Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs:
Smith 324 Compelling Cases - North Vietnam
 
 
Senator SMITH's 324 Compelling Cases

NORTH VIETNAM

Edward A. Dickson
(0053)

On February 7, 1965, Lieutenant Dickson was the pilot of an A-4 on a combat mission over Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province. His aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire and he headed out to sea. He was observed by other U.S. aircraft crew to eject from his aircraft but his parachute was not seen to deploy. He was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

On March 17, 1968, an issue of the Vietnam Courier carried a photograph of a beach grave site reportedly containing the remains of Lieutenant Dickson. A wartime Associated Press wirephoto depicted a body reportedly of Lieutenant Dickson and listed personal artifacts of his which had been recovered. A number of U.S. POWs returning from captivity in North Vietnam described a North Vietnamese movie they had been shown which contained a sequence reportedly showing the recovery of Lieutenant Dickson's remains from the water and the grave site where his remains were interred.

In August 1985, Vietnam turned over Lieutenant Dickson's Geneva Convention Card and Identity Card. In January 1991, a U.S. team in Vietnam examined a document listing the wartime combat operations in Bo Trach District which referred to the downing of a U.S. aircraft with one airman on February 7, 1965.

In January and July 1991, a U.S. team obtained substantially similar information from the People's Army of Vietnam Military Region IV museum.

Walter Kosko
(0114)

On July 27, 1965, Captain Kosko was the pilot of an F-105D, one in a flight of four aircraft from Takhli Air Base, Thailand, on a bombing mission over Phu Tho Province, North Vietnam. There was intense anti-aircraft fire directed at the flight. Following an explosion near his aircraft, Captain Kosko reported he was hit and there was smoke in his cockpit. He later ejected and other flight members observed a fully deployed chute and survival gear. There was no beeper or voice contact with him after his ejection.

Captain Kosko was seen to land in the Black River. A search of the river disclosed an inflated life raft which was empty and no evidence of the pilot. On July 27th and 28th, Radio Hanoi reported eight U.S. aircraft shot down on July 27, 1965 and stated that pilots had been taken into custody from shoot downs in Ha Tay Province. Captain Kosko landed on the border of Ha Tay and Vinh Phu.

Captain Kosko was initially declared missing. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information concerning his fate. In November 1977 he was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam in 1988 and 1990 visited the area of Captain Kosko's loss. Vietnamese officials stated that Captain Kosko's life raft was recovered during the war. One witness stated it was used as a fishing boat in the local river until it deteriorated and was discarded. U.S. investigators were told Captain Kosko had indeed landed in the Black River, had never reappeared after going under water, and they believed he drowned in the river.

Fredric M. Mellor
(0124)

On August 13, 1965, Captain Mellor was the pilot of an RF-101 and the flight leader in a flight of two aircraft over Son La Province.

His aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire, his radio became inoperative and the second aircraft could see a fire in the nose of Captain Mellor's aircraft but he maintained control of it. With the second aircraft now in the lead, Captain Mellor suddenly disappeared from sight.

Another aircraft arrived on the scene, an RF-101, and the new aircraft was able to establish radio and beeper contact with Captain Mellor who had parachuted out and was alive on the ground. Rescue helicopters were called but when they arrived later they were unable to establish contact with and locate Captain Mellor.

Captain Mellor was reported missing and in December 1977 was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on his precise fate.

In February 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam interviewed witnesses to the downing of a U.S. aircraft corresponding to the loss incident of Captain Mellor. The witnesses stated that the pilot ejected safely and was able to evade for half a day. Late on the afternoon he was located by local militia. The pilot opened fire on them and they returned the fire, wounding the pilot. He was captured but later died, apparently of blood loss. No remains could be located by the U.S. investigators.

James Branch
Eugene M. Jewell
(0135)

On September 4, 1965 Captain Branch and First Lieutenant Jewell were the crew in an F-4C aircraft on a strafing mission in Nghe An Province. They had just completed a strike on the target when another air crew observed a secondary explosion but later determined it was Captain Branch's aircraft which had crashed. No survivors were seen, no parachutes were seen and no beepers were heard. Returning U.S. POWs heard the pilot was killed when he flew into a hill. His wingman believed no possibility of survival.

Both airmen were initially declared missing. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered.

Charles J. Scharf
Martin J. Massucci
(0158)

On October 1, 1965, First Lieutenant Massucci and Captain Scharf were the crew of an F-4C, one in a flight of three aircraft on a strike mission over Son La Province, North Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile fire. After jettisoning their external tanks, one member of the flight reported seeing one fully deployed chute with the jettisoned material. There was no electronic contact with the crew. Both crewmen were declared missing.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their precise fate. Lieutenant Massucci was declared dead/body not recovered in February 1978. Captain Scharf was declared dead/body not recovered in January 1978.

In January 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam interviewed several witnesses to the crash of a U.S. aircraft which closely corresponded to this loss incident. Several witnesses stated that they observed two bodies at the crash site and had no information that one might have survived the crash. Information from witnesses conflicts with information from U.S. personnel at the time of their loss who reported observing one fully deployed parachute.

Dean A. Pogreba
(0162)

On October 5, 1965, Major Pogreba was the pilot of an F-105D, the lead in a flight of four aircraft on a strike mission over North Vietnam. There was heavy anti-aircraft fire over the target area in Lang Son Province and rain showers in the target area intermittently obscured it.

After completing his bombing mission through dense cloud cover, Major Pogreba was last seen rolling off the target, still an area of heavy anti-aircraft fire and from which three surface to air missiles were launched. He radioed he was departing the area on the prebriefed exit route. The members of the flight also used the prebriefed exit route and maintained radio silence until reaching the coast. Major Pogreba never arrived and was declared missing. Visual and electronic search failed to disclose any evidence of either him or his aircraft.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on Major Pogreba's precise fate. However, one returnee offered his view that while in prison in North Vietnam, "it was thought that Major Pogreba was down in China" but no one knew the origin of this story. Major Pogreba was not identified alive in captivity by any returning U.S. POW and in November 1977 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In February 1991, retired U.S. General Tom Lacy told Major Pogreba's next of kin that he had spoken with Major Pogreba and knew where he was. General Lacy said Major Pogreba was downed over China and he, General Lacy, had made two failed attempts to rescue him.

According to a next of kin, the People's Republic of China stated that an F-105 had strayed into Chinese air space. The available record documents that on October 6, 1965, Radios Hanoi and Beijing reported U.S. aircraft were shot down in certain areas of North Vietnam and pilots captured on October 5th. No names of any captured pilots were given and the areas in which aircraft were reported shot down did not correlate to an area where Major Pogreba was operating when declared missing.

On October 5, 1965, the People's Republic of China announced that four U.S. aircraft had intruded into Chinese air space over Kwangsi Province on that date and one had been shot down. There was no mention of the type of aircraft involved. Although Pogreba was last known to be approximately 40 nautical miles from Kwangsi Province and was lost on that date, two other aircraft were also shot down on October 5th, crashed inside North Vietnam and approximately 30 miles from China, and in the general area where Pogreba was lost which was not known to be in Chinese air space.

In 1985, China acknowledged it had deployed over 300,000 of its forces in northern Vietnam during the war years, many of whom were in the northern tier of provinces which included the area where Pogreba was lost. Chinese units included various anti-aircraft forces.

George C. McCleary
(0183)

On November 5, 1965, Lieutenant Colonel McCleary was the pilot of an F-105, the flight leader of a flight of four aircraft on a SAM suppression mission over North Vietnam. A surface to air missile was launched and exploded approximately 20 feet from his aircraft. His aircraft burst into flames, pitched nose up, and began shedding pieces. The canopy was observed to separate before the aircraft disappeared into overcast tail first but his wingman couldn't determine if he was able to eject from the aircraft. No search and rescue mission was possible due to the extremely hostile ground environment and Colonel McCleary was declared missing in action.

In 1968 a People's Army of Vietnam soldier provided information on U.S. POWs at a Hanoi prison correlating to Hoa Lo Prison, also called the Hanoi Hilton. He identified a photograph of Colonel McCleary as similar to that of an American at Hoa Lo Prison. In 1977 the Defense Intelligence Agency reversed its previous correlation and concluded the soldier's report was erroneous.

In August 1972, DIA received a report about an F-105 shot down by a MIG-17 circa October 1966. One good parachute was seen. This report was placed in Colonel McCleary's file.

Two returnees identified LTC McCleary as one of the men in a photograph of U.S. POWs at the 1969 Christmas event staged for U.S. POWs. DIA later positively identified everyone at the event and concluded the returnee's initial conclusions were a case of misidentification.

In November 1973, Colonel McCleary was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. In July 1988, Vietnam turned over remains at Hanoi which it stated were those of Colonel McCleary. In May 1991 they were identified as his.

George I. Mims, Jr.
(0213)

On December 20, 1965, First Lieutenant Mims and Captain Robert D. Jeffery were the crewmen of an F-4C in a flight of four F-4 on a combat mission over North Vietnam. While over Ha Bac Province, their aircraft was hit by antiaircraft fire, turned into a fireball and fell apart. Captain Jeffery bailed out, landed safely, was captured and was repatriated during Operation Homecoming. During his post-release interviews, Captain Jeffery stated he never saw or heard anything about Lieutenant Mims from the time he, Jeffery, was captured until he was released;however, based on their loss incident he believed Lieutenant Mims may have been killed after ejecting at a low altitude.

Lieutenant Mims was initially declared missing in action. He was later declared dead/body not recovered.

The Joint Casualty Resolution Center has investigated this incident and determined that Lieutenant Mims's aircraft crashed in Huu Lung District, Lang Son Province, and not Ha Bac Province as initially believed. Witnesses interviewed to date have stated that one crewman was killed in the crash of an aircraft which correlates to this incident. The case is still undergoing field investigation in Vietnam. On December 20, 1965, First Lieutenant Mims and Captain Robert D. Jeffery were the crewmen of an F-4C in a flight of four F-4 on a combat mission over North Vietnam. While over Ha Bac Province, their aircraft was hit by antiaircraft fire, turned into a fireball and fell apart. Captain Jeffery bailed out, landed safely, was captured and was repatriated during Operation Homecoming. During his post-release interviews, Captain Jeffery stated he never saw or heard anything about Lieutenant Mims from the time he, Jeffery, was captured until he was released;however, based on their loss incident he believed Lieutenant Mims may have been killed after ejecting at a low altitude.

Lieutenant Mims was initially declared missing in action. He was later declared dead/body not recovered.

The Joint Casualty Resolution Center has investigated this incident and determined that Lieutenant Mims's aircraft crashed in Huu Lung District, Lang Son Province, and not Ha Bac Province as initially believed. Witnesses interviewed to date have stated that one crewman was killed in the crash of an aircraft which correlates to this incident. The case is still undergoing field investigation in Vietnam.

Peter J. Stewart
Martin R. Scott
(0274)

On March 15, 1966, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart and Captain Scott were the crew in an F-4C, one in a flight of two over Lai Chau Province. Approaching the target area, their flight leader spotted two trucks. Fifteen seconds later there was a large orange explosion on the ground and their was no response from Colonel Stewart's aircraft. An aerial search of the area failed to locate any survivors and there were no parachute or beepers. However, a red double star flare was seen approximately two minutes after the crash but the wingman was unable to investigate it thoroughly due to extremely hostile ground fire. No SAR mission was possible due to the extremely hostile conditions in the crash site area. Both airmen were declared missing in action.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of the two airmen. Colonel Stewart and Captain Scott were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death in January 1980 and January 1979, respectively.

Everett A. McPherson
Brent E. Davis
(0279)

On March 18, 1966, First Lieutenants McPherson and Davis were the crew on board an EF-10B, one in a flight of two aircraft on an electronic counter-measures mission in support of an air strike approximately 10 miles west of Thanh Hoa City, Thanh Hoa Province. Their flight received 85mm anti-aircraft fire during the mission. There was an explosion in their aircraft while at an altitude of 26,000 feet and over neighboring Nghe An Province. They were believed to have been hit and downed by enemy surface to air missile. A SAR mission over the area produced negative results.

Both airmen were initially declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their fate. Both airmen were initially declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In December 1988, Vietnamese officials acknowledge having knowledge of their loss incident.

William R. Tromp
(0304)

On April 17, 1966, Lieutenant JG Tromp was the pilot of an A-1E from the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk on a night armed reconnaissance mission over the coastal area of southern North Vietnam. A surface-to-air missile was launched at their flight of two aircraft while over Ha Tinh Province. Tromp's aircraft was last reported crossing the coastline heading out to sea and descending in altitude. His last transmission was, "I have some kind of energ...," ending in mid- sentence. An air and sea search proved negative. He was declared missing in action. Radio Hanoi later announced the shoot down of several aircraft on April 17th and stated that several pilots were captured in Quang Binh and Ha Tinh Provinces. Tromp's aircraft was the only one lost that day.

July through September 1973, Lieutenant Tromp's under water crash site was searched by U.S. forces testing the recoverability of remains of U.S. airmen lost on over water losses. No remains could be located at his crash site. In July 1974, he was declared dead, remains unrecoverable.

On December 8, 1988, U.S. investigators in Vietnam met with witnesses from the area Lieutenant Tromp had been last seen crossing the coast. They described the shoot down of one of two aircraft which corresponded to the circumstances of Tromp's loss. They stated that the aircraft crashed in the sea off the coast, there was no visible wreckage and no indication anyone had survived.

In July 1989, U.S. investigators received additional hearsay information about the same shoot down associated with Cam Xuyen District, Ha Tinh Province. A refugee source in Hong Kong reported that an aircraft had been hit by groundfire as it was descending in altitude and that it soon burst into flames. The underwater crash site was reportedly surveyed by Vietnamese salvage officials in 1987, but the wreck was not salvaged.

Lee A. Adams
(0307)

On April 19, 1966, First Lieutenant Adams was the pilot of an F- 105D, one in a flight of four on a combat mission over Quang Binh Province. Lieutenant Adams was cleared to attack two trucks on a road and made a strafing pass in a 25 degree dive angle as he fired on the target. His aircraft was observed by other flight members to crash in the area and the aircraft was completely destroyed on impact. There was no chute or beeper and no search effort was launched.

In June 1966, Lieutenant Adams was declared killed in action, body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate.

U.S. investigators recently in Vietnam obtained access to records listing wartime air defense operations in Quang Binh Province. The records of Bo Trach District recorded the reported shoot down of an F-105 in the Nam Trach area on April 18, 1966. There were no aircraft losses in the area on this date but this report was believed related to another entry on April 19th where neighboring Cu Nam militia also claimed shooting down an F-105 aircraft. These reports were believed to correlate to this loss incident.

In November 1992, U.S. investigators obtained access to wartime photographs relating to U.S. air operations in Vietnam. Including in the photographs is one identified by Vietnam as a photograph of a body identified as that of Lieutenant Adams together with aircraft wreckage.

Martin W. Steen
(0349)

On May 31, 1966, Captain Steen was the pilot of an F-105D, one in a flight of four aircraft on an armed reconnaissance mission over Van Chan District, Nghia Lo Province. He radioed he'd been hit by hostile fire while over the target, was unable to control his aircraft and was going to eject. Other flight members observed his canopy separate, saw him eject, there was a good chute, and he apparently landed in mountainous terrain along a 3000 foot ridge line.

Search and rescue forces were alerted and a pararescue specialist lowered to the area where Captain Steen's aircraft had touched down, found it snagged in the trees with the harness approximately 30 feet off the ground, with no trace of Captain Steen, and with the pararescue specialist unable to determine if the parachute reached the ground. Captain Steen was declared missing in action.

In December 1969, a People's Army of Vietnam soldier reported a U.S. pilot had been captured near Highway 6 in Son La Province and the soldier had escorted the pilot to Son La City. This report related to an incident which occurred in a neighboring province but was thought to possibly correlate to Steen for reasons which are unclear.

In February 1973, a returning U.S. POW described how, after his own capture, he'd been shown an ejection sheet and a sketch of a pilot with the name "Pheebee" followed by a five digit number. The Vietnamese captor indicated through sign language the pilot had been killed on impact. Since the eyes in the drawing were open, the returnee speculated the individual might be alive and the picture resembled Captain Steen.

No returning POWs had any information on Captain Steen's precise fate. In January 1974 he was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In December 1983, Vietnamese officials returned the military identity card of Captain Steen. Later, a next of kin became aware that a pistol and watch was available for purchase through private channels and these were believed to have belonged to Captain Steen.

In December 1990, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team visited Yen Bai Town and gained access to a Nghia Lo Province document which criticized local militia for not capturing the pilot of a downed aircraft. The location and date of the incident correlated to the loss incident of Captain Steen. Investigators interviewed witnesses who stated that two aircraft were downed on May 31st over Van Chan District and described one incident which correlated to the loss of Captain Steen. The witnesses stated that the pilot had died on May 31, 1966, but it was not until four days later that they found a decomposing body which was covered up with a parachute. The body was buried in a remote forested area and the remains were later consumed by animals.

George H. Wilkins
(0391)

On July 11, 1966, Lieutenant Commander Wilkins was the pilot of an A-4 and flight leader in a flight of two aircraft from the U.S.S. Constellation on a mission over Nghe An Province. His wingman later reported Commander Wilkins had fired 20mm cannon fire during his target run beneath flares and in an area of heavy 37mm anti- aircraft fire. His aircraft crashed into an area 25 kilometers north of the port city of Vinh, exploding into a large fireball. There was no evidence of any survivor and no electronic beeper. He was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in July 1966. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate.

In December 1988, Vietnamese officials acknowledged having some knowledge about Commander Wilkins. In December 1992, U.S. investigators in Vietnam reviewed a list of air defense operations in the People's Army of Vietnam Military Region 4. Entry 300 recorded the shoot down of an AD-4 on July 11, 1966 by elements of the 15th and 21st Battalions. One crewman died. The Joint Task Force concluded this entry may correlate to Commander Wilkins's loss incident.

Bernard Conklin
Robert E. Hoskinson
Galileo F. Bossio
Vincent A. Chiarello
John M. Mamiya
Herbert A. Smith
James S. Hall
(0407)

On July 29, 1966, an RC-47D with seven men on board and associated with the 630th Combat Support Group at Udorn Air Base, Thailand, was on an operational mission under the code name Project Dogpatch.

The aircrew radioed that it was under attack by hostile aircraft and was being forced down. It was believed last located 10-20 miles south of Sam Neua City, Sam Neua Province, Laos. An airborne search effort to locate the missing aircraft and crew proved negative and they were declared missing in action.

At the direction of the U.S. Ambassador in Vientiane, Laos, there was no report made of the full details on this mission and the evidence it was shot down by hostile MIG aircraft. At the direction of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs), basic mission information was declassified in April 1972. In January 1976 the loss location of the aircraft was changed from Laos to North Vietnam based on a reanalysis of the aircraft's flight path and all available intelligence information.

In February 1971, a former member of the Vietnam People's Army reported that MIG jet aircraft had shot down a U.S. aircraft over Mai Chau District, Hoa Binh Province, in June or July 1967. He described seeing two good parachutes and saw the pilots whom he later heard had committed suicide. U.S intelligence concluded this report might correlate to the missing RC-47D and its crew. In a later intelligence report, a source reported MIG-17 jet aircraft shot down an unidentified jet aircraft in Moc Chau District, Son La Province. One crew member, the pilot, reportedly bailed out and died the next day. Bodies of five others were located and buried. This report was placed in the file of those associated with this loss incident.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the eventual fate of the crew. After Operation Homecoming, they were declared dead body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

On March 2, 1988, Vietnam turned over identity cards of five of the missing crewmen; Bossio, Hoskinson, Conklin, DiTomasso, and Chiarello. Remains were also turned over and Vietnam linked the remains to the those whose identity cards were turned over. U.S. pathologists examined the remains and confirmed the remains returned were those of James S. Hall, Bernard Conklin, Vincent A. Chiarello, John M. Mamiya, and Herbert A. Smith. In November 1988, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team visited the area of the crash site near Route 6 in Thanh Hoa Province. Witnesses testified about bodies found in the area after the incident. One survivor suffering second degree burns was reportedly located and taken to Mai Chau district hospital where he died the following day. No evidence could be located of the crash site itself. One witness also stated five bodies of crewmen from this incident had been recovered by the Ministry of Defense five years earlier.

David J. Allinson
(0425)

On August 12, 1966, Captain Allinson was the pilot of the lead F- 105D in a flight of four aircraft on an armed reconnaissance mission over Yen Bai Province. After striking a petroleum storage area the flight leader led the flight against ground targets of opportunity on a road in the area of the strike target. During this mission Captain Allinson's aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire. He ejected from his damaged aircraft and his wingman saw him land in trees. However, there was no beeper and no voice contact with him and a 40 minute search of the area failed to locate him.

Captain Allinson was initially declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information that he was seen alive in captivity and were unable to describe his precise fate. In November 1974 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In November 1969, a People's Army of Vietnam defector selected a photograph of Captain Allinson as one of four individuals who resembled one of two American POWs brought to the Hanoi anti- aircraft headquarters. One of the individuals he identified was correlated by DIA to an American POW who returned alive. This led to identification of the second individual as an American POW who was also repatriated and neither individual was Captain Allinson.

In November 1985, Vietnam provided evidence about Captain Allinson.

During an April 1991 Congressional delegation to Vietnam headed by Senator John Kerry, the delegation received information about a wartime shoot down which might correlate to Captain Allinson's loss incident.

Hubert C. Nichols,Jr.
(0443)

On September 1, 1966, Nichols was scrambled from Thailand on a search and rescue mission over Bo Trach District, Quang Binh, the flight leader in a flight of two aircraft. While over the target area he began to receive hostile antiaircraft fire. His wingman was hit and turned back. He never saw Nichols after that point. A Navy pilot later reported observing a crashed and burning aircraft in the area Nichols was believed lost. A search and rescue mission was launched but was unable to locate any signs of life or any beeper. There was heavy antiaircraft in the area. On September 6, 1966, Radio Hanoi announced the shoot down of a number of aircraft on September 1, 1966. Only two aircraft were lost on that date, Major Nichols' aircraft and Major Norman Schmidt's aircraft. Major Schmidt was captured and died in captivity. His remains were repatriated in March 1974. Major Schmidt had been the object of Major Nichols search and rescue mission. Major Nichols was initially declared missing in action. In March 1978 he was declared dead/body not recovered. He was not confirmed alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. A U.S. team in Vietnam recently reviewed documents which recorded the shoot down of an aircraft and the apparent death of the pilot. The date and location appear to correlate to this incident. John L. Robertson
(0459)

On September 16, 1966, Major Robertson and First Lieutenant Hubert F. Buchanan were in one in a flight of four F-4C aircraft on a mission over North Vietnam. They were engaged by hostile MIG aircraft while en route to their target. Major Robertson's aircraft was last seen in an aerial engagement with a MIG by other aircraft in their flight.

First Lieutenant Buchanan was captured alive and released in March 1973. During his post-release debriefing he described how their aircraft was attacked by a MIG-17 and that he was forced to eject. He did not have contact with Major Robertson during, or after, his ejection. Other U.S. POWs reported being questioned about Major Robertson on September 17th and having been told Major Robertson was dead.

Major Robertson was in MIA status as of Operation Homecoming. In June 1978, he was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In January 1987, U.S. intelligence received a report about the wartime crash of an F-4 aircraft which appeared to correlate to this incident. One crewman was reportedly captured, and one died in the crash. From February through April 1990, U.S. field investigators in Vietnam visited Hai Hung Province and interviewed witnesses who described an aerial encounter between a U.S. jet and a MIG aircraft. One crewman ejected and was captured. The team visited the crash site and determined the aircraft's wreckage had been dug up and removed to a nearby warehouse. The team was provided a small packet of remains, allegedly from the crash site, which were determined to be non-human. Also during April 1990, Vietnam repatriated remains it identified as Major Robertson which were later determined to be the skeletal remains of a large animal (possibly a horse or cow) and a piece of non-bone material, possibly a rock.

During November and December 1991, the site was excavated and personal property of an individual, probably American, was recovered and sent for analysis. Parts of the aircraft were recovered, including a data plate, as well as possible bone material. This case continues to undergo investigation.

Clifton E. Cushman
(0471)

On September 25, 1966, Captain Cushman was the pilot of an F-105 in a flight of three aircraft on a mission over North Vietnam. His aircraft was hit by hostile fire and broke into pieces. His ejection seat appeared to come out of the debris and a beeper was heard but no chute was seen.

In April 1972 a U.S. Air Force interrogator debriefed a former member of the Vietnam People's Army who stated that he saw a pilot land in the area where Cushman was reported to have landed. The airman was bleeding heavily from a head wound. He later died and his body was buried by villagers. This report was initially correlated by the Defense Intelligence Agency to a different incident but in August 1981 was reevaluated and correlated to a sighting of Captain Cushman. Information was received by the U.S. Government that a French news agency had specifically referenced Cushman by name as having been killed but no news article with such information could ever be located.

Captain Cushman was initially reported missing in action and later declared dead/body not recovered. He was not seen alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system by returning U.S. POWs.

In November 1989 Vietnamese officials stated that Cushman died in the crash of his aircraft. In April 1992 the Joint Casualty Resolution Center heard from witnesses in Lang Son Province that Cushman died of a bullet wound after landing. His remains were buried and the burial site was later washed away.

William R. Andrews
(0482)

On October 5, 1966, Major Andrews and First Lieutenant Edward W. Garland were the crew of an F-4C, one in a flight of four F-4 providing escort to two RB-66. Their flight received warning of hostile MIG aircraft. Thirty seconds after a second such alert their aircraft was hit by hostile fire, there was a violent explosion in their tail, and their fire warning lights lit. Both crewmen ejected and two good chutes were seen prior to the aircraft's crash in Muong La District, Son La Province.

Search and rescue forces located Major Andrews standing beside his parachute on their first pass over the area. On a later pass by another aircraft he could not be located. Major Garland established radio contact with the search and rescue forces but his last transmission was "I'm hit, I'm losing consciousness."

The search and rescue forces located Lieutenant Garland and he was rescued. During his post-recovery debriefing he stated he was in contact on the ground with Major Andrews but didn't know his precise location. At one point he heard voices and the sound of small arms fire but didn't see anyone.

Following the shoot down, a People's Army of Vietnam unit reported two crewmen had bailed one and one more had been captured. In a later report, a unit stated that the captured pilot had not yet recovered and in a later report a unit stated "the pilot died." Another report on October 9th apparently referred to U.S. aircraft attacked but there was seeming confusion about how many had been captured and the condition of their health.

In July 1972, Secretary of Defense Laird referred to the case of Captain Andrews as of one 14 cases where the Defense Department knew he had been captured and North Vietnam had refused to provide any information about him.

U.S. POWs repatriated during Operation Homecoming were unable to provide any information about his precise fate. After Operation Homecoming he was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In August 1985, Vietnamese officials turned over Major Andrews' identity card to U.S. officials in Vietnam. In March 1990, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team in Son La Province investigated Major Andrews loss incident. They received information that the pilot was killed during a rescue attempt and documents about the incident were at the Son La Museum. In December 1990, Vietnam repatriated remains said to be of Major Andrews. They were returned to the U.S. and identified as his remains.

Harry S. Edwards
(0500)

On October 29, 1966, Lieutenant JG Edwards was the pilot of an A-4C when he was hit by hostile antiaircraft fire and his aircraft crashed southwest of Nam Dinh City, Ha Nam Ninh Province. There was no chute sighted and no beeper heard. He was initially declared missing in action. He was declared dead/body not recovered, in April 1974.

Wartime information was received about a crash in this area from which remains were removed to Vu Ban District. A Vietnam People's Army defector reported hearing from a woman with an antiaircraft unit at the Chuoi Bridge. She described that in February 1967 a U.S. aircraft was shot down and crashed. They were only able to find the pilot's legs. This report was believed to be extremely similar to the loss of Lieutenant Edwards.

In November 1988, Vietnam repatriated remains that it asserted were those of Lieutenant Edwards. In February 1989, those remains were proven to be those of Commander Charles E. Barrett.

Burris N. Begley
(0542)

On December 5, 1966, Major Begley was the pilot of an F-105, one in a flight of four aircraft on a combat mission over North Vietnam. Their flight was attacked by hostile MIG-17 aircraft while en route to the targets and Major Begley's aircraft was hit by hostile fire.

Another flight member observed his aircraft apparently hit in the tail: debris and his drag chute were seen falling away from his F- 105.

Major Begley reported he was losing power and altitude and would be heading across the Red River. He later reported he would be ejecting, but aerial combat between the F-105 and MIG-17 aircraft prevented U.S pilots from tracking Major Begley. His aircraft crashed in Phu Tho Province, south of the Red River, and approximately 15 miles from the river town of Yen Bai. There was no chute observed and no radio or beeper signals.

Major Begley was declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate. In April 1978 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In November 1974, U.S. intelligence received a report from a People's Army of Vietnam defector describing the shoot down of a U.S. aircraft and the landing and capture of a pilot in Phu Ninh District circa January 1967. DIA concluded that this report might correlate to one of three U.S. airmen lost in this area, one of whom was Major Begley. Another report from a former People's Army soldier described the downing of a U.S. jet in Phu Tho Province circa November 1966 and the source reported human remains at the crash site. This report was also placed on Major Begley's file.

In November 1986, Vietnam repatriated remains it asserted were those of Major Begley. U.S. officials determined that there were insufficient remains for biological identification and they could not be correlated to Major Begley.

Allan P. Collamore
Donald E. Thompson
(0590)

On the night of February 4, 1967, Lieutenants Collamore and Thompson were the crew of an F-4B launched from the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk on a pitch black night assigned a mission against coastal targets of opportunity in Nam Ha Province, North Vietnam. While over the coastal strip, the other F-4B aircraft in their flight dropped flares over moving light on a road but the flares failed to ignite. The F-4B turned, made another flare drop, reported "flares away," and this was acknowledged by Lieutenant Collamore's crew. These flares also failed to ignite as the F-4B turned east and out over the coast. Approximately one minute later came an explosion on the ground in the area of the moving ground lights and efforts to raise Lieutenant's Collamore and Thompson were unsuccessful. No parachutes were seen due to the darkness, and no electronic beepers were detected during the search and rescue effort over the loss area.

Both airmen were initially reported missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. Several years after Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered.

In February 1973 a People's Army of Vietnam soldier reported that in February 1967 he saw an aircraft crash in his native village in Hai Hau District and close to the coast. Remains of two crewmen were reportedly buried at the crash site. In October 1977 the Defense Intelligence Agency reevaluated this report to be a possible correlation to this loss incident. After 1975 a refugee from Vietnam reported being told by a People's Army soldier in 1977 of two graves with U.S. remains in Ninh Province. This report was placed in the files of those involved in this loss incident. Another refugee from Vietnam reported being told of a remains burial side in Phat Diem District, Ham Ha Province, associated with a June 1967 loss incident and this report was also placed in those involved in loss incidents in this general area.

James E. Plowman
John C. Ellison
(0629)

On March 24, 1967, Commander Ellison and Lieutenant JG plowman were the number three aircraft in a flight of four on a combat strike mission against the Bac Giang Thermal Power Plant. Nothing further was heard from them after they reported "bombs away." Two hostile surface to air missile launches were reported in the area before radio and radar contact was lost while they were exiting the strike area and flying low between the mountains. Both crewmen were declared missing in action when they failed to rejoin their flight.

On March 26, 1967, Radio Beijing reported in its English language program with a March 26th Hanoi dateline that one American aircraft had been shot down on March 24th over Ha Bac Province. U.S. Naval intelligence received a report believed associated with this loss incident in which it placed "low confidence" that one or two were killed. In May 1968, another report was received which referenced two Americans seen outside Tran Phu Prison in Hai Phong City in mid-1967. The similarity in the physical description of the two captives and that of the two airmen lost in this incident led to this report being placed in both their file for reference purposes.

One of Lieutenant Plowman's next of kin believed Plowman was one of those seen near Tran Phu Prison. After Operation Homecoming DIA determined this report correlated to U.S. POWs who were repatriated alive.

Neither crewman was accounted for during Operation Homecoming. However, one returnee reported having been shown a picture of 10 or 12 U.S. POWs being paraded and was positive that Lieutenant Commander Ellison was in the front row of the U.S. POWs. DIA later determined the scene described by the U.S. POW returnee referred to a notorious July 6, 1966, public exhibition of U.S. POWs marched through Hanoi streets, an incident which occurred prior to the loss of Commander Ellison, and those forced to march in this spectacle were all identified. During the war, Commander Ellison's next-of- kin reviewed then as yet unidentified photographs of U.S. POWs and believed one was of her husband. It was later confirmed to be a photograph of Major Berg who returned alive. An early releasee also reported learning of the name Buzz Ellison while in the North Vietnamese prison system but returnees during Operation Homecoming had no knowledge he was alive in captivity. This was one of approximately 350 names the early releasee provided based on names written on toilet paper without any context for these names. In another report, a returnee stated he had seen Commander Ellison's name etched into a tree near a wartime prison referred to by U.S. POWs as Dogpatch.

In March 1992, Commander Ellison's personal effects and metal items were repatriated by Vietnam.

John F. O'Grady
(0641)

On April 10, 1967, Major O'Grady was the pilot of an F-105D, one in a flight of four F-105s on an armed reconnaissance mission over the Mu Gia Pass, North Vietnam. He was apparently hit by hostile ground fire and radioed he was preparing to exit the aircraft. His parachute was seen in the air and on the ground. There was no beeper and no radio contact after ejection. His aircraft impact point was not observed. Major O'Grady was initially declared missing in action.

On April 11, 1967, Radio Hanoi broadcast a reference to the shoot down of a U.S. aircraft in Quang Binh Province on April 10, 1967. Major O'Grady's aircraft was the only one lost on that day. Mrs. O'Grady later traveled to Paris and spoke with North Vietnamese representatives who informed her that her husband was not a prisoner of war.

In January 1991 a U.S. field team examined Vietnamese archives which indicated an American F-105 was shot down on April 10, 1967, by elements of the 280th Air Defense Regiment in the area where Major O'Grady was downed. The information provided stated the body of the pilot was recovered and buried along Route 12. The U.S. field team interviewed five witnesses, three of whom provided hearsay information concerning the shoot down and the death of the pilot shortly after capture. Two other witnesses provided first hand accounts of his capture in Tuyen Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, his turnover to a Vietnam People's Army engineer unit and hearsay that he later died. His death was said to have occurred on April 11th which was at variance with the documents which said death occurred on April 10th. An examination of a possible burial site proved negative.

In February 1992, U.S. investigators located the identity card, Geneva Convention Card and Restricted Area Access Badge belonging to Major O'Grady. They were also able to interview a former senior officer from the 280th Air Defense Regiment. From available information Major O'Grady was wounded when captured by local village militia and died four hours later.

John S. Hamilton
(0644)

On April 19, 1967, Major Hamilton was the pilot of an A-1E, one in a flight of two aircraft searching for two pilots downed over North Vietnam. While over Hoa Binh Province, Hamilton was attacked by four hostile MIG-17 aircraft, and his wingman observed pieces of his aircraft's outer wing fly off after it was hit by cannon fire. His aircraft crashed 24 kilometers southeast of Hoa Binh City. Major Hamilton was not seen ejecting from his aircraft and there was no electronic beeper heard. He was declared missing in action.

On April 19th, that same day, Hanoi radio reported the shoot down of an American rescue aircraft over Hoa Binh Province. This report, while not mentioning the fate of the pilot, was believed to correlate to Major Hamilton's incident of loss.

In September 1970, a People's Army of Vietnam soldier reported two caucasian pilots captured in Lac Thuy District in April 1968 after being shot down in aerial combat with MIG jet aircraft. The soldier identified a photograph of Major Hamilton as similar to one of those captured, and the report was placed in Major Hamilton's file as possibly relating to his capture. After Operation Homecoming, a reevaluation of this report led to a reversal of the wartime evaluation. It was determined that this incident actually correlated to Major Thomas Madison and Major Thomas Sterling who had been lost as described and who returned alive during Operation Homecoming.

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

In January 1991, a report was received about a grave with the remains of a U.S. pilot in the area where Major Hamilton was lost. Then, in May 1991, a source provided the rubbing of a dog-tag associated with Major Hamilton and a bone fragment and claimed that remains were recovered from an area near Vinh City, Nghe Tinh Province. This is a considerable distance away from his known crash site. In October 1991, another source visited the Joint Task Force office in Hanoi and turned over a bone fragment and identifying information about Major Hamilton. The source claimed his friend found Major Hamilton's remains at another location, this time in Quang Binh Province.

Michael J. Estocin
(0656)

On April 26, 1967, Lieutenant Commander Estocin was the pilot of an A-4E on a SAM suppression mission over North Vietnam. His aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile and went out of control, but he later regained control of it. Defense Department records state he was last seen entering overcast at 3,500 feet and crashed into coastal waters off Cat Ba Island. A search and rescue effort was suspended April 27, 1967. On that date, Radio Hanoi broadcast a reference to a shoot down and capture of a U.S. pilot possibly correlating to Commander Estocin's shoot down.

On April 29th, a People's Army newspaper article referred to the shoot down of an aircraft and a rescue helicopter coming to rescue the downed pilot. This report was placed in Commander Estocin's file as a possible correlation.

Commander Estocin was initially declared missing. His casualty status was later changed to POW based on sensitive source information. He was not reported alive during Operation Homecoming, and, in November 1977, he was declared dead/body not recovered.

A returning U.S. POW reported that another U.S. POW, whom he met in prison in North Vietnam, relayed a discussion he had had with Mrs. Estocin prior to his own shoot down. Allegedly, the U.S. POW, Commander Stratton, had written that Commander Estocin was alive and a POW. In January 1974, the Defense Department confirmed that Commander Estocin had been misidentified as a POW in sensitive source material.

In July 1990, U.S. intelligence received information from a northern Vietnamese refugee about an aircraft shoot down which occurred in 1967 near Cat Ba Island. Remains were reportedly found in the water near the crash site. Also, skeletal remains were reportedly seized by Vietnamese officials from a refugee boat captured near Cat Ba Island in February 1989. In March 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam visited Cat Ba Island but were unable to develop any information regarding this loss incident. They were told by Vietnamese officials that Commander Estocin was believed to have drowned twenty nautical miles off Cat Ba Island. Other reports were received of a body washing up along the shore to the north of Cat Ba Island.

Commander John B. Nichols, retired, recently wrote of his own wartime combat experiences, published by the Naval Institute Press, entitled On Yankee Station. Commander Nichols was on the scene when Commander Estocin was hit and crashed. Commander Nichols described seeing Commander Estocin's aircraft invert, his tank blow off and his missiles fire. He followed him to the ocean and saw him impact, still inverted, but did not see a parachute come from the aircraft.

Roger M. Netherland
(0667)

On May 10, 1967, Commander Netherland was launched in an A-4C from the U.S.S. Hancock as the leader of a flight of aircraft on a mission against Kien An Airfield near the port city of Hai Phong. Three surface-to-air missiles were launched at his flight, and the third missile exploded below his aircraft. His wingman reported observing him drop his external tanks and begin a left turn streaming fuel. His aircraft then did an inverted roll and crashed. There was no ejection seen. A search for sign of him was negative. He was initially declared missing in action. After the end of hostilities he was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information that he was alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system.

In December 1982, a Vietnamese refugee reported the downing of a U.S. aircraft and described the recovery and burial of remains from the crash site. The incident appeared to correlate to that of Commander Netherland.

In September 1989, Vietnam returned the alleged remains of Commander Netherland together with his identity card and wallet. Forensic examination of the remains concluded they belonged to an adult male but a board decided that they could neither rule out nor recommend identification of the remains.

A U.S. team in Vietnam during July 1990 conducted a survey of the crash site associated with Commander Netherland. The site location and information concerning the circumstances of the crash were consistent with the known facts surrounding Commander Netherland's loss. A return to the site in December 1991 resulted in witness interviews who provided their knowledge of the crash, including a description of human remains located in a position consistent with the results of a high angle high speed dive into the ground.

James K. Patterson
(0691)

On May 19, 1967, Lieutenant Patterson and Lieutenant Commander Eugene B. McDaniel were the crew of an A-6A, one in a flight of six aircraft on a combat mission against the Van Dien repair facility five miles south of Hanoi. There was a warning of a missile launch and an explosion near their aircraft. Both crewmen ejected and two good chutes were seen. Voice contact was established with both on the ground and Lieutenant Patterson reported he had a badly broken leg. A rescue mission was not possible due to the high hostile threat in the area.

Contact with those on the ground continued until May 22nd when it was lost. Both were believed to have been captured. Commander McDaniel returned alive during Operation Homecoming.

Commander McDaniel believed that Lieutenant Patterson had been captured. He heard from an interrogator that Patterson had been injured but was all right. Patterson's name was heard in the prison communications system according to one returnee but he was not confirmed alive in the prison system. His identity card was reported in a newspaper in 1967.

Lieutenant Patterson was not accounted for during Operation Homecoming. In April 1974 he was declared dead/body not recovered.

In December 1985 Vietnam returned the identity and Geneva Convention cards of Lieutenant Patterson. In December 1990, a U.S. field team in Vietnam located documents and interviewed witnesses associated with this loss. One pilot was described captured the morning after their aircraft was shot down. That accurately describes the time of capture of Commander McDaniel. The team was also told that the second airman was shot to death by militia on the fourth day after the shoot down and was buried nearby. His remains were said to have been dug up by animals. The team did not excavate any purported grave site.

Kenneth F. Backus
Elton L. Perrine
(0706)

On May 22, 1967, Captain Perrine and First Lieutenant Backus were the crew of an F-4C, one of two aircraft in a flight against the Kep railroad yard. The second aircraft observed Captain Perrine's aircraft make a bomb run on the target and, five seconds later, observed a large explosion three miles east of the target in Lang Son Province. There were no chute and no beacon signals. There was 37mm and 57mm anti-aircraft fire in the area. However, the other aircrew could not confirm that Captain Perrine's aircraft was hit by hostile fire, and they could not pinpoint the crash site's precise location.

On May 24th, the New China News Agency reported the downing of a U.S. aircraft over Lang Son Province on May 22nd and stated that the pilots were captured. This aircraft was the only aircraft lost in the area on that date. Both crewmen were initially reported missing in action.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on the crew's fate. In February 1979, each was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

Ronald N. Sittner
(0804)
Charles Lane, Jr.
(0805)

On August 23, 1967, First Lieutenant Lane and his aircraft commander, Captain Larry E. Corrigan (Case 0805), were the crewmen of an F-4 aircraft on a strike mission against the Yen Vien railroad yard. Their aircraft was hit by an air-to-air missile fired by a MIG-21 making it one of two aircraft in their flight downed by MIG-21 missiles. Their aircraft was believed to have crashed in Thai Nguyen Province, North Vietnam. Captain Corrigan was captured alive and was repatriated during Operation Homecoming.

Other members of their flight reported seeing three parachutes from the crewmen of the two downed aircraft. Three clear beepers were heard as well as one weak beeper which was believed to be associated with Lieutenant Lane. Captain Corrigan was the only individual shot down who was able to establish voice contact with those overhead.

Upon his release, Captain Corrigan reported seeing another individual moving around in his parachute, and he believed that individual to be Lieutenant Lane. Ha Noi press reported the aircraft downing but did not specify the number of crewmen captured. In August 1968, U.S. intelligence believed Lieutenant Lane had been captured alive and that he was in enemy custody, although his casualty status remained as missing in action.

The other aircraft's crew included Major Charles R. Tyler and Captain Ronald N. Sittner (0804). Major Tyler landed and was taken prisoner. He, too, was released alive during Operation Homecoming.

In October 1973, Lieutenant Lane's case was reviewed by the Department of Defense at the request of his next of kin, and his casualty status was changed to dead/body not recovered. Captain Sittner's case was reviewed at a later date, and he was also determined to be dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to confirm either individual alive in captivity in the northern Vietnamese prison system.

In November 1991, the Joint Task Force interviewed witnesses to the downing of the two F-4 aircraft and the reported sighting of either 3 or 4 parachutes. The location of their downing was determined to be in Tuyen Quang Province, not in Thai Nguyen Province. Witnesses reported the capture of two airmen and stated that they were unable to locate the other two crewmen until 1970 when the partial remains of one of the two was located. Local witnesses also stated that a nearby People's Republic of China military unit arrived at one of the crash sites and recovered the wreckage of one of the downed aircraft. They provided no other details about the incident. The Joint Task Force concluded that the reported partial remains may have correlated to the remains of Lieutenant Lane, who was not confirmed to have ejected from his aircraft but could have done so.

In April 1992, a U.S. team interviewed additional witnesses and recovered personal artifacts from both grave sites that did not correlate to the two airmen.

William G. Bennett
(0825)

On September 2, 1967, Major Bennett was the pilot of an F-105D aircraft in a flight of four F-105 aircraft on a combat mission over Quang Binh Province. He crashed while pulling up from a strafing run and his aircraft exploded upon impact. The crash site is in a remote area approximately 40 kilometers west of Dong Hoi in Bo Trach District. His aircraft was seen to impact onto the eastern slope of a steep karst in a pocket between two such formations. Other flight members observing the crash made several passes over the crash site without seeing any survivor. There was no chute seen and an extensive electronic search failed to detect any electronic beeper.

Major Bennett was initially declared missing in action. He was declared dead/body not recovered, in May 1973. Returning U.S. POWs did not report observing him alive in the Vietnamese prison system and had no information on his fate.

Donald W. Downing
Paul D. Raymond
(0829)

On September 5, 1967, Captain Downing and First Lieutenant Raymond were the crew in an F-4C, one of a flight of two aircraft on a night armed reconnaissance mission. The other aircraft observed a fireball descending toward the ground into an area 45 kilometers south-southeast of Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province. There was no response to radio calls. An orbit of the area failed to disclose any parachutes or beepers. The crew was declared missing in action.

U.S. intelligence received a report from an ethnic Khmer in December 1971 of the sighting of a U.S. POW in November 1970 at a prison on the northern edge of Ha Dong City, Ha Dong Province, also described as near Ba Vi Mountain. He identified one of the POWs as similar to Captain Downing.

Captain Downing was declared dead/body not recovered, in November 1973. Neither airman was reported alive by returning U.S. POWs.

James E. Dooley
(0872)

On October 22, 1967, Dooley was the pilot of an A-4E on a combat mission over Hai Phong. He was hit by hostile fire while pulling off from an attack on the Hai Phong railroad yard. Witnesses observed the aircraft begin a gradual descent and crash into the water about a mile offshore. Search and rescue aircraft could not locate any sign of a survivor. He was initially reported missing in action. After Operation Homecoming he was declared dead, remains not recoverable.

Returning U.S. POWs reported either seeing Dooley's name on a wall or heard he was a prisoner. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to report having seen him alive in prison.

Richard C. Clark
(0873)

On October 24, 1967, Lieutenant JG Clark, radar intercept operator, and the pilot, Commander Charles R. Gillespie, were the crew in an F-4B from the U.S.S. Coral Sea on a MIGCAP mission over North Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by an SA-2 surface to air missile while approximately 15 miles west of Hanoi, both aircraft engines were set on fire and there was a fire below the radar interceptor operator's cockpit. Commander Gillespie ejected and was captured. He was repatriated during Operation Homecoming and stated that he never saw Lieutenant Clark eject and had no knowledge that Clark survived their shoot down.

One beeper was heard and one individual was seen on the ground by SAR aircraft in the area. However, two Americans reached the ground alive, Commander Gillespie and Lieutenant Frishman, a crew member of another aircraft downed and whom Commander Gillespie believed he saw coming down in a parachute at the same time he was landing.

On October 24, 1967, the Vietnam News Agency reported that eight U.S. aircraft were shot down that day in the Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh Phuc area. The report did not say which specific aircraft were shot down and whether anyone had been captured.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information about Lieutenant Clark's precise fate. In November 1973 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In September 1988, a U.S. team in Vietnam traveled to Tam Dao mountain and interviewed witnesses concerning this loss incident and the capture of an unidentified pilot. Information provided to the team, including the presence of People's Republic of China troops in the area, correlated to the capture of Major Gillespie. In December 1990 another team visited the area and located an F-4 crash site probably associated with this incident. In January 1991 Vietnam repatriated remains it identified as those of Lieutenant Clark, together with fragments of parachute rigging and aircraft parts. The bone fragment could not be correlated to him.

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.

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.

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.

Edwin N. Osborne
Charles P. Claxton
Gerald G. VanBuren
Donald E. Fisher
Gordon J. Wenaas
Frank C. Parker, III
Jack McCrary
Wayne A. Eckley
Edward J. Darcy
James R. Williams
Gean P. Clapper
(0954)

In the early morning hours of December 29, 1967, a camouflaged C- 130E departed on a single aircraft flight for a classified operational mission over North Vietnam. The last contact with the aircraft was at 0430 hours when the aircraft was in extreme northwestern North Vietnam over a mountainous an densely forested area 13 miles northwest of the town of Lai Chau. The aircraft did not return from its mission and bad weather in the area hampered search efforts. A two week search over the aircraft's flight path failed to disclose any evidence of the crew of the aircraft and the crew was declared missing.

In November 1970, the co-chair of a private group, Cora Weiss, passed a letter to State Department officials from Vietnam which stated that Osborne, McCrary and Darcy had never been detained in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of any of the 11 crewmen missing from the C-130E. After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

Ralph E. Foulks, Jr.
(0968)

On January 5, 1968, Lieutenant Foulks was in one of two aircraft in a flight on a night strike mission over Ninh Binh Province, North Vietnam. His aircraft disappeared while on this mission and there was no known crash site, no radio transmission, no beeper and no parachute. He was initially reported missing in action and in November 1973 was declared dead/body not recovered.

During the war there were various reports of U.S. aircraft downed in this area, often with reports of multiple crews or reports of sightings correlated to other known incidents.

Lieutenant Foulks remains were repatriated by Vietnam on December 15, 1988. According to Vietnam, Lieutenant Foulks died on January 5, 1968 when his aircraft was hit over Ninh Binh Province. The pilot disintegrated with his aircraft. His Geneva Convention card was recovered but it was later lost.

James A. Ketterer
Tilden S. Holley
(0998)

On January 20, 1968, Captain Holley and First Lieutenant Ketterer were the crew in an F-4C, one of a flight of two aircraft over Quang Khe, Quang Binh Province. Their aircraft was hit by hostile antiaircraft fire and crashed. The crew was not seen to eject but a weak electronic beacon was heard for several seconds after the crash. Both crewmen were initially declared missing in action.

One returning U.S. POW reported hearing the name "Holley" on Hanoi Radio while at the Hanoi Hilton. Another returning U.S. POW stated he saw the name "Holley" or "Holly" on a list of people confined at the prison in late 1972 or early 1973. There was no reference to the name Ketterer. No returning U.S. POW reported seeing either alive in the Vietnamese prison system.

Captain Holley was declared dead/body not recovered in June 1978.

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.

Robert M. Elliott
(1049)

On February 14, 1968, Captain Elliott's aircraft was hit by an enemy surface to surface missile while conducting a bombing mission against a railroad bridge in the area of Hanoi Municipality. There was no beeper and there was the sighting of a possible parachute. However, there was haze in the target area and visibility was poor.

During the war a People's Army of Vietnam soldier described the shoot down of an American aircraft over Ha Tay, a suburb of Hanoi. The shoot down location compared favorably to the loss incident of Captain Elliott. One airman was reportedly captured. Captain Elliott was initially reported as missing in action. In June 1979 he was declared dead/body not recovered.

Captain Elliott's identity card was turned over to U.S. officials on April 6, 1988 together with a small quantity of skeletal remains, also reportedly belonging to Captain Elliott. The remains were insufficient for positive identification and correlation to Captain Elliott.

Gilbert S. Palmer, Jr.
Thomas T. Wright
(1063)

On February 27, 1968, Major Palmer and Captain Wright were the crew in an RF-4C launched from Udorn Air Base, Thailand, on a single aircraft photo mission over Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. There were routine communications in route and the last contact with them was when they were given target clearance. There was no further contact with the two crewmen and they were declared missing in action.

In 1970, DIA received a report about the sighting of an American in a jeep at the Hanoi Public Security Office. This report was placed in Captain Wright's file. In July 1971, a report was received from a People's Army of Vietnam defector describing the sighting of an American POW. The report pertained to four U.S. POWs in Nghe An Province in July 1970 reportedly shot down during 1965-1967. The individual was given a polygraph test, and the examiner offered his view that he believed the story. DIA felt at the time that the report might correlate to Captain Wright. DIA reevaluated the report in 1978 and based on information then available concluded the report did not pertain to Captain Wright. One returnee reported seeing a black American in jungle fatigues at a temporary prison camp in Quang Binh Province in late May or early June 1968. His sighting of the individual was for approximately 30 seconds. The returnee selected a photograph of Captain Wright as one of several possible correlations.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to describe the final fate of the two missing crewmen and after Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

Jeffrey L. Harris
Bobby G. Vinson
Woodrow W. Parker, II
(1141)

On April 24, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Vinson and First Lieutenant Parker were the crewmen in an F-4D, one of two F-4 on a combat mission over Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province. They were preparing to drop flares while the other aircraft remained above them. They were last known descending to a lower altitude when a large fireball was observed on the ground. There were no parachutes seen and neither beepers or other communications from the crew. Both crewmen were initially reported as missing in action.

In December 1972 a former member of the Vietnam People's Army reported an American F-4, one of two dropping flares over Quang Binh Province, was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. Both crewmen were reportedly killed in their aircraft. Their bodies were recovered from the crash site and buried nearby.

A JCRC field investigation in Vietnam during April 1990 located witnesses who described the crash of a U.S. jet aircraft and the recovery of human remains from the crash site which appeared to correlate to this case. A document provided by Vietnamese officials to the Joint Casualty Resolution Center during a field investigation in Vietnam during January-February 1991 described the shoot down of an aircraft and death of the crewmen which appeared to correlate to this loss incident.

Robert D. Avery
Thomas D. Clem
(1156)

On May 3, 1968, Avery and Clem were the crew in an A-6A on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam providing support to U.S. Air Force operations along Route Package 1. Radar contact was lost with the aircraft when it was approximately 10 kilometers northwest of the coastal town of Dong Hoi and six kilometers southeast of the district seat of Bo Trach in Quang Binh Province. SAR forces were unable to locate any sign of the crew which was declared missing.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on the eventual fate of the crew. After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In January 1991, a U.S. team in Vietnam visited Bo Trach District and reviewed archival documents. One document listed the downing of an A-6A on May 3, 1968 in which both crewmen died. In July 1991, U.S. researchers at the Military Region IV museum in Vinh City obtained access to an archival list of gravesites of Americans who died there during the war. One entry listed Robert D. Avery as buried in Quang Ninh District from an F-105 downed on April 15, 1968. In January 1992, a Region IV air defense record listed an A- 6A downed on May 3, 1968 with both crewmen dead. In December 1992, a copy of the list of burial sites was turned over by Vietnam to Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs.

Joseph E. Davies
Glen D. McCubbin
(1182)

On May 19, 1968, Captain Davies and First Lieutenant McCubbin were the crew in an F-4B from Ubon Air Base, Thailand and leader of a flight of two aircraft on a night armed reconnaissance mission over Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province. The number two aircraft in the flight expended its ordnance and departed to return to Ubon. The number two aircraft's crew reported seeing three explosions on the ground and believed Captain Davies' aircraft had dropped its ordnance and would be joining them on the return flight to Ubon. Captain Davies' aircraft never returned from the mission and the crew was declared missing in action. A beeper and voice transmission from the general area of a search for them was later determine not to be either Captain Davies or Lieutenant McCubbin but someone else.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information concerning the specific fate of Captain Davies and Lieutenant McCubbin. After Operation Homecoming both crewmen were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In December 1988, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team visited Bo Trach District and interviewed witnesses concerning this incident. Witnesses described the crash of an aircraft correlating to this incident which included the wartime recovery of human remains from the crash site. One witness described the recovery of two dog tags of Davies.

In August 1991 the crash site was excavated and biologic evidence was recovered and returned to the U.S. for Analysis. In October 1991, U.S. investigators forwarded information from Bo Trach District combat records recording the downing of an F-4C on May 18, 1968, and the death of two crewmen. This record was believed associated with this loss incident.

Edward R. Silver
Bruce E. Lawrence
(1222)

On July 5, 1968, Major Silver and First Lieutenant Lawrence were the crew of an F-4C on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by hostile anti-aircraft fire. Their wingman observed their aircraft turn into a large fireball with streaks of fire trailing out of the bottom, followed by a second smaller explosion. There were no parachutes observed and no beepers heard. Intense hostile fire prevented a daylight search of the area. Both airmen were declared missing in action. During Operation Homecoming, a returning POW reported seeing a propaganda film which included the showing of a body in a flight suit. The returnee was "almost positive" the name strip on the suit was "Silver."

No returning U.S. POW was able to report either of the missing crewmen in captivity. Both were later declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

David S. Greiling
(1234)

On July 24, 1968, Lieutenant Commander Greiling was the pilot of an A-7A on a night combat mission over North Vietnam. His wingman observed him fly into a mountain and saw his aircraft explode on impact. There was no parachute seen. Other aircraft in the mission bombed the site of the crash, thinking it was the target. Villagers reported finding disintegrated remains several days later.

During the war, a photograph of Commander Greiling's identity card was located in the Seaman's Club in Hai Phong in July 1969. This led to his eventual reclassification from missing to POW.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on Commander Greiling's eventual fate. In September 1973 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

A recent joint U.S/Vietnamese investigation of Major Greiling's crash site led to the recovery of evidence of an A-7A crash. The recovered material, including parts of the ejection seat, indicated the pilot did not eject prior to the crash.

William J. Thompson
Joseph S. Ross
(1243)

On August 1, 1968, Major Thompson and First Lieutenant Ross were the crew of an F-4D, one in a flight of two aircraft from Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam. Their wingman observed the flight leader drop flares which illuminated a group of trucks on the ground and Major Thompson rolled in on the target. The wingman next observed an explosion on the ground within 100 feet of the target and it was evident that Major Thompson's aircraft had impacted and exploded in an area approximately 47 kilometers southwest of the coastal city of Dong Hoi and 1500 meters northeast of the village of Ban Katoi. There were no chutes or beepers noted in the ten minutes the wingman orbited the burning wreckage. Both crewmen were declared missing in action.

On March 30, 1973, a returning U.S. POW reported he saw the name "Ross" written on a wall at the "Heartbreak" POW camp in Hanoi. In 1978, a U.S. Air Force compendium of names providing by returning U.S. POWs correlated the name "Ross" to First Lieutenant Joseph S. Ross. However, the source of the names and its meaning was never determined, no returning U.S. POWs had any knowledge of the fate of the two crewmen, and they were never reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. After Operation Homecoming, both airmen were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In January 1992, the Defense Department provided a preliminary analysis of Vietnamese list of combat air defense operations in Quang Binh Province. Included in the list was a reference to the shoot down on August 1, 1968, of an F-4 aircraft.

Terrin D. Hicks
(1248)

On August 15, 1968, Captains Terrin D. Hicks and Joseph F. Shanahan departed Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in an RF-4C on a solo photo reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. About 0805 hours, the last radar contact was made with Capt Hicks' aircraft. The plane was hit by enemy ground fire and lost in an area approximately 12 kilometers southwest of Quang Khe, Quang Binh Province. Captains Hicks and Shanahan ejected successfully and descended by parachute but were not recovered. Both airmen were declared missing in action.

Captain Shanahan was captured and incarcerated in North Vietnam. During his Homecoming debriefing, he related he saw Captain Hicks' parachute on the ground and heard Captain Hicks make a "Mayday" call on his survival radio. Captain Hicks was alive on the ground at this time. Captain Shanahan landed in the backyard of a village hut and was immediately captured. As Captain Shanahan was led away, he heard continuous small arms fire from the direction where Captain Hicks had landed. Approximately 10 minutes later, Captain Shanahan was given Captain Hicks' boots to wears as his boots had been taken from him after his capture. Later, an interrogator told Captain Shanahan that Captain Hicks was alive and being treated in the Dong Hoi hospital for a broken leg. Captain Shanahan said he had personal reservations about the truthfulness of this statement.

During the November 1985 JCRC technical meeting in Hanoi, Vietnamese officials passed Captain Hicks military identification card and Geneva Convention card to U.S. officials. The Vietnamese stated that Captain Hicks' remains were no longer recoverable.

On December 4, 1985, Vietnam released seven sets of remains to US custody. Vietnamese officials associated one set of remains with Captain Hicks but none of the seven sets of remains could be identified as his.

On June 17 and 21, 1989, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigation team conducted an investigation of the reported crash of an American aircraft in Cu Nam village, Bo Trach District, Binh Tri Thien (formerly Quang Binh) Province. According to the witness interviewed, an RF-4C aircraft was shot down over the village in the fifth Lunar month of 1968. Both pilots ejected; one was captured immediately, the other was shot to death when he resisted capture, and he was buried near where he fell. The team surveyed the burial location and used a metal detector to attempt to locate the specific burial site, but was not successful. On 5 May 1990 a second Joint team travelled to Cu Nam village to discuss excavation of Capt Hicks burial site. The village officials claimed not to know if the repatriated remains which could not be identified as those of Captain Hicks had been taken from the reported burial site and they were unable to locate the site. Three other possible burial locations were suggested from Quang Binh Province records.

Domenick A. Spinelli
(1294)

On 30 September 1968, Lieutenant JG Larry J. VanRenselaar and Lieutenant Domenick A. Spinelli were the crew of an A-6A aircraft which departed the U.S.S Constellation in a flight of three aircraft. The flight was assigned to acquire and destroy moving targets just south of 19 degrees North Latitude over North Vietnam.

Two hostile surface to air missiles, one high and one law, were observed by other flight members to explode near Spinelli's aircraft. About 20 seconds later a third explosion was observed and it lit up the horizon. At this point the flight was approximately nine kilometers southwest of Phu Dien Chau, Nghe Tinh (Formerly Nghe An) Province.

No parachutes were sighted and no distress beepers were heard. All subsequent search and rescue efforts were futile. A Radio Hanoi broadcast on October 1, 1968, stated than an A-6 aircraft had been shot down over Nghe An Province. Lieutenant Spinelli's A-6A aircraft was the only one shot down on September 10, 1968, over Nghe An Province. Both airmen were declared missing in action.

During Operation Homecoming, a returnee, Lieutenant Tangeman, stated that he knew the name Spinelli but he did not know him as a POW. In the late 1970s, Tangeman was visited by Spinelli's next of kin. During that visit, he finally recalled why he recognized the name;both he and Lieutenant Spinelli had been at the same naval air training facility before going to Vietnam. Lieutenant Spinelli's family alleged the existence of a photo depicting Spinelli in captivity. The Defense Intelligence Agency has no knowledge of such a photo but did provide the family a photo of a POW, Major Gideon, shown riding in an ox cart. This photo is on sale at the military museum in Hanoi and may have been confused by family members with being a photograph of Lieutenant Spinelli.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on either crewman's eventual fate. After Operation Homecoming both were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

On July 31, 1989, Vietnam repatriated remains it identified as those of Lieutenant VanRenselaar. On June 22, 1990 the Armed Forces Identification Review Board approved the identification of these remains as Lieutenant VanRenselaar.

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.

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.

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.

Roosevelt Hestle, Jr.
Charles E. Morgan
(0386)

On July 6, 1966, Major Hestle and Captain Morgan were crewmen in an F-105 in a flight of four aircraft over Bac Thai Province. Major Hestle's aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire and crashed approximately 15 kilometers southwest of Thai Nguyen. Other aircraft on the scene neither saw chutes nor heard beepers.

Wartime intelligence information from a People's Army prisoner describing the capture of an African-American from an aircraft shot down over Tam Dao Mountain was tentatively correlated to the capture of one crewman from this crew.

Both individuals were initially reported missing in action and were later changed to dead/bodies not recovered. In November 1970, U.S. military intelligence received information that Major Hestle and two other U.S. POWs were alive at a POW camp near Vinh. DIA believed this report was not true but was the product of a highly publicized visit by three POW wives to Vietnam early in 1970. Returning U.S. POWs reported hearsay information that Major Hestle was seen alive on a stretcher in a prison in Hanoi. He was not reported alive as of 1973.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam in January 1989 located a possible crash site associated with this incident and received hearsay information one pilot was buried at that site. Captain Morgan's remains were repatriated in July 1989. Vietnam turned over the identity card of Major Hestle in October 1982, but his remains have not been recovered.

Holly G. Bell
Gregory L. Anderson
William D. Pruett
Leonard C. Leeser
William C. Shinn
William C. Sutton
(1552)

On January 28, 1970, an HH-53B with six crewmen on board was in a holding pattern while engaged in a search and rescue mission over Ha Tinh Province. There was a MIG alert on the radio after which a MIG-21 aircraft fired an air to air missile which hit the HH-53B.

There was a fireball explosion which turned the aircraft into hundreds of pieces. There was one two second beeper after the explosion but there were no parachutes seen by other SAR aircrews covering the SAR effort. The crew of the helicopter was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in April 1970. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate.

In December 1988, Vietnam returned William Sutton's identity card and remains from Huong Khe District, Nghe Tinh Province it identified as those of William Sutton. The remains were determined to be of Holly G. Bell.

David I. Wright
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. Their aircraft suddenly exploded while approximately 500 feet above the ground, crashing tail first into the ground, followed by an all consuming explosion. There were no chutes or beepers.

Lieutenant Bancroft and Major Wright were initially reported missing and their status changed to killed in action, body not recovered, prior to Operation Homecoming. Returning U.S. POWs did not report them alive with other U.S. POWs in the northern Vietnamese prison system.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.