Senate Select Committee - Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases Part 2

South Vietnam Paul L. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Olin Hargrove
(0867)

On October 17, 1967, Specialist Fitzgerald and Private First Class Hargrove were with their unit on a search and destroy mission in Binh Long Province. Their unit engaged a hostile force and suffered heavy losses. The two soldiers were last seen alive midway between U.S. forces and advancing Viet Cong. PFC Hargrove was reported wounded at that time.

In February 1972, a former Viet Cong reported observing one American captive in 1967 in the area where the two soldiers were lost. This report was thought to possibly correlate to one of the two missing soldiers. In December 1984, U.S. intelligence received reports about the recovery of U.S. remains from the general area where the two had last been seen.

Both soldiers were initially declared missing. Each was eventually declared dead/body not recovered in March 1978. Neither individual was reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

North Vietnam James S, Morgan
(0903)
Kelly F. Cook
James A. Crew
(0904)

On November 10, 1967, Major Morgan and First Lieutenant Charles J. Honeycutt were the lead aircraft in a flight of two F-4 striking a target in Quang Binh Province. A forward air controller lost radio and radar contact with them at the point of their bomb release. Contact was also lost with the other F-4 crew, Lieutenant Colonel Cook and First Lieutenant Crew. On November 10, 1967, Radio Hanoi reported two F-4s were shot down on that date in Quang Binh Province.

All four airmen were initially reported missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any sightings of any of them alive. However, one returning POW reported hearing a Radio Hanoi broadcast naming Lieutenant Honeycutt as one of the U.S. POWs held alive in captivity by North Vietnam. After the end of hostilities, the four pilots were declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In May 1987, U.S. intelligence received information concerning the recovery of identification media and remains associated with Lieutenant Honeycutt. In December 1988, JCRC staff interviewed witnesses in Vietnam concerning Case 0903. They were taken to the alleged crash site and shown two purported graves which were excavated in April 1990. No remains were found.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam during March 1991 visited Le Ninh District and received information regarding the shoot down of Major Morgan's aircraft. Vietnam turned over the identity card of Lieutenant Honeycutt together with his remains.

Based on intensive investigation in Vietnam, information in Vietnamese archival records and witness statements, it appears that one crewman in each aircraft died in the shoot downs. Available information also indicates the likelihood that Major Morgan and Lieutenant Crew both perished in their aircraft, but both Lieutenant Honeycutt and Lieutenant Colonel Cook parachuted alive from their aircraft and reached the ground seriously wounded. Both were later reported to have died.

North Vietnam Herbert O. Brennan
Douglas C. Condit
(0928)

On November 26, 1967, Colonel Brennan and First Lieutenant Condit were the crew in one of two F-4C jet aircraft on a strike mission over North Vietnam. During their first pass over the target, their aircraft exploded causing the wreckage to land in the area of their target. There was no hostile fire noted at the time of their crash. There were no chutes or voice contact with the crewmen.

Search and rescue aircraft arrived and drew hostile fire from the crash site area. In addition, it appeared their signaling devices had been captured and were being used in an attempt to lure SAR aircraft into a trap.

Both crewmen were initially declared missing. During Operation Homecoming, neither was accounted-for as alive. Moreover, returning U.S. POWs were unable to confirm that Brennan and Condit were alive in captivity. Both were later declared dead/body not recovered.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam during November 1988 interviewed witnesses in Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province. The team also located a crash site within 500 meters of Colonel Brennan's loss location and confirmed the wreckage as that of an F-4. The team was unable to locate any information regarding the crew. The team did learn that the aircraft was shot down while attacking a People's Army of Vietnam anti-aircraft unit that was providing security for an engineer road building unit. One witness stated Vietnamese officials had already recovered seven skeletal remains associated with U.S. aircraft lost in the area.

South Vietnam Michael Millner
(0930)

On November 29, 1967, Staff Sergeant Millner, a member of Detachment B-34, 5th Special Forces Group, was with a provincial reconnaissance unit when it was attacked by a Viet Cong company approximately 35 kilometers north of Loc Ninh, Phuoc Long Province. A member of his unit, Sergeant Paul Posse, later stated he saw Sergeant Millner being captured. When last seen he was not wounded. U.S. intelligence received a report in October 1974 concerning the sighting of a captured American circa October 1967 in the area Sergeant Millner was last seen, but it could not be correlated specifically to him

Sergeant Millner was initially declared missing. In July 1974 he was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs had no information about him.

Cambodia Robert H. Grzyb
(0937)

In the late morning of December 11, 1967, a U.S. Army private assigned at Pleiku City, South Vietnam, reported to his unit that he, Mr. Grzyb, and two Koreans had been ambushed by the Viet Cong on the afternoon of December 10, 1967. Mr. Grzyb was reportedly wounded in the arm, and one of the Koreans was killed, when they were ambushed north of Pleiku City where they had gone to buy pigs.

A subsequent investigation revealed a Vietnamese police officer, a neighbor, and Mr. Grzyb departed Pleiku at noon on December 10th in a Vietnamese police jeep. It was located by an aircraft spotter late that afternoon at the village of Plei Pok 25 kilometers north of Pleiku. The damaged jeep was recovered, and its FM radio and battery had been removed. The body of the dead policeman was found there with a bullet wound in the head which had apparently been fired at close range. Plei Pok villagers said Mr. Grzyb and the policeman were ambushed by Viet Cong just outside their village after buying five small pigs for 500 Vietnamese dong, equivalent to approximately $4.00. The policeman was killed, and Mr. Grzyb was apparently abducted.

Further police investigation determined Mr. Grzyb, a former U.S. Army serviceman and unemployed U.S. civilian in Vietnam without proper identification at the time, had been arrested in Pleiku on September 30th by the Vietnamese National Police following the discharge of a pistol which blinded a young Vietnamese boy. Mr. Grzyb was attempting to sell the pistol to another serviceman at the time of the incident. A search of his residence led to the recovery of a .45 caliber sub-machine gun. Also during that time, he was wanted for the illegal sale of 384 cases of stolen U.S. Government C-rations. Mr. Grzyb was jailed and fined and was released from jail on November 11, 1967, at which time he told U.S. authorities he wanted to apply for Vietnamese citizenship. The American private who claimed he was with Mr. Grzyb was on an unauthorized absence from Pleiku at the time of the incident, having been confined to the city after his release from a U.S. military jail in November 1967. When captured, Mr. Grzyb never mentioned any Koreans with him. He said he was in the U.S. Army, wounded in the side when captured, and had been due to rotate from Vietnam the day after his capture.

Mr. Grzyb was first listed by Department of State and DIA in 1970 as unaccounted-for after receiving his file from JPRC. He was listed as a POW at the time of Operation Homecoming and, in January 1973, was listed by the PRG as having died in captivity.

Seven returning U.S. POWs described Mr. Grzyb's incarceration with them at a People's Army of Vietnam B-3 Theater of Operations prison along the Vietnam/Cambodia border where he died one evening late in 1968 while suffering from malaria and malnutrition. Wartime reports related his name as "Gzip" or "Gzeb." One wartime report from a Vietnam People's Army Captain described Mr. Grzyb's presence at the prison while suffering from malaria. Two other reported sightings of Americans in captivity were placed in Mr. Grzyb's file but, apparently, did not pertain to him.

North Vietnam Roger B. Innes
Leonard M. Lee
(0952)

On December 27, 1967, Lieutenant Commander Lee and Lieutenant JG Innes were crewmen of an F-4B on a strike mission over Nghe An Province. Their aircraft was seen on radar as it started its bomb run on target, but other flight members were unable to actually observe the aircraft during its bomb run. The aircraft disappeared and could not be located during a subsequent search. There were no chutes and no beepers.

In May 1972, a People's Army of Vietnam soldier described the downing of two U.S. aircraft in Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province. He heard that one airman was killed and one was captured. The captured pilot was last seen being escorted north on Highway 1. This report was believed to be a possible correlation to this aircrew because it was the only loss in the area at that time.

Both crewmen were initially declared missing and, in April 1977, were declared dead/body not recovered. Neither airman was reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system by returning U.S. POWs.

South Vietnam Richard W. Fischer
(0977)

On January 8, 1968, Lance Corporal Fisher was with an ambush team in Dien Ban District, south of Da Nang City, Quang Nam Province. He left his ambush site with a one-legged girl and was never seen again. A search and rescue party attempting to locate him was fired upon. A later search failed to locate any trace of him but an older local resident did say that an American had been taken prisoner. The non-commissioned officer in charge of the ambush was recommended for court-martial for permitting a member of the team to leave the site. In 1970, a former Vietnam People's Army Lieutenant Colonel provided information, possibly hearsay, that Corporal Fisher had been killed and buried.

Corporal Fisher was initially declared missing. In December 1978, he was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information about him being alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

South Vietnam William D. Johnson
(0997)

On August 19, 1968, Private First Class Johnson was a rifleman from the 4th Infantry Division on a search and destroy mission with his unit in the mountainous central highlands area of Sa Thay District, Kontum Province. His unit encountered hostile forces and six men were declared missing; four were last seen at the initial point of contact, one of whom was PFC Johnson. PFC Johnson was reported alive after the hostile fire had stopped.

The partially decomposing bodies of five of the six missing soldiers were later located. Their remains showed major destructive injuries associated with fragmentation munitions. PFC Johnson was not located with the others.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his eventual fate. In March 1979, he was declared killed in action/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In 1974, DIA received a report of a possible collaborator seen in coastal Quang Ngai Province. The American was reportedly captured from a truck convoy, and two others with him had escaped. While not correlated to PFC Johnson, a copy of the report was placed in his file for unknown reasons.

North Vietnam Michael Dunn
Norman E. Eidsmoe
(1004)

On January 26, 1968, First Lieutenant Dunn and Lieutenant Commander Eidsmoe were on a solo mission against Vinh Airfield. Their aircraft disappeared from radar contact approximately ten kilometers north of Vinh City, and both airmen were declared missing.

In April 1972, a former People's Army of Vietnam soldier reported observing an American POW in Nghe An Province in January 1968. The report was placed in the case files of those involved in the incident as only a possible correlation to Commander Eidsmoe. Several returning U.S. POWs reported hearing a name similar to his while in Son Tay Prison in November 1968, but it was never confirmed that he was alive.

Lieutenant Dunn was declared dead/body not recovered in November 1973. Commander Eidsmoe was declared dead in January 1978.

South Vietnam Henry F. Blood
(1017)

Blood was a missionary with the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) in the South Vietnamese mountain town of Banmethuot. On February 1, 1968, the CMA compound was overrun by Vietnamese communist forces during the opening phase of the 1968 Tet Offensive. Another American civilian who was also captured and returned during Operation Homecoming, Michael D. Benge, described being held with Blood until July 1968 when Blood became ill, died and was buried near their prison camp in the Central Highlands.

At Operation Homecoming Blood's name appeared on the Provisional Revolutionary Government died in captivity list. The date of death was recorded as October 17, 1972.

Blood's burial site location was investigated in December 1990 by a U.S. field team. During that investigation, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center learned that Blood's grave had been opened in 1987. The remains recovered by Dac Lac Province security officials, which were reportedly Blood's remains, were given to U.S. officials in February 1988. U.S. records confirm there was a repatriation in April 1988, but the remains have not yet been identified.

South Vietnam Elizabeth "Betty" A. Olsen
(1018)

Ms. Olsen was captured on February 1, 1968 at the Christian Missionary Alliance compound in Banmethuot City, South Vietnam. A returning POW, Michael Benge, reported Olsen was brought to his prison camp after capture. They were being taken on foot toward Cambodia when Olsen died. Benge buried her near the Cambodian border.

Olsen appeared at Operation Homecoming on the Provisional Revolution Government's died in captivity list; the date of death was September 26, 1968.

In December 1990, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center interviewed witnesses in Vietnam who described her burial near commo-liaison station T8 in Quang Duc Province, South Vietnam. Her remains have not yet been located.

South Vietnam Joseph S. Zawtocki
Dennis W. Hammond
(1042)

On February 8, 1968, Corporals Zawtocki and Hammond were captured in South Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive. They were initially held with other U.S. POWs who were present when Zawtocki and Hammond died in captivity. Hammond's name appeared on the Provisional Revolutionary Government's died in captivity list, and his date of death was recorded as March 7, 1970. Both were later declared dead/body not recovered.

In August 1985, the remains of American POWs who died in captivity in South Vietnam in Quang Nam Province, the same prison camp where Hammond and Zawtocki were held, were repatriated by Vietnam. Zawtocki's remains were identified. The remains attributed to Corporal Hammond were determined to be the remains of a Southeast Asian Mongoloid. Based on all available information, the remains of those who died in this jungle prison had been recovered by Vietnamese officials during the 1970s.

South Vietnam Alan W. Gunn
Wade L. Groth
Harry W. Brown
Jerry L Roe
(1046)

On February 12, 1968, Gunn, Groth, Brown and Roe were members of a UH-1H on a night medical evacuation flight. Their aircraft disappeared in Darlac Province. A search and rescue effort failed to locate them. The four crewmen were initially declared missing.

In July 1971, a Vietnam People's Army defector identified a photograph of First Lieutenant Brown as an individual he had seen at a POW camp near Vinh City in August 1970. U.S. POW returnees were never able to confirm that Lieutenant Brown and the other crewmen.

In July 1974, the wreckage of the UH-1H was located by a woodsman, but there was no trace of the crewmen. All four crewmen were declared dead/body not recovered on different dates between October 1973 and September 1978.

South Vietnam Robert W. Hunt
(1065)

On February 28, 1968, Corporal Hunt was a member of an M-41 tank crew in combat with hostile forces in Hoc Mon, a suburb of Saigon. He was last seen standing on the tank when it took a direct hit from two rocket propelled grenades. The next day friendly forces recovered the bodies of two tank crewmen, but there was no sign of Corporal Hunt. He was declared missing.

In January 1973, the Provisional Revolution Government reported the death of PFC James J. Scuiter while in captivity. However, PFC Scuiter's remains were located and recovered from the scene of the combat where Corporal Hunt was declared missing. It was believed that the PRG had misidentified the remains.

Corporal Hunt was declared dead/body not recovered in September 1978. He was not identified alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

In 1975 U.S. interviewers located a former soldier from the People's Army 84th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. He described himself as the individual who had fired the rocket propelled grenades which disabled the M-41 tank and stated that an African-American had been captured on that date.

Since 1985, U.S. intelligence has received several reports about an African-American killed in action and buried in the Hoc Mon area. While not identified as Corporal Hull, these reports are similar to the location and circumstances pertaining to his loss.

South Vietnam James E. Hamm
(1086)

On March 14, 1968, First Lieutenant Hamm and Major Gary L. Tresmer were flying an F-4D, one in a flight of two aircraft on a close air support mission over Thua Thien Province. Their aircraft was hit by hostile fire on the fourth pass over the target. Both crewmen ejected and good chutes were seen. Search and rescue forces established radio contact with the crewmen, but rescue attempts were hampered by a large hostile force in the area. Lieutenant Hamm radioed that he thought he had a broken leg, but radio contact was eventually lost with him. Major Tresmer was subsequently rescued alive.

In June 1971, a U.S. Army unit located the back seat from the F-4D. It was confirmed to be from Lieutenant Hamm's aircraft because it was a seat installed in his F-4 after the aircraft was obtained from Iran and issued to the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Lieutenant Hamm was initially declared missing in action. On February 2, 1974 he was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide information on his eventual fate.

During April and May 1992, U.S. investigators in Vietnam interviewed witnesses concerning this incident. One witness, a woman from a unit on the scene, described having approached a wounded pilot who pointed his pistol at her. She shot and killed the pilot. She turned over the pilot's wrist watch, pistol and other material to members of a nearby unit of the Vietnam People's Army who then retrieved the pilot's body and buried it.

South Vietnam James M. Ray
(1093)

Private First Class Ray was captured in South Vietnam on March 18, 1968. He is reliably reported to have died in captivity in 1969. In January 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government reported that he died in captivity on November 6, 1969. After Operation Homecoming, he was declared dead/body not recovered based on information from returning U.S. POWs.

South Vietnam Walter A. Cichon
(1112)

Specialist Cichon was a member of the 4th Infantry Division which encountered People's Army of Vietnam forces in Kontum Province on March 30, 1968. He was hit in the head while moving up a hill. A member of his unit found him, and he had a gash above the ear and a hole in the back of his head. He was not moving and had turned white. Believing that he was dead, his unit pulled back, and he was left behind. He was declared missing in action.

In April 1968, the U.S. Army's 525th Military Intelligence Group forwarded information from two former North Vietnamese Army soldiers who reported that their 320th Regiment had captured an American soldier in Kontum Province in March 1968. The soldier had a head wound and was taken to facility T-3 in the tri-border area of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Facility T-3 was known by U.S. intelligence to be a commo-liaison way station. This report was believed to possibly correlate to Cichon.

U.S. intelligence later obtained a document which described the capture of an American on March 30, 1968 in the Chu Tang area by elements of unit K-7. The American was taken to a surgical station of Group 21, a designator of the 1st Division to which the 66th and 320th Regiments belonged. Unit K-7 has been associated with the 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment. This report was believed to possibly correlate to the capture of Cichon.

In January 1972, DIA changed its internal casualty status for Cichon and listed him as a POW, although the U.S. Army continued to list him as missing in action. During Operation Homecoming, returning U.S. POWs were unable to confirm his precise fate. In October 1974, he was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In December 1990, U.S. investigators visited Sa Thay District, Gia Lai-Kon Tum Province as part of a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigation team. They interviewed witnesses in the area where Cichon was last seen who had served with People's Army of Vietnam forces during the war years. Medical personnel who served in the area described an American brought to the 66th Regiment treatment station in 1968. The information appeared to correlate to Cichon. Medical personnel from Hospital V84 also described an American with a head wound whom arrived at the B3 Theater Headquarters treatment station and who seemed to resemble Cichon. These witnesses also described a half dozen American POWs brought into their hospital. They were, however, unable to describe the precise fate of each American and could not provide the names of the six or seven Americans taken to this hospital.

South Vietnam John W. Held
(1131)

On April 17, 1968, Captain Held was the pilot of an A-37A scrambled from Bien Hoa Air Base for a mission in Phuoc Long Province. His aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire, and Captain Held ejected and landed approximately 300 meters north of the aircraft's crash site. Rescue forces landed and located his parachute in trees, but no one was in the parachute. There were foot prints beneath the parachute and four trails leading from the area. The search team fanned out and searched the area but could not locate any sign of Captain Held. Aircraft hovered over the area for five hours but were unsuccessful in locating him. Later, a voice that sounded Vietnamese broadcast from his radio, and these transmissions continued until April 19th, but it was never followed by the proper authentication signal. Captain Held was initially declared missing in action.

In January 1975, U.S. intelligence received a report of a wartime sighting of three Americans and one Korean being moved north along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This report was filed in Captain Held's file although the description of the three Americans did not appear to correlate to Captain Held.

After the end of hostilities, Captain Held was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate.

In March 1992, U.S. investigators in Vietnam traveled to Bu Dang District, Song Be Province and interviewed three witnesses who described locating a dead pilot in the area where Captain Held landed. They also located an apparent crash site, however, the witnesses provided different accounts of the recovery of the body, and the investigators were unable to rule out the possibility that one of more of the tribesmen had been involved in the pilot's death. The team was unable to locate any human remains.

South Vietnam Walter R. Schmidt, Jr.
(1205)

On January 9, 1968, Lieutenant Schmidt's A-4E aircraft was shot down by hostile ground fire over the A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. He ejected and landed safely and established voice contact with search and rescue forces to whom he reported that he had a hurt hand and a possible broken leg. SAR forces observed him on the ground and established that enemy forces were within 20 meters of his location.

Lieutenant Schmidt was carried as a POW at the time of operation Homecoming and was declared dead/body not recovered after the end of hostilities. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on his fate.

Joint Casualty Resolution Center investigations in the A Shau Valley during August 1989 failed to locate any witnesses who could provide information on the crash site or the reported capture of Lieutenant Schmidt. They were also unable to locate any evidence about his aircraft or his grave site.

South Vietnam Donald R. Fowler
Steven M. Hastings
Peter J. Russell
William Fernan
(1244)

On August 1, 1968, Warrant Officer Fernan, First Lieutenant Russell, Specialist Fourth Class Fowler and Specialist Fifth Class Hastings disappeared while on board a UH-1C helicopter during a flight through bad weather in Song Be Province. A search for them was unsuccessful.

On August 6, 1971 local woodcutters discovered the helicopter wreckage. Partial remains belonging to Warrant Officer Fernan were recovered, but none were recovered of the other three crewmen. The possibility that the other three crewmen might have survived arose due to the condition of the wreckage.

The four crewmen were initially declared missing and, after the end of hostilities, were declared dead/body not recovered. They were not reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

In June 1989, U.S. field investigators in Vietnam located six individuals who witnessed an American being captured after he was injured in an aircraft crash in 1968. The American was taken first to Bu Dang District Headquarters and then to the Phuoc Long Province POW camp. As a result of malaria, the prisoner was taken to Hospital 370 where he died one week later and was buried nearby. This report is viewed as possibly correlating to the fate of one of the aircraft's survivors. Additionally, a doctor recently interviewed in Vietnam identified the photograph of Lieutenant Russell as the patient brought to his hospital from a nearby POW camp. He stated that the American died at the hospital and was buried nearby. No reports correlated to other survivors

South Vietnam Humberto Acosta-Rosario
(1258)

On August 22, 1968, Private First Class Acosta-Rosario's element of the 25th Infantry Division was attacked by hostile forces in the Ben Cui Rubber Plantation east of Tay Ninh City, Tay Ninh Province. After his unit withdrew, PFC Acosta-Rosario was determined to be missing, and he was declared so. When his unit reoccupied the abandoned position, they could not find any trace of him. Some freshly dug graves were located and bodies were exhumed, but it was determined that they were probably members of the People's Army unit which encountered PFC Acosta-Rosario's unit.

PFC Acosta-Rosario was last seen with his M-60 machine gun as his unit was receiving enemy 60mm mortar fire. His platoon sergeant stated that he believed PFC Acosta-Rosario had been hit by enemy fire prior to the unit's withdrawal.

Subsequent to the engagement, friendly forces captured documents from the Vietnam People's Army 7th Infantry Division dated August 23, 1968. The documents reported the capture of two Americans on August 22nd. Although the names of the two were not provided, the specificity of the date and area of capture permitted a tentative correlation to the capture of PFC Acosta-Rosario and PFC Walter Ferguson (Case 1260).

After Operation Homecoming, there was an effort to locate any information about PFC Acosta-Rosario's fate. In 1974 there was information that an American had been captured alive in the Ben Cui Rubber Plantation, but it could not be correlated to him. Information was received in the late 1980s which mentioned the recovery of remains of a deceased American, but this also could not be correlated to Acosta-Rosario.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on Acosta-Rosario's eventual fate. In March 1978, Acosta-Rosario was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

South Vietnam Walter Ferguson
(1260)

On August 23, 1968, Private First Class Ferguson, a member of the 25th Infantry Division, was captured east of the town of Loc Ninh, Binh Long Province. Returning U.S. POWs captured in South Vietnam were held with him in Tay Ninh Province. In June 1970, PFC Ferguson appeared to have been mentally affected by months in captivity. For example, he would frequently jump on guards, put voodoo hexes on them and would then be beaten by the guards.

In approximately June 1970, the U.S. POWs held in Tay Ninh Province were moved across the border into Cambodia. During this move, PFC Ferguson asked to go to the toilet, and he was taken away. Another U.S. POW heard a guard call Ferguson's Vietnamese name several times, and then there was a shot followed by a moan. One returnee was told by the prison commander than Ferguson had been shot and killed during an escape attempt.

In January 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government identified PFC Ferguson as having died in captivity in May 1970. His remains have not yet been recovered. In May 1973, he was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

South Vietnam Dallas R. Pridemore
(1274)

On September 8, 1966, Staff Sergeant Pridemore was visiting a local Vietnamese family in the suburbs of Saigon in Thu Duc District, Gia Dinh Province. He was abducted during the visit. Wartime reports indicated he was last seen alive in Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia in January 1969, and he was believed already dead when a skull, said to be his, was found in April 1969. Another report was received of the sighting of an individual resembling Sergeant Pridemore in Memot, Cambodia in April 1974.

Sergeant Pridemore was listed as a POW at the end of Operation Homecoming. He was later declared dead/body not recovered.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam in June and October 1989 interviewed witnesses who stated that Sergeant Pridemore had been captured alive. They said he was initially imprisoned in Binh Duong Province and was later transferred to the custody of the Liberation Army Headquarters. Other witnesses stated Sergeant Pridemore was being detained at a rustic prison in Cambodia when he was allegedly killed in a U.S. bombing. Further investigation conducted in April 1992 resulted in interviews with the former commander of the 1st Special Action Group, Sub-Region 4, who stated that Sergeant Pridemore's Vietnamese girlfriend was a local agent who compromised him and arranged for his capture.

In February and March 1992, U.S. investigators received additional information that Pridemore was sent to Binh Duong Province after capture. From there, he was taken toward the B-3 Front Theater Headquarters. He may have been taken into Cambodia in 1969.

South Vietnam Dickie F. Finley
(1308)

On October 21, 1968, Private First Class Finley and four other unit members were conducting a reconnaissance patrol approximately 45 kilometers northwest of Banmethuot, Darlac Province. They encountered a hostile force and evaded to a helicopter pickup point. The helicopter which arrived to pick up the unit had to take off due to heavy enemy fire, and PFC Finley could not be extracted. A search effort on October 23rd proved negative.

PFC Finley was initially declared missing. In November 1976, he was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information about his presence in the Vietnamese prison system nor his fate.

South Vietnam Jack D. Erskine
(1321)

On November 13, 1968, Mr. Erskine, a civilian engineer engaged in a road survey, was driving along the coastal highway south of Phan Rang in the Binh Thuan/Ninh Thuan border area when he was stopped at a Vietnamese communist ambush. Documents recovered in February 1970 were artist renderings of Mr. Erskine in captivity. In January 1975, a South Vietnamese Army Regional Force battalion found his identity card in an abandoned house.

Mr. Erskine was initially reported missing and was carried in captivity at Operation Homecoming. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any details regarding his fate.

Recent Joint Task Force Full Accounting interviews of witnesses in Vietnam has produced statements from former Vietnamese communist officials attesting to the capture of Mr. Erskine. He was reportedly killed by a prisoner escort officer while being taken to the Military Region Headquarters. The escort officer was reportedly killed in action during the war. Neither Mr. Erskine's remains nor his burial site has been located.

North Vietnam Bradley G. Cuthbert
Mark J. Ruhling
(1327)

On November 23, 1968, Captains Cuthbert and Ruhling were in an RF-4C on a reconnaissance mission of a surface-to-air missile site in North Vietnam. While over Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Captain Cuthbert's wingman observed their aircraft hit, break apart and burst into flames. No chutes were observed.

Two to three minutes later, Captain Ruhling was safely on the ground and in contact with his wingman. He was later captured alive by North Vietnamese ground forces. During his debriefing he reported seeing Captain Cuthbert alive in his chute with his hands up in the risers. Captain Cuthbert was not seen alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. On November 23, 1968 North Vietnam reported the shoot down of an RF-4C and the death of one of the aircraft's crewmen.

In August 1989, Joint Casualty Resolution Center personnel interviewed witnesses in Quang Binh Province concerning this case. They recovered the dog-tag of Captain Cuthbert from local villagers. They also received hearsay information that after landing safely on the ground, Captain Cuthbert was beaten to death by local wood cutters. JCRC was taken to the purported grave site which appeared to relate to an entirely separate air loss incident.

Captain Cuthbert was initially declared missing in action. In May 1975, he was declared dead/body not recovered. His remains have not yet been repatriated.

North Vietnam San D. Francisco
Joseph C. Morrison
(1329)

On November 25, 1968, Major Morrison and First Lieutenant Francisco were the crewmen in an F-4D on an reconnaissance escort mission over Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile fire while over the target. The crash site location was not observed, but there was a beeper. Search and rescue personnel zeroing in on the beeper were driven off by small arms fire. SAR personnel continued with a good beeper and voice communications with Major Morrison until contact was lost on the 26th. SAR forces reported two badly garbled communications which appeared to come from Lieutenant Francisco.

On November 26, 1968 the Vietnam People's Army published news which referenced the shoot down of U.S. aircraft and the capture of two U.S. pilots, although it did not specifically mention of either crewman by name.

Both crewmen were initially reported as missing in action. Lieutenant Francisco was declared dead/body not recovered in June 1978. Returning U.S. POWs did not report either one being alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system.

A Joint Casualty Resolution Center investigation in Quang Binh Province on August 9, 1989 located the crash site of their aircraft. They also received hearsay information that one or two crewmen were buried in the area.

In July and August 1991, JCRC was provided documents from Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province which identified both crewmen as casualties. There was also an indication that U.S. wartime remains had already been recovered from the area. The JCRC also visited the museum of the 280th Air Defense Regiment which contained wartime memorabilia. This included Major Morrison's U.S. Air Force issued revolver and a data plate from their aircraft which credited the 105th Air Defense Battalion, 280th Regiment, with the shoot down.

South Vietnam Tanos E. Kalil
(1375)

On February 8, 1969, Mr. Kalil and two other civilian technical representatives, James A. Newington and John J. Fritz, all under contract to the U.S. Army's 34th General Support Group, were traveling in a convoy in the area of the town of Long Thanh in Dong Nai Province. Their convoy was ambushed by Vietnamese communist forces, and the three were captured.

Mr. Kalil was listed as a prisoner at the time of Operation Homecoming. The Provisional Revolutionary Government reported he had died in captivity on June 13, 1969. His remains have not yet been repatriated.

Mr. Newington and Mr. Fritz returned alive from captivity. They reported that Mr. Kalil was extremely ill and incoherent in June 1969 as a result of a kidney problem. On June 10, he was given four injections by camp staff; it appeared that he died after those injections. He was removed from the prison. Guards later returned and removed all Mr. Kalil's belongings. They said he was merely being taken to a hospital and was not dead.

North Vietnam John M. Brucher
(1388)

Captain Brucher was the pilot of an F-105, one in a flight of two aircraft under the control of a forward air controller in Laos and in the area of the Ban Karai Pass. Captain Brucher's aircraft rolled in on the target and released his ordnance. On pull out from the attack, two fireballs came from the rear of his aircraft. His bombs hit the target area, exploded, and approximately two seconds later his own aircraft impacted in the ground and exploded.

Fifteen seconds later a forward air controller observed a good parachute, heard a good beeper, and established radio contact with Captain Brucher who had a dislocated shoulder and was suspended in a tree unable to free himself. His location was plotted to be in Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province.

Hostile ground fire and darkness suspended the search and rescue effort until the next day, February 19th. His parachute was located, but it appeared slack, and no radio contact was made.

Captain Brucher was declared missing in action. On February 19th, a Vietnam People's Army unit reported this incident which occurred in the area of Commo-Liaison Station T-6, Route 20, and Binh Tram 14, Group 559 to Military Region 4. In 1972, Secretary of Defense Laird referenced Captain Brucher's case as one of 14 cases which the U.S. called on the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to account for because it was known he had been captured. In fact, there was no hard evidence confirming him alive in captivity.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to account for Captain Brucher. In January 1974, he was declared killed in action/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In August 1989, a joint team of U.S. and Vietnamese investigators visited the area of Captain Brucher's loss but were neither able to locate his crash site nor witnesses to his incident of loss. During a January 1991 visit, a joint team was told that Vietnamese officials had recovered seven sets of U.S. remains from the Ban Karai Pass area during the 1970s.

South Vietnam John T. McDonnell
(1402)

On March 6, 1969, Captain McDonnell was the pilot of an AH-1G Cobra helicopter hit and downed by hostile fire in Thua Thien Province. His crew member, a First Lieutenant, was rescued alive on March 7 but was unable to provide any information on the fate of Captain McDonnell. A search mission was also unsuccessful.

Captain McDonnell was declared missing and, in February 1977, was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to shed any light on his fate.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam during January 1991 interviewed witnesses who described the capture of an American pilot in the area where Captain McDonnell disappeared. They reported he had a broken and bleeding arm when taken prisoner and brought to a People's Army of Vietnam regimental headquarters which received instructions to transport him to the Tri Thien Hue Military Region Headquarters. He died en route, was buried, and the U.S. field team was shown his purported burial site. The site was excavated but no remains were located.

South Vietnam Charles V. Newton
Charles F. Prevedel
Douglas E. Dahill
(1428)

On April 14, 1969, Specialist Fourth Class Dahill, Staff Sergeant Newton and Sergeant Prevedel, Special Force personnel from Detachment B-52, 5th Special Forces Group, were on a reconnaissance mission in Quang Nam Province. They made contact with hostile forces on April 16th. On April 17th, Dahill radioed his location at noon and reported that they were under attack and requested air extraction. There was no further contact with the team. A search of the area between April 18 and 25 failed to turn up any sign of the three missing servicemen, and they were declared missing in action. Later, a Viet Cong POW reported sighting two American POWs in Quang Nam Province in May 1969. This report was placed on the files of those in this loss incident as possibly correlating to the survival of two of the patrol members.

The three missing Green Berets were not accounted for during Operation Homecoming. In September 1978 they were declared killed in action/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In March 1991, Vietnam returned one tooth, uniform parts and a small quantity of human remains that were purportedly associated with the three missing servicemen. A review board determined that the limited quantity of material could not conclude any correlation to the missing servicemen.

South Vietnam Donald L. Sparks
(1456)

On June 17, 1969, Private First Class Sparks, a member of the Americal Division, was with his platoon when it was ambushed in Central Vietnam. He fell to the ground wounded. Reports were received that he had been captured, and, in May 1970, a letter of his was located which had been written after capture. He was reclassified as a POW. A wartime report from a South Vietnamese soldier described the death of an American named "Don" held with him at a POW camp in 1971.

PFC Sparks was not accounted-for during Operation Homecoming, and other U.S. POWs were unable to confirm his fate. In November 1979, he was declared dead/body not recovered.

In April 1989, U.S. investigators interviewed witnesses in Vietnam who described the evacuation by elements of the 31st Regiment of an American POW. This information was correlated to PFC Sparks. In August 1990, a U.S. team received additional information from witnesses about the capture of an American by the Vietnam People's Army 31st Regiment, 2nd Division which was again correlated to PFC Sparks. In January 1992, a U.S. field team in Vietnam interviewed an individual that described an American POW with a leg wound in Quang Tin Province. This case is still under active investigation.

South Vietnam Gary B. Scull
(1572)

On March 12, 1970, Second Lieutenant Scull was an advisor serving with a South Vietnamese battalion at a bridge outpost in Quang Tri Province. Their position came under heavy attack, and the bunker in which he was located appeared to have partially collapsed. When the bunker was recaptured and dug out, there was no sign of Lieutenant Scull.

Lieutenant Scull was not reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system. He was initially declared missing and, after the end of hostilities, was declared dead/body not recovered.

In December 1974, a former soldier of the Vietnam People's Army reported seeing an American POW in June 1971. The American had been captured by elements of the 52nd Regiment, 320th Division, in Quang Tri Province. He was being taken to the B-5 Front Headquarters. This report possibly correlates to Lieutenant Scull. An account of Vietnam People's Army operations published in North Vietnam after 1975 included a wartime photograph which appeared to be taken from the vantage point of the bunker where Lieutenant Scull was last seen.

A U.S. field team recently visited the area where Lieutenant Scull was last seen in his bunker. They excavated a shallow grave and recovered a small amount of human remains. They were unable to locate any witnesses to the engagement.

South Vietnam Eugene L. Wheeler
(1598)

On April 21, 1970, Major Wheeler and Captain Charles E. Hatch were the crewmen in an OV-10A on a reconnaissance mission over South Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile ant-aircraft fire and crashed in Quang Nam Province. Both airmen were able to exit their aircraft and landed alive on the ground. Captain Hatch was in contact by radio with search and rescue forces. The next morning, Captain Hatch reported that Vietnam People's Army forces were closing in on Major Wheeler's position. He then heard automatic weapons firing, the sound of pistol shots and then had no further contact with Major Wheeler.

Captain Hatch was rescued alive, and Major Wheeler was declared missing in action. He was not accounted for during Operation Homecoming and was later declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In April 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam located a member of the militia unit which claimed it shot down the aircraft associated with this loss incident. The witness stated he heard that Vietnam People's Army forces had shot and killed the pilot who, at the time, was resisting capture. The team received hearsay information the pilot was buried nearby, but the information did not appear to be credible. U.S. investigators also received information on the location of the crash site and confirmed its location after receiving a data plate from the aircraft.

South Vietnam James M. Rozo
Robert P. Phillips
Joe P. Pederson
(1639)

On June 23, 1970, Sergeant First Class Joe P. Pederson, Private Robert P. Phillips and Specialist Fourth Class Rozo, members of the 595th Signal Company, departed the town of Lai Khe to drive to Phuoc Vinh. They never arrived at their intended destination and were declared missing. Information culled from enemy POWs during the war claimed that two individuals were captured alive during the ambush of their vehicle. Additional information was received that the two were initially taken to the Sub-Region 5 Headquarters and were then taken in the direction of Cambodia. Other information alleged they were in a prison from which they attempted to escape, resulting in one of them being killed and the other successfully escaping.

Rozo, Phillips and Pederson were all listed as POW at the end of Operation Homecoming. They were later declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their fate.

The Joint Casualty Resolution Center field investigators in Vietnam have located witnesses to the imprisonment of the three Americans. Two were in captivity when they reportedly attempted to escape from a jungle prison and were killed by mines around the prison.

South Vietnam Bernard H. Plassmeyer
(1660)

On September 11, 1970, Plassmeyer was the pilot of an A-4E on a support mission near the A Shau Valley, Thua Thien Province. It appeared that his aircraft was downed by hostile groundfire and crashed in the target area. There was no evidence of a parachute, and no beeper signal was heard. A later search located the wreckage and from its condition determined that Plassmeyer's aircraft had disintegrated upon impact. That same day, a forward air controller saw a parachute and torso harness in some nearby trees. There appeared to be blood on the harness. Plassmeyer was initially declared missing in action.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate, and he was later declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In March 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam located the crash site associated with this incident. They were unable to locate any witnesses to the shoot down and could not locate any remains. However, they did locate fragments of the aircraft's ejection seat and a face piece which indicated the pilot did not eject from the aircraft prior to impact.

South Vietnam Douglas F. Strait
(1668)

On October 18, 1970, Specialist Fourth Class Strait and two others were in an OH-6A observation helicopter on a flight to Phuoc Vinh Province. Their helicopter was hit by hostile groundfire and crashed 28 kilometers northeast of Tan Uyen. The remains of two of the crewmen were later recovered as well as three crew helmets. One was badly burned, one was destroyed and one was undamaged. There were ground signs suggested the third crewman may have been captured.

Specialist Straight was initially declared missing. In November 1975, he was declared dead/body not recovered. He was not reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

In 1983, U.S. intelligence received information about the crash site of a U.S. aircraft and buried remains in the where area Specialist Strait was lost, but this report could not be correlated specifically to Specialist Strait.

South Vietnam Clive G. Jeffs
(1723)

On March 12, 1971, First Lieutenant Jeffs was the pilot of an F-100D, one of two aircraft on a combat mission over Darlac Province. His engine flamed out, and he was forced to eject. Other aircraft heard a good beeper but could not establish voice contact with Lieutenant Jeffs. A search and rescue effort for ten days did not locate any sign of him, and he was declared missing in action.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on Lieutenant Jeff's eventual fate. He was later declared killed in action/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In August 1974, an F0199 crash site was located in Kron Bong District. From all available evidence, the pilot had ejected from the aircraft prior to its crash, and the site appeared to correlate to Lieutenant Jeff's crash site. There was no sign of any remains at the crash site.

In December 1990, U.S. investigators in Vietnam visited Kron Bong District. They interviewed witnesses who reported finding a parachute they believed had belonged to the pilot. The team was unable to obtain any information on the pilot's fate.

\South Vietnam David P. Soyland
(1747)

On May 17, 1971, Warrant Officer Soyland was the aircraft commander of an UH-1H extracting a reconnaissance team from Quang Tri Province. The helicopter took hostile fire and began to turn over in the air as a rocket propelled grenade round severed the tail boom. A recovery team deployed in the area on May 18th located two crew members alive and recovered remains associated with the aircraft's pilot, Warrant Officer Pearce. The search and rescue forces did hear a loud beeper and saw a man in a white T-shirt running along a ridge line. They lost contact with him. The search continued through May 27th but was unable to locate Warrant Officer Soyland.

Enemy documents captured later that were dated May 1971 indicated a Vietnam People's Army unit had captured one American. The date and the circumstances did not permit a specific correlation to Warrant Officer Soyland.

Warrant Officer Soyland was declared missing in action. He was not reported in the Vietnamese prison system by returning U.S. POWs and, after hostilities ended, was declared dead/body not recovered.

South Vietnam Danny D. Entrican
(1748)

On May 8, 1971, First Lieutenant Entrican was the team leader of a long range reconnaissance team on a mission in Thua Thien Province. His team was attacked by hostile forces at which time team members became separated. Entrican was last seen attempting to evade and was apparently wounded. A search and rescue effort was unable to locate him.

Vietnam People's Army documents captured after Lieutenant Entrican was declared missing stated a unit based in Savannakhet Province, Laos had captured an American in May 1971. Due to several losses in this general area during the month of May, this report could not be specifically correlated to Lieutenant Entrican. In June 1973, a Vietnam People's Army soldier reported observing an American First Lieutenant captured in May 1971 at a radio station in South Vietnam. This report was placed in Lieutenant Entrican's file as a possible correlation to him.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide information about Entrican being alive in the Vietnamese prison system. After the end of hostilities he was declared dead/body not recovered.

South Vietnam Madison A. Strohlein
(1756)

On June 22, 1971, Staff Sergeant Strohlein and three others were parachuted into Quang Nam Province. Sergeant Strohlein radioed after landing that he was injured and requested medical evacuation. Near noon on June 22nd, hostile forces attacked the team, and Sergeant Strohlein's radio went silent. A search and rescue effort in the area the following day found weapons and evidence of a firefight, but there was no sign of Sergeant Strohlein.

Sergeant Strohlein was initially declared missing and, in October 1974, was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information about him.

In August 1990, a U.S. field team traveled to Hien District, the area Sergeant Strohlein was declared missing. They interviewed witnesses who described an engagement and provided the team with a bone fragment which was determined to be non-human. In July 1991, a further trip back to the area led to an interview with local residents who described a large engagement between a local guerilla unit and a joint U.S./Vietnamese unit. One American was said to have been shot and killed during the engagement. This particular engagement could not be correlated specifically to the loss incident of Sergeant Strohlein due to the absence of any large Vietnamese force with him.

South Vietnam James F. Worth
(1810)

On April 1, 1972, Corporal Worth was the naval member of a gunfire liaison team in Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province. This incident coincided with the launching of the Spring 1972 offensive by the Vietnam People's Army.

Corporal Worth's team was hit by a heavy ground attack and was forced to withdraw. At that point, Corporal Worth was determined to be missing. On the afternoon of April 2nd, Corporal Worth came up on his radio with a message that he was on his way overland to Dong Ha. He never arrived.

Corporal Worth was initially declared missing and, in December 1976, was declared dead/body not recovered. He was never reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

North Vietnam Thomas E. Dunlop
(1816)

On April 6, 1972, Commander Dunlop was flying an A-7E, one in a flight of two aircraft. His wingman observed Dunlop's aircraft being hit by a surface-to-air missile and breaking apart, the wreckage landing in an area approximately 14 kilometers south of the coastal town of Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province. There was no chute or beeper. His seat was found two days later.

In 1975, a member of the Vietnam People's Army reported that on April 6, 1972 he observed an American airman being captured after landing in Quang Binh Province. The location and the date closely correlated to Commander Dunlop's shoot down and was the only aircraft downed that day in Quang Binh Province.

Commander Dunlop was initially declared missing and, in April 1973, was declared dead/body not recovered. He was not reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system.

South Vietnam Bruce C. Walker
Larry W. Potts
(1820)

On April 7, 1972, Lieutenant Walker took off in an OV-10 from Da Nang Air Base and flew north to Hue City and picked up Lieutenant Potts, a naval artillery observer, to coordinate naval gunfire on hostile ground targets in the area south of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. A forward air controller in the target area received a radio report from Lieutenant Walker confirming that the OV-10 had been shot down. Search and rescue forces located two parachutes on the ground and established radio contact with both Lieutenants, but hostile ground fire drove off the SAR aircraft. Visual and radio contact was maintained with Lieutenant Walker, but all contact was lost with Lieutenant Potts.

Lieutenant Walker was able to use his signal mirror over the next several days to help SAR forces pinpoint his location as he directed air strikes against camouflaged enemy ground targets. Finally, on April 15th, a survival kit was dropped to him. The SAR forces worked with Lieutenant Walker to have him move toward the east, and, on April 18th, they determined his eastward movement was much quicker than anticipated. That morning Lieutenant Walker radioed that he had encountered hostile forces and, at 0718 hours, was receiving enemy fire. This was the last transmission from him.

An F-4 dropped ordnance around his position and this caused hostile ground forces to partially withdraw. When last seen, Lieutenant Walker was lying in a ditch within 50 yards of 20 enemy soldiers coming after him. Shortly after that, two U.S. officers reported that hostile forces came upon Lieutenant Walker's radio and that there was whistling, yelling, and laughing before the radio transmission was apparently turned off.

On April 7th, a Vietnamese unit reported from Quang Binh that two pilots had been captured the previous night. Others reports on April 7th mentioned one aircraft shot down, but there was no mentioned of the fate of the crew. Also on April 6th, Radio Hanoi broadcast a report about the downing of aircraft in Quang Binh and the Vinh Linh Special Zone, but there was no reference to the capture of any aircrews.

In April 1972, a People's Army of Vietnam soldier reported seeing an American POW approximately seven kilometers north of Lieutenant Walker's last known location. He was reportedly one of two crewmen from an OV-10 downed by a heat seeking surface-to-air missile on April 1, 1972. A second crewmen, an African-American, was killed trying to escape. Other reports of the sighting of an African-American who was wounded, captured alive, and died circa July 1972 in prison camp K-4 in Quang Binh Province were received.

A joint U.S./Vietnamese investigation was conducted in Gio LinDistrict, Quang Tri Province in July 1990. A reported grave site was excavated, but no remains were recovered. Witnesses stated the remains were exhumed several years after they were first buried. The team was unable to visit the area of the former K-4 prison camp in Quang Binh Province.

Lieutenants Walker and Potts were declared missing, and returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide information on their precise fate. By January 1980, both had been declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

South Vietnam Larry K. Morrow
(1868)

On May 29, 1972, Specialist Fourth Class Morrow was the gunner/observer on an OH-6A helicopter conducting a visual reconnaissance in Kontum Province. Enemy ground fire hit his aircraft causing it to crash and burn. On June 39, 1972, South Vietnamese Army forces searched the crash site and recovered Specialist Morrow's flight helmet and the skeletal remains of other crewmen who perished in the incident. The crash site area was later struck by a B-52 airstrike.

Specialist Morrow was initially declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate. In November 1973, he was declared killed in action/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

On December 21, 1973, a Vietnam People's Army defector reported having seen an American POW in June 1972 at a location approximately 55 kilometers from the crash site. This report was placed in Specialist Morrow's file. In August 1974, the crash site was searched again, but no further human remains were recovered. In August 1983, U.S. intelligence received information concerning the downing of a U.S. aircraft in the general area of Specialist Morrow's loss incident. One airman was reportedly killed and one captured. This report was also placed in Specialist Morrow's file. In December 1990, U.S. investigators in Vietnam visited the area of this loss incident. They interviewed a former Vietnam People's Army officer with knowledge of the area and some responsibility for U.S. POWs held in the area. Although they had information on some U.S. POWs, they had no information about Specialist Morrow, including an indication as to whether or not he had been captured alive.

South Vietnam Daniel Borah
(1927)

On September 24, 1972, Lieutenant Borah was the pilot of an aircraft on a strike mission against People's Army of Vietnam troops west of Quang Tri City, Quang Tri Province. Barrage fire from 37mm anti-aircraft guns in the area of his position hit his aircraft, and it burst into flame. He was seen ejecting from the aircraft and was in voice contact while coming down in his parachute. Then, several short beeper bursts were heard, but there was no further voice contact with him. He landed in trees and his parachute was observed being pulled down through the foliage.

On September 24, 1972, a People's Army of Vietnam unit reported that it shot down an A-7 and captured the live pilot. This report was believed to be evidence of his capture, and Lieutenant Borah was subsequently reclassified from missing in action to POW.

On September 24, 1972, a People's Army unit also reported firing at and hitting an F-4B. In another report, one F-4 was reportedly downed with one pilot captured and one killed. On September 24th, Radio Hanoi reported its forces in the Vinh Linh Zone area of the Demilitarized Zone had shot down an F-4.

Lieutenant Borah was not accounted for during Operation Homecoming, and returning POWs had no information on his precise fate. In July 1977, he was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

A January 1989 U.S./Vietnamese joint investigation in the area of Lieutenant Borah's crash site did locate aircraft wreckage, but the specialists were unable to conclude the specific type of aircraft to which the material pertained and were unable to correlate it to Lieutenant Borah's loss incident. Local witnesses with information about the fate of Lieutenant Borah could not be located.

South Vietnam Mark A. Peterson
George W. Morris, Jr.
(1981)

On January 27, 1973, Lieutenant Peterson and Captain Morris were the crew in an OV-10A from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand on a forward air control mission against a target in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their aircraft was apparently hit by a shoulder fired SA-7 ground-to-air missile and went into a spin, and both crewmen ejected. A witness heard the transmission, "I'm going to be captured," and identified it as Lieutenant Peterson's voice. Another witness observed hostile forces on the ground gathering up the airmen's parachutes approximately 25 to 35 minutes after they were shot down. A search and rescue force was unable later to locate them.

At the time of their shoot down, a Vietnamese People's Army unit radioed that it had shot down one OV-10 and four F-4 at approximately nine o'clock on the morning of January 27, 1973. Another radio report confirmed the shoot down of an OV-10 on January 26th. These reports were correlated to the loss of this crew and the loss of Commander's Hall and Kientzler in an F-4D which occurred in the same area. Upon his release from captivity, Commander Kientzler stated that he saw the OV-10 get hit and the crewmen eject. He also saw an estimated group of 30 Vietnam People's Army soldiers on the ground firing their automatic weapons at Lieutenant Peterson and Captain Morris as they were coming down in their parachutes. Commander Hall was not accounted-for, and Commander Kientzler was told in Hanoi by his captors that he was the last (live) U.S. POW of the war.

Peterson and Morris were declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no direct knowledge of their precise fate. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In March 1973, U.S. intelligence received information from a former People's Army soldier describing a crash site in the area where the aircraft of Peterson and Morris crashed. The wreckage was said to be of an aircraft shot down three days before the cease-fire. Two U.S. airmen were buried in graves at that location. In another report in 1974, one U.S. pilot was reported to have been captured alive and seen in the area on January 30th, and the second pilot was reportedly killed. Both reports were placed in the files of those associated with this loss incident.

The area of this loss location was visited by a joint U.S./Vietnamese team in May 1990. Witnesses interviewed stated that both pilots had landed safely and had engaged surrounding Vietnam People's Army forces. Both pilots were killed in the exchange of fire. One witnesses reported two bodies were seen on the ground where the two pilots had landed.

South Vietnam Harley H. Hall
(1982)

On January 27, 1973, Commander Hall and fellow crewman Lieutenant Commander Phillip A. Kientzler were crewmen in an F-4J in a flight of aircraft attacking People's Army of Vietnam supplies and moving vehicles in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile anti-aircraft fire, and both ejected. Other aircraft heard beeper signals but were unable to establish voice contact with either crewmen.

Commander Kientzler was captured by People's Army of Vietnam forces and was repatriated during Operation Homecoming. During his post-release debriefing he stated that both he and Commander Hall were fired upon by ground forces while they were still coming down in their parachutes. He was wounded in the leg. He did not hear a beeper from Commander Hall after landing. After capture, he was told by a People's Army guard that Commander Hall was dead.

Both crewmen were initially reported as missing in action, and both were later reclassified as prisoner. Commander Hall was subsequently declared dead/body not recovered.

During 1989, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center visited the area of Commander Hall's shoot down and received information from witnesses that he was seen dead on the ground with a fresh wound in the right thigh. He was reportedly buried in the area, and his grave has reportedly been dug up on several occasions by persons searching for his remains. No evidence of his remains could be found at his purported grave site.

South Vietnam Clemie McKinney
Joseph G. Greenleaf
(2044)

On April 14, 1972, McKinney and Greenleaf were the crewmen of an F-4, one in a flight of three aircraft on a combat mission over Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile anti-aircraft fire and crashed approximately twenty-five kilometers northwest of Quang Tri City.

Both individuals were initially reported missing and, after the war, were declared dead/body not recovered. Neither individual was reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system.

McKinney's remains were repatriated on August 14, 1985. Vietnam reported that he died in November 1972.

In July and August 1991, a Defense Intelligence Agency officer with a field team in Vietnam inspected documents and artifacts at the museum belonging to the People's Army of Vietnam 280th Air Defense Regiment. Included in the war memorabilia was a shovel captured from an unidentified U.S. pilot by elements of the 103rd Battalion, 280th Regiment. The date and location correspond to this loss incident. This case still continues under active investigation.