16, 1971, Second Lieutenant Kennedy was the pilot of an O-2 light observation aircraft which took off from Chu Lai Air Base for a visual reconnaissance over Tien Phuoc District, Quang Tin Province. He never returned from his mission and was declared missing. A search and rescue effort failed to locate either him or his aircraft. The area over which Lieutenant Kennedy was flying was an area of known heavy enemy presence.
U.S. POWs who returned during Operation Homecoming had no information on his precise fate.
In July 1974, a U.S. Army officer formerly assigned to Advisory Team 16 in the area of Lieutenant Kennedy's disappearance wrote after the fact to report having received an intelligence report about the existence of a U.S. POW in Tien Phuoc District at the time Lieutenant Kennedy disappeared. He also recalled that the People's Army of Vietnam 31st Regiment was operating in the area where, and at the time, Lieutenant Kennedy was lost. In July 1978, Lieutenant Kennedy was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In December 1989, U.S. intelligence received a report about an American POW named "Jack Kennedy" and "Bunkquee." The name "Bunkquee" appeared to be a corruption for the name "Bunkqueer," the name of a non-existent individual associated with fraudulent dog tag reporting emanating from Vietnam. This report was placed in Lieutenant Kennedy's file due to the last name correlation to the name "Jack Kennedy."
In April 1992, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team traveled to the area of a reported crash site in Tien Phuoc District where a light observation aircraft had reportedly landed in 1970 or 1971. The pilot reportedly died in the incident and his remains were buried nearby but had been dug up by private persons in November 1991. The team surveyed the crash site and a purported original burial site. The team was later told the remains had disappeared from the individual who possessed the recovered remains.
In September 1992, another joint team revisited the area and received hearsay information about a crash site in the area of Lieutenant Kennedy's loss. The aircraft pilot had reportedly died in the crash and his body had been recovered and buried.
Laos Leroy J. Cornwell
Andrew Ivan, Jr.
(1771)
On September 10, 1971, Captains Cornwell and Ivan were the crew of an F-4D which crashed in Xieng Khouang Province while on an operational mission in the Barrel Roll operating area. One parachute and probable F-4 aircraft wreckage was located in an area approximately 29 kilometers northeast of Phone Savan and four kilometers east of Route 7. Their wingman established communications with Captain Cornwell but neither crewman was recovered and both were declared missing in action.
Color photography of the crash site suggested the wreckage was burning over a widely spread area. A 37mm anti-aircraft gun position was within 300 meters of the crash site and weapons three positions fired on SAR forces.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of the two crewmen. After Operation Homecoming both were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
Laos Scott W. McIntire
(1782)
On December 10, 1971, Lieutenant Colonel McIntire and his aircraft commander, Major Robert E. Belli, were in one of two F-105G aircraft on a mission over the Mu Gia Pass in support of a B-52 strike. They expended two AGM-45 missiles against enemy Fan Song radar which had acquired their aircraft. Their aircraft was then hit by a surface to air missile, the explosion coming to the rear of LTC McIntire and of sufficient force that it rendered Major Belli, in front of LTC McIntire, initially unconscious. Major Belli ejected both himself and LTC McIntire. Major Belli was rescued by search and rescue aircraft but LTC McIntire could not be located. Major Belli's rescue, because of the extreme difficulty in rescuing someone from this high threat area, became a feature article in the Stars & Stripes military newspaper.
On December 11, 1971, a search and rescue helicopter located LTC McIntire handing limp in his parachute in a tall tree. A flight surgeon on the aircraft stated LTC McIntire appeared lifeless and stated his professional view that the conditions of weather and the position of the body after hanging suspended for 20 hours indicated LTC McIntire would have died of hypothermia within six hours and was probably dead on December 11th. Heavy groundfire drove off the SAR aircraft before LTC McIntire could be recovered.
LTC McIntire was not reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system and his remains have not been recovered. He was initially declared missing and in May 1972 was declared dead/body not recovered.
North Vietnam Lawrence G. Stolz
Dale F. Koons
(1789)
On December 26, 1971, Captain Stolz and First Lieutenant Koons departed Ubon Air Base, Thailand, the number three F-4D in a flight of four on a strike mission against the Thanh Hoa storage complex in the area of Thanh Hoa City, Thanh Hoa Province. The flight became separated in the target area and Captain Stolz aircraft was last seen pulling up into the overcast approximately 1-2 miles from their target. They did not rejoin the flight. An aerial search for the aircraft and its crew failed to locate them and the crew was declared missing.
On December 27, 1971, the Vietnam News Agency reported that an F-4 had been shot down over Thanh Hoa on December 27th. The article implied that both crewmen had become casualties and both their names and pictures of their burned identity cards. In November 1972, photographs of their identity cards appeared in the North Vietnamese published English language "Vietnam" magazine.
During the Operation Homecoming debriefing of repatriated POWs, two returnees described having seen their burned identity cards in a North Vietnamese magazine and read that Captain Stolz was dead. Several returnees also reported hearing the name "Koons" and saw the name "Koons, Dale" scratched into the wall at their POW camp. DIA investigation determined the source of this was an American civilian, Bobby Joe Keese, for reasons which were unclear.
After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In March 1973, a former member of the People's Army of Vietnam described two graves he'd seen in February 1972 in Thanh Hoa Province. The pilots were reportedly shot down and died in December 1971. The graves were in the general area of this loss incident.
The remains of Dale F. Koons were repatriated by Vietnam in April 1988.
Over water Frederick L. Holmes
(1793)
On December 30, 1971, Lieutenant Commander Holmes and his co-pilot, Lieutenant Burton, were the lead A-6 aircraft in a strike mission over North Vietnam. Their aircraft was observed to take a direct hit from a surface to air missile. Lieutenant Burton was wounded, blown clear of the aircraft and his parachute deployed successfully. Another aircraft on the scene reported seeing two good chutes deploy, but this report was later viewed as not confirmed. A search and rescue aircraft then reported both pilots in sight and in the water off Hon Nieu Island. Lieutenant Burton was rescued by U.S. forces. SAR forces located a pilot's ejection seat and life raft possibly belonging to Lieutenant Commander Holmes but were unable to locate either him or his chute in an area with a large number of North Vietnamese sampans.
A Radio Hanoi broadcast referenced this incident, one of several U.S. aircraft losses on the same date in the southern part of North Vietnam. While some pilots were reported captured alive, Lieutenant Commander Holmes' name was not identified among those captured. One returning POW recognized Lieutenant Commander Holmes' name but no returning POWs ever reported him alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system.
In April 1975 Lieutenant Commander Holmes case was submitted for a casualty review at the request of his next of kin. He was declared dead/body not recovered.
South Vietnam James F. Worth
(1810)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
South Vietnam Wayne L. Bolte
Anthony R. Giannangeli
Charles A. Lewis
Henry M. Serex
Robin F. Gatwood
(1811)
On April 2, 1972, an EB-66 from Korat Air Base, Thailand, was on an electronic countermeasure mission over North Vietnam. At approximately 0850 hours an F-105 pilot in the area observed a surface to air missile fired from the vicinity of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam which hit the EB-66, code name Bat 21. The EB-66 was then seen to be trailing flames from both wings and crash into Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. No one was seen to eject from the aircraft but a single beeper was heard.
Later, voice contact was established with Lieutenant Colonel Iceal E. Hambleton, the lone survivor, and he was rescued 12 days later. He had no information that any other crewmen had survived. He described how the surface to air missile struck below and behind the navigator in the area of the aircraft's forward compartment. He saw Major Bolte after the hit but did not know if he was able to eject. All other crewmen were declared missing in action.
After the loss of the RB-66, a Vietnam People's Army unit reported three missiles had been fired and "struck" a target. Orange parachutes were reported. On April 2, 1972, Vietnamese radio reported that the People's Army had fired missiles and hit a B-52 in the Vinh Linh Special Zone area and other aircraft had fled. Another report from Hanoi in English on April 5th reported the aircraft had burst into flames and exploded.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of the missing crewmen. After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
South Vietnam Ronald P. Paschall
Byron K. Kulland
John W. Frink
(1812)
On April 2, 1972, a UH-1H helicopter from the 1st Signal Brigade with four men on-board was on a direct combat support mission near Quang Tri City, Quang Tri Province. While searching for the crew of a downed U.S. Air Force aircraft, the helicopter was hit by hostile small arms fire and crashed. An airborne SAR mission failed to locate any survivors and the crew was declared missing in action.
In April 1972, a former People's Army of Vietnam sergeant reported the downing of a helicopter on April 1, 1972, which crashed near an anti-aircraft gun position in the vicinity of this loss incident. The crew was believed to have been killed in the crash. In another report, a former People's Army soldier reported sighting an American POW in April 1972 who was being escorted by nurses near the Ben Hai River in Quang Tri Province. The American was captured from an aircraft shot down by People's Army forces.
In March 1973, surviving crewman Jose M. Astorga was repatriated alive during Operation Homecoming. He reported that hostile fire hit their helicopter's fuel cell which exploded, engulfing their helicopter in flames. He believed all other crewmen died in the ensuing fire and crash, and neither he nor any other returning POWs had any knowledge that any other crewmen survived into captivity. After Operation Homecoming, the other crewmen were declared killed in action, body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.
South Vietnam Douglas L. Neil
Allen D. Christiansen
Edward W. Williams
Larry A. Zich
(1814)
On April 3, 1972, CW2 Zich and three other servicemen were on board a UH1H helicopter on an in-country flight in the area of Quang Tri City, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. The aircraft never returned from its mission and there were no initial reports of the aircraft's possible crash site. They were initially declared missing in action.
In July 1974 U.S. intelligence received hearsay information on a helicopter crash site and dead crew which might have correlated to this incident;however, this incident was approximately 20 kilometers from the suspect area of loss. In January 1980 another report was received about the explosion of a helicopter and the location of remains associated with its crew but it could not be specifically correlated to this loss incident.
There were no reports from returning U.S. POWs that CW2 Zich or other crewmen had been seen alive in captivity. After the end of hostilities all were declared dead/body not recovered.
North Vietnam Thomas E. Dunlop
(1816)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
South Vietnam Howard B. Lull
Richard S. Schott
(1819)
On April 7, 1972, Sergeant First Class Lull was one of seven Americans from Advisory Team 47 and one French national present at An Loc City, Binh Long Province, when forces of the South Vietnamese Army's 9th Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, were attacked and overrun by tank led forces of the Vietnam People's Army. Both Sergeant Lull and Colonel Schott were initially reported missing in action. The French national with the Americans was released shortly after capture. He was able to confirm captivity of those Americans with him but was unable to establish the fate of Sergeant Lull and Lt. Colonel Schott.
Returning U.S. POWs repatriated in February 1973 reported that Lieutenant Colonel Schott was last seen on April 7th and in circumstances where he appeared to be dead. Sergeant First Class Lull was believed captured on April 8th.
In February 1973, a member of the South Vietnamese Army captured on April 9th and repatriated in February 1973 reported that Sergeant Lull evaded capture and reached a South Vietnamese Army post approximately 13 kilometers to the south of where his team was overrun. There he was reportedly killed in a Viet Cong ambush. The former commander of the South Vietnamese Army's 9th Infantry Regiment stated that both Colonel Schott and Sergeant Lull died in their bunker.
In December 1988, U.S. intelligence personnel interviewed two former South Vietnamese Army personnel who participated in the lifting of the siege of An Loc. They described having been present when An Loc was retaken and the bodies of those killed were collected and buried in a mass grave. They stated that the bodies included the partially decomposed bodies of two Americans, a Lieutenant Colonel and a non-commissioned officer, possibly a Sergeant First Class.
During the post hostilities review of the cases of those carried as missing in action, Sergeant Lull and Colonel Schott were declared dead/body not recovered. Neither individual was seen alive in captivity by other U.S. POWs captured at An Loc.
South Vietnam Bruce C. Walker
Larry W. Potts
(1820)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
Laos Scott D. Ketchie
(1824)
On the evening of April 9, 1972, First Lieutenant Ketchie was the Navigator in an A-6A which took off from the U.S.S. Coral Sea for a strike mission over lines and communications and supply points in the area of Tchepone, Savannakhet Province. After his second run against a target of five trucks, he departed the target area and was at an altitude of 12,000 feet when his aircraft was hit in its aft section by hostile anti-aircraft fire. His aircraft caught on fire and began to spin. The pilot directed Lieutenant Ketchie to eject. The pilot ejected but neither saw nor had contact with Lieutenant Ketchie from the time of the eject order and up to the time the aircraft crashed. The crash site was in the Steel Tiger east operational area east-northeast of Tchepone and near Vietnam's Demilitarized Zone.
The pilot, Major Smith, landed approximately 40 yards from the crash site of their aircraft and remained in place for four days until rescued. He never was able to establish any contact with Lieutenant Ketchie. One U.S. search aircraft overhead in contact with the surviving pilot "thought" he saw two parachutes on the ground but this was not confirmed by any other source. Maj. Smith was able to hear the sound of people in the area and coordinated air strikes on them. On one occasion, a BLU-52 canister of gas was dropped on the area by search and rescue forces and Major Smith was himself gassed. Search and rescue forces searched the area for Lieutenant Ketchie but were unable to locate any evidence of him through the time the pilot was rescued.
On April 9, 1972, a Vietnam People's Army unit reported having hit an aircraft, the pilot had parachuted out, and search teams had been sent to capture the pilot. On April 10, 1972, a unit reported it had downed an aircraft and the pilot had been killed. A second aircraft was also reported shot down and the unit said it heard an aircraft was shot down on March 30th. Another report on April 10th stated a pilot had been captured. These reports were believed to possibly be associated with Lieutenant Ketchie's loss incident and were placed in his file.
Lieutenant Ketchie was initially reported missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate. After Operation Homecoming he was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
South Vietnam Robert W. Brownlee, Jr.
(1834)
On April 24, 1972, Lieutenant Colonel Brownlee was with Advisory Team 22 together with the South Vietnamese Army's 47th Regiment at a base designated Dak To II in Kontum Province. The position came under heavy hostile attack and Colonel Brownlee withdrew from Dak To II together with Captain Charles W. Creen and a South Vietnamese Army interpreter, Sergeant Cao Ky Chi. Fording the nearby Poko River, both Captain Creen and Sergeant Chi were swept downstream and temporarily separated from Colonel Brownlee who reached the south bank of the Poko River and began climbing a hill.
After successfully evading, Sergeant Chi related that he had reached the south bank of the Poko River and heard People's Army of Vietnam troops call out in Vietnamese to halt. He observed South Vietnamese Army soldier approximately 100 meters away raise their hands but had no personal knowledge of the fate of Colonel Brownlee.
South Vietnamese personnel repatriated during Operation Homecoming provided several hearsay accounts during 1973-1974 in an effort by the Defense Attache Office, Saigon, to learn Colonel Brownlee's fate. These accounts, all attributed to different South Vietnamese Army prisoner sources, stated that Colonel Brownlee had committed suicide prior to capture. None of these accounts could be verified.
One returning U.S. POW, Captain Reeder, knew Colonel Brownlee had been at Dak To II and knew him to be the senior district advisor but had no knowledge of his fate. Captain Reeder had also heard an account traced to a 42nd Regiment doctor that Colonel Brownlee was dead, but Captain Reeder did not find the source to be reliable.
No returning U.S. POW was able to provide any information on Colonel Brownlee's precise fate. In November 1978 he was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In May 1985, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received a report that a worker in the Dak To area had found human remains there. This report was replaced in Colonel Brownlee's file.
North Vietnam Joseph W. McDonald
(1842)
On May 3, 1972, Lieutenant McDonald and Captain David Williams were the crewmen in the second A-6A aircraft in a flight of two on a mission over Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province. Their last transmission was that they expected to be over water in two minutes. This was after they had already finished attacking their target. Their IFF beacon transponder was located well out to sea after an extensive search. The search was terminated on May 5, 1972. There was no sighting of either the aircraft or crew. Both individuals were initially declared missing. Both were declared dead/body not recovered, after Operation Homecoming.
In June 1989 Vietnam repatriated the remains which were approved as those of David Williams.
A U.S. team in Vietnam located archival documents reporting the shoot down of a U.S. aircraft on May 3, 1972 in which the "air pirates were torn apart." This incident is the only aircraft loss in the area on that date.
North Vietnam Dennis E. Wilkinson
Jeffrey L. Harris
(1848)
On May 10, 1972, Harris and Wilkinson were the crewmen of an F-4E en route to Yen Bai Airfield. They were engaged by hostile MIG aircraft. Eye witnesses reported their aircraft wing and left fuel tank was hit by cannon fire, and they did not acknowledge radio transmissions to them. After being hit their aircraft made no evasive maneuver, went into a steep dive and twenty seconds later impacted in an area of rolling hills.
They were initially reported missing in action and both were declared dead/body not recovered, in May 1973. Neither was reported by U.S. returning POWs to have been alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. Wilkinson's remains were repatriated in August 1978.
North Vietnam William W. Bancroft, Jr.
(1675)
On November 13, 1970, Lieutenant Bancroft and his pilot, Major David I. Wright, were on an aerial reconnaissance mission over Ha Tinh Province, North Vietnam. Their wingman reported antiaircraft fire in the area as Lieutenant Bancroft's aircraft made a low level pass. His aircraft suddenly exploded while approximately 500 feet above the grown. His aircraft crashed tail first and then there was an all consuming explosion. There were no chutes or beepers.
Lieutenant Bancroft was initially reported missing and his status was changed to killed in action, body not recovered, on November 21, 1970. Returning U.S. POWs did not report him alive with other U.S. POWs in the northern Vietnamese prison system.
South Vietnam Rodney L. Strowbridge
Robert J. Williams
(1855)
On May 11, 1972, Captains Strowbridge and Williams were the crew in an AH-1G helicopter, one in a flight of three providing air operations support to South Vietnamese Army forces heavily engaged by hostile units in the siege of An Loc town, Binh Long Province, now renamed Song Be Province. Their helicopter was hit in the tail boom and the boom was immediately severed, possibly by a surface to air missile. Their helicopter went into a flat spin and crashed but no one saw the actual crash. Heavy anti-aircraft fire precluded a search of the crash site area.
Both airmen were declared missing in action. One returnee stated he heard the name Robert J. Williams in the POW communications system but Captain Williams was not seen or reported alive by any returning POW. After Operation Homecoming the two crewmen were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In September 1974, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center reported a crash site associated with a 1972 aircraft downing. The remains of a pilot were reportedly buried nearby. In 1983 and 1984, JCRC received further reporting about aircraft wreckage associated with remains in the area of their crash. In July 1987, a source reported dog-tag information associated with Robert J. Williams and reported his remains were in Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province. In May 1991, another source previously incarcerated at the Tong Le Chan reeducation camp provided dog tag information with the name Robert Williams and asserted his remains were in Song Be Province.
South Vietnam Larry K. Morrow
(1868)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
South Vietnam Larry J. Newman
Stanley L. Lohrke
Richard E. Nyhot
Leon A. Hunt
Jacob A. Mercer
Donald H. Klinke
Richard M. Cole
Mark A. Danielson
Gerald F. Ayers
Robert H. Harrison
Robert A. Wilson
Paul F. Gilbert
(1879)
On June 16, 1972, a C-130 escorted by three F-4 was over the A Shau Valley, Thua Thien Province. On its second orbit over the target it was hit by a shoulder fired SA-7 surface to air missile in the number three engine, a small explosion occurred and the right wing separated from the aircraft. There were another explosion and three crewmen were blown clear of the aircraft. The aircraft, in flames and with the right wing and probably the tail missing, crashed, exploded and burned on impact in the A Luoi area. The three crewmen blown from the aircraft -- Captain Gordon Bocher, Staff Sergeant William Patterson and Second Lieutenant Robert Reid -- were rescued. A SAR effort over the area failed to locate any other survivors.
At the time of this loss, a Vietnam People's Army unit reported engaging a U.S. B-52 over Quang Binh Province, the air crew parachuted out, and all were captured. DIA believed this might correlate to the AC-130 lost on June 18, 1972 because there were no B-52 aircraft lost on that date.
Early in 1973, the Air Force member of the Army Attache Exploitation Team in Laos (Project 5800-09-5) obtained information from a People's Army soldier in Laos concerning the shoot down of an AC-130 in the A Luoi area. The aircraft had been shot down by the 36th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Binh Tram 42. The burned remains of six crewmen were reportedly found at the crash site. In June 1973 the Defense Attache Office in Saigon reported information from a source about a C-130 crash at A Luoi in which all on board were killed in the crash. Both reports were believed by DIA as possibly associated with this loss incident and the reports were placed in the files of the crewmen.
Since 1984, information has been received about a C-130 crash believed correlated with this incident and has included assertions that three crewmen were reportedly captured. Other reports have referred to the recover of remains and there have been repeated references to dog tag information associated with crewman Jacob E. Mercer. In 1991 the Defense Intelligence Agency described such reports as associated with Vietnamese intelligence service operations.
North Vietnam James L. McCarty
(1882)
On June 24, 1972, First Lieutenants McCarty and Charles A. Jackson were the crew of an F-4D which was engaged by six MIGs over Nghia Lo Province and shot down by an air to air missile. Lieutenant Jackson was captured on the ground. The second aircraft in their flight with another two man crew, Grant and Beekman, was also attacked by MIGs and shot down over Vinh Phu Province. The crews of both aircraft were declared missing in action.
There were conflicting reports of contact with the crew of this aircraft. It was later concluded that the reference to contact with those in incident 1882 was incorrect and in fact referred to contact on the ground with the aircrew of those in incident 1881. First Lieutenant Jackson was captured, taught English to Vietnamese prison system cadre in late 1972, and upon his release from captivity during Operation Homecoming stated he did not believe that Lieutenant McCarty had been able to eject from their aircraft.
Following the shoot down, a People's Army of Vietnam unit radioed that its MIG-21 aircraft had downed two aircraft. U.S. intelligence analysts later concluded that this report correctly pertained to the shoot down of those involved in incident 1882 on June 24th and the two crewmen from case 1882 also shot down on June 24th and captured on June 25th. On June 29, 1972, the Vietnam News Agency reported First Lieutenant Jackson had been captured alive in Nghia Lo Province.
Lt. McCarty was not confirmed alive in captivity. After Operation Homecoming he was declared killed in action, body not recovered.
In December 1990, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team conducted a search of the crash site and recovered a data plate confirmed to be from one of the F-4D's jet engines associated with this loss incident. In the spring of 1991, a U.S. resident turned over a bone fragment and dog tag type information said to come from a resident of Vietnam and pertaining to three purported MIAs said to be associated with an incident on Dong Dang District, Cao Bang Province, an area bordering the People's Republic of China. One of the names was James L. McCarty. A July 5, 1991 DIA analysis concluded the report was not true and "...part of a Vietnamese government managed intelligence operation..."
In November 1991, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigation gained access to an apparent archival document describing the shoot down of a U.S. aircraft by the People's Air Force on June 24, 1972 in Phu Yen District, Nghia Lo Province. Charles Allen Jackson was identified by name as captured and partial body parts were also found. Material evidence of the air loss was recovered and turned over to Nghia Lo Province military. Lieutenant Jackson escaped from custody that night but was recaptured in the morning.
North Vietnam Frank C. Green, Jr.
(1895)
On July 10, 1972, an A-4F piloted by Commander Green was the lead aircraft in a flight of two on an armed reconnaissance mission over Thanh Hoa Province. Commander Green "rolled in on his assigned target and his wingman saw his aircraft crash into the ground and erupt into a large fire. Diving under overhead flare illumination, the wingman located the crash site with a large sustained fire on the ground. There was no evidence that anyone had survived the crash. Commander Green was declared missing in action.
During Operation Homecoming, a returning U.S. POW stated he was told by a guard that the guard had Commander Green. However, Commander Green was not observed in captivity by any U.S. POWs. In October 1978, Commander Green was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In November 1985, Vietnam provided the U.S. side with information on Commander Green but did not provide any remains.
South Vietnam Francis W. Townsend
(1908)
On August 13, 1972, First Lieutenant Townsend and Captain William A. Gauntt were the crewmen on an RF-4C aircraft which crashed northwest of the city of Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Captain Gauntt was captured by People's Army of Vietnam forces, taken to North Vietnam and repatriated during Operation Homecoming.
During his post-release debriefing, Captain Gauntt reported hearing an indication that Lieutenant Townsend ejected from the aircraft. SAR forces also reported an electronic beacon signal for fifteen minutes from an area where Lieutenant Townsend is believed to have probably landed. North Vietnam three times reported shoot downs in this area, on one occasion identifying the aircraft as an RF-4C and stating that one pilot was captured at a location which is within three miles of the known crash site.
In January 1975 a former People's Army of Vietnam soldier reported seeing a wounded American in captivity circa July 1972 and suffering from head and thigh wounds, eight kilometers east of the aircraft crash site. Because Captain Gauntt was not wounded, this was tentatively correlated to Lieutenant Townsend.
Lieutenant Townsend was not reported by repatriated Americans as alive in the North Vietnamese prison system. He was initially declared mission in action and was declared dead/body not recovered, in August 1979.
North Vietnam John R. Pitzen
Orland J. Pender
(1910)
On August 17, 1972, Commander Pitzen and Lieutenant Pender were the crew in an F-4J from the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk providing protection against MIG aircraft for a flight of A-6 aircraft over Kep Air Field. During their mission and while last known in the area of the town of Uong Bi, Quang Ninh Province, the A-6 reported that four surface to air missile had been fired. Commander Pitzen's aircraft disappeared from radar at 1910 hours at about the time of an explosion at an altitude of 11,000 feet. There was no further trace of either crewman or their aircraft.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
During 1983 the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received reports about the wartime crash of an aircraft in the area where Captain Pitzen and Lieutenant Pender were lost. In December 1991, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team in Vietnam visited the crash site area. Witnesses stated that the site was associated with a 1972 shoot down of a U.S. aircraft by a surface to air missile. Human remains and one skeleton were found after the crash. The remains were turned over to a local team but were later stolen.
North Vietnam Harry S. Mossman
Roderick B. Lester
(1912)
On August 20, 1972, Lieutenant Mossman and Lieutenant Lester were the crew on board an A-6A on a night low level armed reconnaissance mission in the area of Route 183 and near the coastal town of Cam Pha, east-northeast of the major port of Hai Phong. Their last radio transmission was "Let's get the hell out of here." This message was believed to refer to the crew aborting its flight plan because of heavy hostile fire and did not indicate they were ejecting from their aircraft at that time. Another aircrew in the vicinity later reported observing a flash under the thunderstorms and overcast in the vicinity of the A-6A's flight path. The aircrew was soon determined to be missing, and a search mission discovered an oil slick approximately 12 miles from the last plot and below ceiling flash. The crew's last radar fix was over the Gulf of Tonkin after exiting over the North Vietnam coast and in an area east of Hai Phong. Electronic search failed to locate any evidence of the missing crew.
During Operation Homecoming, a returning POW reporting observing a heavily bandaged and seriously injured person brought into Hoa Lo prison after the loss incident of this aircrew. There was evidence of the individual at Hoa Lo from September 1972 onward and it was speculated that the wounded individual might be one of the missing airmen from this incident. Available records fail to disclose the identity of the wounded person.
In the late 1970s the two missing airmen were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. Other U.S. POWs who returned from North Vietnam were unable to provide any information on the precise fate of the two airmen.
In late 1989, a photograph was provided the Defense Intelligence Agency by the parents of Lieutenant Lester who were told the wounded individual in the photograph was a possible candidate for Lieutenant Lester. DIA confirmed the individual in the photograph was Major Lawrence R. Bailey, lost in Laos in 1961 and repatriated alive in August 1962.
South Vietnam William J. Crockett
Lee M. Tigner
(1913)
On August 22, 1972, Major Tigner and First Lieutenant Crockett were the crew in an F-4H, one in a flight of four on a combat mission over Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire in the right wing and the wing separated from the aircraft. It rolled and within two to five seconds after being hit had crashed into the ground at a speed of 450 knots, skipped, and came to rest in the river at Quang Tri City, Quang Tri Province. No one was seen to eject from the aircraft before it crashed and there were no electronic beepers heard. Both crewmen were declared killed in action, body not recovered.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In July 1974 the U.S. Army's 500th Military Intelligence Group forwarded information from the South Vietnamese Army reporting information that a U.S. jet aircraft had crashed during the war approximately two kilometers west of Quang Tri City. Remains of an American, clothing and boots were observed in the wreckage. This report was believed to possibly correlate to this loss incident. The site was searched on July 26, 1974, and human remains were recovered. The area was revisited on November 6, 1974, and more artifacts, human teeth, and aircraft parts were recovered.
Laos Richard W. Herold
(1917)
William C. Wood, Jr.
Robert R. Greenwood
(1918)
On September 2, 1972, Captain Herold and a Lao forward observer departed Vientiane, Laos, in an O-1F to conduct visual reconnaissance and provide forward air control in support of two F- 4E aircraft striking hostile artillery positions in Xieng Khouang Province. In one of the F-4 aircraft was Captain Wood and Major Greenwood.
While in the target area, an F-4 crew lost sight of Captain Herold's aircraft but later observed a large fireball in the area where Captain Wood's aircraft was last seen and aircraft wreckage appeared to be falling to the ground in pieces. One fully deployed parachute was also seen and a second unidentified object was also observed falling at the same rate of speed. The parachute and second object were not observed all the way to the ground. Other debris was seen in the air and possibly two ejection seats associated with the F-4 crew. After the incident, there was no contact with Captain Herold. His aircraft's wreckage was located on the ground but there was no evidence of any survivors but two parachutes were located approximately one mile apart.
Those on the scene concluded that Captain Herold's aircraft had collided with the F-4. The F-4's wreckage was located approximately four kilometers from the O-1 wreckage and there were fresh trails leading to a nearby parachute. Both F-4 crewmen were declared missing. One initial report of one blond haired American alive on the ground was found to be incorrect when the "blond haired" individual turned out to be an Lao wearing a light colored hat.
On September 26, 1972, the Pathet Lao's news service reported than an F-4 had been shot down on September 1st over the Plain of Jars and it was believed by U.S. intelligence analysts that this referred to the loss of Captain Wood's aircraft.
Captain Herold was declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the three airmen involved in these two related incidents. In January 1973 Captain Herold was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. Captain Wood was also declared killed in action, body not recovered, in August 1979.
In 1987 U.S. investigators located wreckage of the crash sites and a propeller possibly associated with Captain Herold's aircraft. Other wreckage appeared correlated to an F-4.
Over water Donald L. Gerstel
(1920)
On September 8, 1972, Lieutenant Commander Gerstel was the pilot of an A-7B and flight leader of a flight of two aircraft from the U.S.S. Midway on a night surveillance mission against merchant shipping in the area of the island of Hon Nieu of the coast of central Vietnam. Commander Gerstel's IFF identification equipment was not functioning and his wingman's IFF marker was being used to monitor the flight as it was being vectored toward a North Vietnamese boat anchorage at Hon Hieu.
Commander Gerstel descended into the target area through severe turbulence and lighting in order to determine the cloud base. During this maneuver his aircraft was struck by lighting and he radioed that he was "Ok" and there was "just a lot of sparks." This was the last contact with him in an area between the islands of Hon Nieu and Hon Mat, approximately ten kilometers of the coast of Vietnam along the boundary of Nghe An and Ha Tinh Provinces.
Commander Gerstel was declared missing. An extensive search of the ocean and island failed to disclose any sign of either him or his aircraft. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate. In November 1978 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
Over water Verne G. Donelly
Kenneth R. Buell
(1924)
On September 17, 1972, Commander Donelly and Lieutenant Commander Buell were the crew in an A-6A on a planned air strike in northern North Vietnam. The last contact with them was at 0150 hours local time. Seven minutes later, other airmen in the area observed an explosion along Commander Donelly's aircraft's flight path in Hai Hung Province, south of the port city of Hai Phong, Hai Phong Province. The two crewmen were declared missing in action.
On September 17, 1972, Radio Hanoi reported that its forces in Hai Hung downed an A-6 aircraft. In a separate report, a North Vietnamese unit radioed to Hai Phong that it had captured one pilot on the morning of September 17, 1972. In a third report, North Vietnam reported its forces in Hai Phong and other areas had shot down hostile aircraft during the period 15-17 September. Due to the similarity in date of loss and loss location, these reports were believed to possibly correlate to those involved in this loss incident.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of this aircrew. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
Laos Roger W. Carroll
Dwight D. Cook
(1926)
On September 21, 1972, Carroll and Cook were the crew on-board an F-4D on a combat operation over the Plain of Jars area of Xieng Khouang Province, Laos. A forward air controller operating with them observed them crash, apparently after being hit by hostile antiaircraft fire. He saw no parachutes prior to or after their aircraft impacted and heard no beepers. Both airmen were declared missing in action.
First Lieutenant Cook's blood chit was reportedly recovered from the crash site and sent to the Joint Personnel Recovery Center on November 11, 1972 and there were human remains reportedly seen at the crash site at the time the blood chit was recovered.
American POWs returning during Operation Homecoming were unable to provide information on their precise fate. They were later declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In 1983, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) received hearsay information of a crash site in the area of this loss incident. In 1986 JCRC interviewed another source in Thailand who reported having been at a crash site in Laos at the location of this loss incident. The aircraft was scattered over a wide area. The source reported seeing bones at the site and these were left in place. JCRC received more reports in 1987 and 1988 describing a crash site with human remains and artifacts. All these reports were believed to correlate to this loss incident.
South Vietnam Daniel Borah
(1927)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
North Vietnam Robert D. Anderson
(1934)
On October 6, 1972, Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, pilot, and his weapons systems officer, First Lieutenant Latella, were the crew of an F-4E, one in a flight of four aircraft on a mission over North Vietnam. A surface-to-air missile explosion in their area led to a decision to depart the area. Contact with the aircraft was lost and later reestablished with both crew members who were descending in their parachutes. Lieutenant Latella was injured but Colonel Anderson was not and reported no hostile ground forces below him.
On October 6, 1972, a Hanoi news release claimed six aircraft were shot down on October 6th and a number of airmen were captured. There were no names given but one of the areas mentioned correlated to this aircraft downing, in fact, the only aircraft lost over North Vietnam on October 6th.
Lieutenant Latella was captured and repatriated during Operation Homecoming. He reported being captured immediately after landing and had no contact with Colonel Anderson after the pilot began the ejection sequence to bail out of their crippled aircraft.
Colonel Anderson was initially declared missing in action and was not accounted for during Operation Homecoming. Returning POWs were unable to confirm him alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. He was later declared dead/body not recovered.
A U.S. field team in Vietnam on December 10, 1990, investigated this loss incident in Van Luong Village, Tam Thanh District. Witnesses reported an aircraft shoot down in the area in late 1972, the capture of one of the crew, and the sighting of human remains in wreckage at the crash site. The U.S. team recovered artifacts reportedly recovered from the crash site which, if valid, would indicate that at least one person was in the aircraft when it crashed. The case remains under investigation.
Laos John L. Carroll
(1944)
On November 7, 1972, Major Carroll was a member of Detachment 1, 56th Special Operations Wing, Udorn Air Base, Thailand, flying over Laos in an 0-1 using the call sign Raven 20. His aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire and crashed on a grass covered ridge in Xieng Khouang Province. He radioed he survived the landing, was receiving hostile small arms fire, and would stay by the aircraft. This was the last transmission from him.
An aircraft searching for him received intense hostile small arms fire from the area of his crash site. The pilot saw 6-7 enemy soldiers within 100 feet of Major Carroll. Later, a SAR aircrew came within twenty feet of the crash site and found a body under the aircraft's wing and with a massive head wound. From all appearances he was dead and the body appeared to be that of Major Carroll. Hostile forces within fifty feet of the downed O-1 opened up on the SAR aircraft and it was forced to withdraw. Based on this evidence, in November 1972, Major Carroll was declared killed in action, body not recovered.
North Vietnam Robert D. Morrissey
Robert M. Brown
(1945)
In the early morning hours of November 7, 1972, Majors Morrissey and Brown took off in a camouflaged F-111 from Takhli Air Base, Thailand, for a mission against the Luat Son highway ferry in North Vietnam. The last contact with the aircraft was at 0306 hours and an attempt to establish contact with them at 0400 hours was unsuccessful. A search effort was launched and continued until November 20th without locating any evidence of the crew or the aircraft.
On November 8, 1972, the Vietnam News Agency reported that according to the Reuters News Service, an F-111 was downed in Nghe An Province and two airmen were missing. Another report on that date stated this was the third F-111 lost over North Vietnam and the F-111 was downed over Nghe An at 0400 hours. On November 9, 1972, a People's Army of Vietnam unit reported the shoot down of an F-111 which was said to have been downed in Nghe An Province but actually had crashed in Quang Binh Province. Another report transmitting information about the reported downing of an F-4 on November 7th stated the pilot had been captured and they were to "conceal the accomplishment." This F-4 related report was placed in the files of these two missing airmen. A further report on November 14th stated a special team was being sent to recover the F-111A in Quang Binh and oversee movement of its hulk.
Both airmen were initially reported missing. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. Major Brown's name was recently the subject of a dog tag type report which reached DIA.
In January 1992 U.S. investigators in Vietnam reviewed a People's Army report of air defense operations in Military Region 4. One item dated November 7, 1972, listed the shoot down of a low flying F-111 downed by the 359th Company, Quang Binh forces, with two (crewmen) killed. In July 1992 U.S. investigators in Le Thuy District, Quang Binh located an F-111 strut used as a fence post, part of one ton of aircraft wreckage in the possession of a local resident near the crash site associated with this incident. The suspected crash site was near a mountain peak on a 45 degree slope. A photo of Major Brown's identity card was located in the Quang Binh Provincial museum together with an F-111A data plate. The material referred to a "Major Robert" as "dead" in an F-111A shoot down over Quang Binh Province.
In October 1992 Major Brown's son visited Moscow and was told by Russian officials of KGB officials who apparently had knowledge of an F-111 transfer to the USSR in November 1972.
Laos Donald C. Breuer
(1947)
On November 20, 1972, Captain Breuer and Captain Anderson were the crew on-board an F-4J, one in a flight of two aircraft on a combat operation over Savannakhet Province, Laos. Their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed 35 kilometers southeast of Tchepone and 300 meters from Route 90. This is in an area southwest of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. Captain Anderson parachuted safely from the aircraft, was located by search and rescue forces, and was recovered. He stated he didn't see Captain Breuer parachute from their damaged aircraft and did not hear a beeper from him. Captain Breuer was declared missing in action.
After the crash, a North Vietnamese Army unit reported on November 20th that a pilot had landed but there was no mention of the specific type of aircraft involved and the pilot's nationality was not given. The report was associated with an incident occurring in the general area of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. An intelligence comment on this report indicated a tentative correlation of the report to this loss incident based on it being the only reported aircraft loss at this point in time.
On April 28, 1972, Pathet Lao radio news service reported three U.S. aircraft were hit in Saravane Province on November 18th and 19th. Pilots were killed in two F-4 and one T-28 air incident. This report was placed in the files of these individuals because of the country of loss and date of incident.
Returning U.S. POWs during Operation Homecoming early in 1973 had no information on Captain Breuer's fate. After Operation Homecoming Captain Breuer was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In April 1973, a North Vietnamese soldier from Binh Tram 41, 473rd Transportation Division, Group 559, reported having seen an American F-4 hit by antiaircraft fire and crash near the village of Ban Dong, Savannakhet Province, east of the border with Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam and in the area in which his division was operating. This is in an area west of the DMZ and in the general area of Highway 9. He reported seeing two parachutes. One airman landed and was rescued. Later, he observed a body of an American airman which had been stripped nude and was told the other airman had died. The area of the sighting was correlated to this loss incident.
This loss incident crash site was visited by a joint U.S./Lao team in Muong Nong District, Savannakhet Province, during 28 October-1 November 1992. The team recovered artifacts said to have belonged to the pilot who was rescued. There was no specific information on the fate of the second crewman.
South Vietnam Bobby M. Jones
Jack R. Harvey
(1949)
On November 28, 1972, Captain Jones and First Lieutenant Harvey departed Udorn Air Base, Thailand, to ferry an F-4D to Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam. The last contact with the crew was when they were approximately 32 kilometers northwest of Da Nang and the aircraft then disappeared from the radar screen. They did not arrive at Da Nang and were declared missing. Search and rescue aircraft in the area heard three "Mayday" calls and beeper signals but could not associate them with this missing crew. Subsequent to their disappearance, aircraft wreckage was located on Bach Ma Mountain in Phu Loc District, Thua Thien Province and believed associated with their crash site.
Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on the eventual fate of the two missing airmen. In 1978 they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
North Vietnam James R. McElvain
(1952)
On December 18, 1972, Major McElvain and Colonel Ronald Ward departed Takhli Air Base, Thailand, in an F-111A for a single ship strike mission over North Vietnam. At 2100 hours they radioed the Joint Rescue Control Center that they'd attacked their assigned target. At this point they were plotted to be approximately 26 miles east-southeast of the town of Nam Dinh and at the mouth of a river along the Thai Binh/Nam Ha Province boundary and advised they had passed over the coastline. There was no further transmission from them and their intended course was to be out over the Gulf of Tonkin. At 2129 hours they did not make a communications check. An extensive search along their intended flight path failed to disclose any evidence of either the aircraft or its crew and the crew was declared missing in action.
On December 19, 1972, the People's Army reported it had shot down a B-52 the previous night and captured seven airmen. In another report, the seven captured were described as coming two B-52 and another aircraft not further identified, from which they'd captured a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major from a two man aircrew. On the same day another unit radioed that three of those captured were from a downed B-52 crew. No names of any Americans were in these reports. These reports were placed in the files of the these missing airmen.
One returnee stated he might have heard McElvain's name on a radio broadcast. No other returnees heard the name and no regular monitoring service reported his name on any domestic of foreign broadcasts. A next of kin of one of the crewmen received a rumor their aircraft had been shot down by a U.S. Navy aircraft.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the fate of the two crewmen. After Operation homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered.
North Vietnam Arthur V. McLaughlin
John F. Stewart
Randolph A. Perry
Irwin S. Lerner
(1955)
On December 20, 1972, a B-52 with a six man crew departed Utapao Air Base, Thailand, one in a cell of three B-52s who were part of a larger bombing force on a nighttime ARC LIGHT bombing mission over North Vietnam. At 2030 hours and prior to reaching their target, the B-52 was hit by a surface to air missile. Attempts to contact the crew were unsuccessful and darkness prevented the sighting of any parachutes. Beepers were heard but could not be correlated to any specific crewmen from this aircraft due to multiple aircraft losses and beepers from other downed crewmen.
After the shoot down, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) announced the capture of one crewman, Captain Paul L. Granger and a second crewman, Captain Thomas J. Klomann, was listed as a POW to be repatriated on the DRV list provided the U.S. in Paris on January 27, 1973.
After his release from captivity, Captain Granger stated that his aircraft was attacked by a MIG aircraft when they were approximately 70 kilometers from Hanoi. Then, surface to air missiles were launched; one struck the right wing of their aircraft and a second SAM exploded in front of the B-52's cockpit. There was a noticeable thump which was either another exploding SAM or the navigator, Captain Klomann, ejecting. Captain Granger ejected at an altitude of 28,000 feet when ordered to do so by Major Stuart, the aircraft commander. Neither Captain Granger nor Captain Klomann had any information on the eventual fate of other crewmen. The remaining crewmen, all declared missing in action, at the time, were declared killed in action, body not recovered, by 1982.
Laos Frank A. Gould
(1959)
On December 20, 1972, a B-52D on a mission over North Vietnam was hit by a surface to air missile while over Hanoi. The pilot followed his exit route from the area and headed for Laos. The aircraft started losing power 25 minutes later and there were control problems with the aircraft. The crew initiated bailout procedures that night while at an altitude of 19,000 feet and over mountainous jungle terrain just over the border of North Vietnam and over Laos.
Major Gould suffered injuries to his right arm and leg from the surface to air missile explosion but had been able to apply bandages to the bleeding which had nearly stopped by the time other crewmen successfully ejected from the B-52. The aircraft's co- pilot heard Major Gould's ejection seat firing sequence but did not observe him eject from the aircraft. The aircraft crashed in Houa Phan Province approximately 40 kilometers northeast of the Ban Ban Valley in eastern Xieng Khouang Province. Search and rescue forces recovered five crewmen on December 21st but there was no parachute or beeper from Major Gould and he was declared missing in action.
On the late afternoon of December 21, SAR forces saw possible mirror flashes from an area where the five survivors were rescued but nightfall prevented identification of the source of the possible mirror flashes. The SAR effort continued the next day in the area but without locating any evidence of Major Gould.
One returning U.S. POW had knowledge of Major Gould, but what he learned about Major Gould was received prior to his own mission. He heard that Major Gould was alive on the ground and awaiting rescue but no information in such a context has ever surfaced. Major Gould's name did not appear in POW communications channels. After Operation Homecoming Major Gould was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
In February 1991, U.S. intelligence received a report with identity card information associated with Major Gould and traced to a resident of Xieng Khouang Province. In March 1991, a report came from a Lao resident in Thailand claiming that remains and artifacts had been recovered from northeast Laos near the border of North Vietnam. The report was believed possibly correlated to this incident. In December 1991, a source turned over information associated with a B-52 data plate and identity card information of Frank A. Gould. The source provided hearsay information that Major Gould was alive and living in Oudomsai Province, Laos, with a Lao wife and four children in an area approximately 6-7 kilometers east of the town of Ban Houay Sai near the border with Thailand.
Laos Paul V. Jackson, III
(1967)
On December 24, 1972, Captain Jackson was the pilot of an O-1 serving as a forward air controller for a flight of four A-7D aircraft on combat operations over the southern portion of the Plain of Jars, Xieng Khouang Province. Captain Jackson's aircraft collided with an A-7D in an area approximately four kilometers west of Route 5. The other aircraft's pilot, Captain Charles F. Reiss, parachuted from his aircraft, was captured by People's Army of Vietnam forces, and was transported to North Vietnam. The two aircraft crashed 1500 yards apart and Captain Jackson's aircraft exploded and burned on impact.
One good parachute was seen at the time and this was identified as Captain Reiss who established voice contact from the ground, reporting a leg injury. He was declared missing in action and reclassified as a POW after his name appeared on the Pathet Lao list released on February 1, 1973. He was released on March 28, 1973, during Operation Homecoming.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on Captain Jackson. Captain Jackson was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in January 1973.
Laos John R. Wallerstedt
Steven B. Johnson
(1977)
On January 4, 1973, Captains Wallerstedt and Johnson were the crew in an F-4D on an operational mission over Savannakhet Province. Their aircraft was apparently struck by hostile groundfire and went out of control while recovering from a bombing run. The aircraft crashed approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Tchepone and five kilometers north of Route 9. Both crewmen parachuted from the aircraft and landed approximately 30 meters apart. The crewmen had radio contact with one another while coming down in the parachute. Search and rescue forces were later able to establish radio contact with Captain Wallerstedt but did not establish contact with Captain Johnson.
Captain Wallerstedt located Captain Johnson on the ground, pinned under a tree limb too heavy for him to lift. It appeared that Captain Johnson's parachute landing into trees had broken off a limb which fell on him. Captain Johnson was unconscious, bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose, and was gasping for breath.
After 15 minutes in that state Captain Wallerstedt could detect no pulse. Due to approaching hostile ground forces, Captain Wallerstedt left Captain Johnson, showing no signs of life, and evaded. He was later rescued.
Captain Johnson was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in January 1973. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his fate.
South Vietnam Richard A. Knutson
Mickey A. Wilson
William A. Stinson
Manuel A. Lauterio
Elbert W. Bush
William L. Dean
(1978)
On January 8, 1973, a UH-1H helicopter from the 62nd Aviation Company with a crew of four and three passengers from the Military Assistance Command Army Advisory Group departed Landing Zone Sally in Quang Tri Province en route to Quang Tri City. It was later reported to have flown across the Thach Han River into hostile territory and circled twice with its guns firing at an unknown ground target. It was then fired on by the People's Army of Vietnam using SA-7 ground to air missiles. The first missile missed and the second hit the helicopter's boom. A third hit the helicopter proper prior to its crash in the area of the South Vietnamese Army's Ai Tu Combat Base. Multiple SA-7 launches drove off SAR forces in the area of the helicopter shoot down. The seven servicemen were declared missing in action.
Subsequent to their loss, CIA forwarded hearsay information from a Vietnamese source reporting a helicopter had been shot down on January 8, 1973, in the area of this loss incident. Four U.S. pilots were reportedly captured and the fate of two other crewmen was unknown. DIA later determined that CIA had terminated the source due to possible fabrication of information.
DIA In August 1973, DIA received a hearsay report of a helicopter crash site in the area of this loss incident. Two remains were reportedly in the crash site area in Trieu Phong District, Quang Tri Province.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of the missing servicemen. After Operation Homecoming, all were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
South Vietnam Mark A. Peterson
George W. Morris, Jr.
(1981)
See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.
Laos Arthur D. Bollinger
Dale Brandenburg
Peter R. Cressman
Joseph A. Matejov
Todd M. Melton
Severo J. Primm, III
George R. Spitz
(1983)
On February 5, 1973, an EC-47Q disappeared over Saravan Province while on an electronic intelligence mission. An airborne search effort later located the wreckage of the aircraft. A ground search team located three or four charred bodies and was able to recover one of them, the remains of Robert E. Bernhardt. In providing his own analytical comments concerning the meaning of a Vietnam People's Army radio message intercepted shortly after the loss of the EC-47Q, Baron 52, an U.S. Air Force communications analyst concluded the substance of the message indicated that several of the Baron 52 had been captured alive and were being moved to North Vietnam. However, based on the condition of the crash site and the evidence found there, the commander of the unit concluded that those on the aircraft had all perished. In February 1973 the crew was declared killed in action, body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.
In June 1989, a private U.S. POW/MIA hunter in Thailand reported information from a self declared Lao resistance leader that six of the Baron 52 crew were alive and he believed they were being held in Saravan Province. In June 1990, a DIA field element in Thailand, the Stony Beach Team, received information from a source asserting that five of the crew were alive and living with ethnic Lao Theung in Laos (Bollinger, Brandenburg, Spitz, Primm, Cressman.) A Lao resistance group asserted it would take action. DIA concluded this was a similar to the earlier and fabricated report.
In the fall of 1992, the Senate Select Committee received sworn testimony from DIA's senior POW/MIA analyst, Robert DeStatte. Mr. DeStatte provided detailed information on what was known about the disappearance of Baron 52 and the intercepted North Vietnamese communications, noting that the report that so excited the U.S. Air Force analyst actually related to the movement of four airmen to the area of the port city of Vinh in the panhandle of North Vietnam and hundreds of kilometers from the site of Baron 52's disappearance. With such a message received only minutes after the loss of Baron 52 in South Laos, DIA concluded the report correlated to airmen other than those in Baron 52.
In October 1992 the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs forwarded his strong recommendation to the Lao Government that the planned crash site investigation of Baron 52 take place as scheduled. On November 2, 1992, a joint U.S./Lao team traveled to Sekong Province and to the crash site of Baron 52. The team found the wreckage still there. Two witnesses were interviewed who described the crash of the aircraft and the resultant fire. One witness described visiting the site the next morning and finding a burned corpse which was recovered by SAR aircraft. Three North Vietnamese advisors arrived several days later to inspect the site.
The joint team recovered one of Joseph A. Matejov's dog tags from the site as well as personal and military artifacts, including pieces of two flight suits. The team's recovery of unopened parachute canopy releases indicated some of the missing crewmen were undoubtedly still on board the aircraft at the time of impact.
South Vietnam Joseph G. Greenleaf
Clemie McKinney
(2044)
On April 14, 1972, Lieutenants Greenleaf and McKinney were the crew in an F-4J, one in a flight of three over an area approximately 25 kilometers northwest of Quang Tri City, Quang Tri Province. A forward air controller observed five rounds of antiaircraft fire hit the cockpit area of their aircraft midway through a bombing run and crash just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. It was observed throughout the dive and impact by a forward air controller who reported the aircraft crashed with canopies in place and there were no ejections. Both crewmen were declared missing in action.
Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
On August 14, 1985, Vietnamese officials repatriated remains identified as Lieutenant McKinney. U.S. officials were told that Lieutenant Greenleaf had died at Cua Viet, Quang Tri Province, in November 1972. In August 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam uncovered records of the 280th Air Defense Regiment referencing the downing of an Aircraft on April 14, 1972 and possibly associated with this loss incident. One shovel on display at the unit museum was reportedly recovered by the 103th Battalion from the aircraft's crash site.
Laos Melvin A. Holland
Herbert A. Kirk
Patrick L. Shannon
Henry G. Gish
Willis R. Hall
Clarence F. Blanton
James H. Calfee
James W. Davis
Dave S. Price
Donald K. Springsteadah
Don F. Worley
(2052)
On March 11, 1968, a group of U.S. Air Force military technicians with personal documentation as civilian members of Lockheed Aircraft Service were based on Phou Pha Thi Mountain at Site 85 in Houa Phan Province. This was a covert operation in Laos known by the code name Project HEAVY GREEN. In the early morning pre-dawn hours of March 11th, the site was assaulted and overrun by a force of People's Army of Vietnam Bartels sappers. Eight technicians escaped and were evacuated, one of whom died later while en route to Ubon, Thailand. Eleven others at the TACAN site were declared missing. All were later reinstated to their U.S. Air Force service status and rank.
In March 1970 the families were brought to Washington and briefed on the circumstances of loss of these servicemen. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. In 1982 the Secretary of the Air Force declassified the project for the first time and the 11 U.S. Air Force servicemen who became missing at Lima Site 85 on Phou Pha Thi Mountain were entered onto the Defense Department's official casualty roles as killed in action, body not recovered.
In 1972, an officer of the People's Army of Vietnam, described to the Army Attache's Exploitation Team (Project 5310-03-E) senior Interrogation Officer how his unit was preceded up the karst by a hand picked small sapper force which overcame U.S. personnel at the TACAN site. He heard some were thrown off the cliff. The People's Army forces seized sensitive equipment and documents before the TACAN site was bombed by U.S. aircraft. The officer was not aware of any American who was taken prisoner or survived the sapper assault and is the only People's Army source who assaulted Site 85 and came into U.S. hands during the war.
One report from the same Exploitation Team in 1972 from a former Pathet Lao described a male caucasian being escorted to the Pathet Lao Headquarters early in 1968 but this sighting could not be correlated to those at Lima Site 85. In late 1990 a former Pathet Lao stated that three U.S. had indeed survived and had been taken away from Site 85. This report followed a January 1989 report from a private U.S. citizen and POW/MIA hunter offering information on 275 U.S. POWs in Southeast Asia at 17 different locations, 3 of whom correlated to names of those missing at Site 85.
Over water Harry E. Mitchell
Michael J. Kustigian
(2053)
On the morning of May 6, 1968, Seamen Mitchell and Kustigian did not report for an assigned worked detail on board the U.S.S. Long Beach. The Long Beach was at the time an estimated 40 miles off the coast of Central Vietnam in the South China Sea and heading into the Gulf of Tonkin. An on-board investigation failed to disclose any cogent reason for the disappearance of the two seamen and they were reported missing. Both had been confirmed on board the ship the previous evening when the ship was well at to sea. However, a later U.S. Navy review board classified the two men as deserters and they were not listed as Southeast Asia casualties due to the Defense Department's policy of excluding deserters from casualty reports.
In 1979 the U.S. Navy reviewed its previous findings in the case of Mitchell and Kustigian. Upon review, both seamen were declared missing non-hostile and then declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.
After their initial disappearance, a Stars and Stripes article erroneously reported them as having been located. Another report offered information that Harry Mitchell was seen later in the United States but this was never confirmed and neither seaman has ever been confirmed alive since the night of May 5th/6th, 1968 and the precise circumstances of their disappearance and fate have never been definitely established.
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