Text File

VESSEY 135 DISCREPANCY CASES

South Vietnam Daniel A. Gerber Eleanor A. Vietti Archie E. Mitchell (0011)

Mr. Gerber, Dr. Vietti and Mr. Mitchell were taken prisoner on May 30, 1962 while at a leprosarium near the South Vietnamese mountain town of Banmethuot. In November 1962, documents which stated that the three individuals captured on May 30th were killed were taken from hostile forces 50 kilometers southwest of the leprosarium. Mr. Gerber's passport was recovered in February 1963; missing were pages containing his name and photograph.

The three civilians were reported captured. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their presence in the Vietnamese prison system.

Since April 1989, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center has interviewed subjects in Vietnam concerning this incident. All information obtained to date confirms that the three were captured and killed because they were suspected of being American spies. Their remains were reportedly disinterred in 1980 by unidentified persons, and they can not now be located.

South Vietnam Donald G. Cook (0050)

On December 31, 1964, Captain Cook was serving as an advisor with a South Vietnamese Marine battalion at Binh Gia, Phuoc Tuy Province. His unit was hit by a large Viet Cong force, and Captain Cook was captured. He was initially reported missing but was confirmed a prisoner in good health by Sergeant Comacho, who was released from captivity on July 9, 1965.

On December 2, 1965, Captain Cook joined two other U.S. POWs, Staff Sergeant Harold G. Bennett and Private Crafts, at a Viet Cong prison camp. They were held together at four different prison camps.

On December 22, 1970, the Provisional Revolutionary Government released a died in captivity list which included the name of Captain Cook whom it stated had died of malaria on December 8, 1967.

One American POW repatriated during Operation Homecoming reported being told by a prison guard that Captain Cook died of malaria in December 1967 while being moved between prison camps in northern Tay Ninh Province.

Captain Cook's name was included on the Provisional Revolutionary Government's list of died in captivity released on January 27, 1973. In February 1980 Captain Cook was declared dead/body not recovered.

South Vietnam Kurt C. McDonald Edward R. Dodge (0051)

On December 31, 1964, Captain McDonald, a U.S. Air Force pilot, and Sergeant First Class Dodge, a member of the 5th Special Forces Group, took off from Da Nang, Quang Nam Province, in an 0-1F to conduct a visual reconnaissance mission en route to a Special Forces camp in the A Shau Valley, Thua Thien Province. They did not arrive and were declared missing. They were last seen by another aircraft approximately 12 nautical miles northwest of Da Nang while flying over Quang Nam Province.

On the morning of December 31, 1964, one homer beacon was broadcast on an emergency radio frequency, but this could not be correlated to an NRS-8 radio set that Sergeant Dodge was carrying to A Shau to be used in covert operations. A woodcutter reported in April 1965 that during that month he observed two U.S. POWs in Thua Thien Province at a point on the Lao/Vietnamese border. He learned that one of the Americans was a pilot and one was an infantryman. They were said to have been captured in June 1964 and were being marched off to the northwest. In 1966, a report was received from a former North Vietnamese Army soldier identifying a photograph of Sergeant Dodge as an inmate he saw at Hoa Lo Prison. Other reports of sightings of Americans passing through the particular area in which these individuals were lost were placed in their files.

Neither serviceman was ever confirmed alive in the Vietnamese prison system. Captain McDonald was declared dead/body not recovered in August 1982. Sergeant Dodge was declared dead/body not recovered in October 1977.

South Vietnam James H. McLean (0054)

On February 9, 1965, Sergeant McLean was assigned as a medic with an American advisory team working with the South Vietnamese Army's 876th Regional Force Company. He was reported captured when their position was overrun by Viet Cong forces and was identified in captivity by an prison escapee who stated Sergeant McLean was suffering from malaria when last seen alive.

Sergeant McLean was carried in a POW status at the time of Operation Homecoming. After the end of hostilities, he was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on his fate.

U.S. field team interviews in South Vietnam in March 1992 located a former nurse who worked at the Phuoc Long Province hospital. She described the arrival at her hospital of an individual corresponding to Sergeant McLean. He arrived at the hospital in April 1965 suffering from severe malaria. He died there approximately ten days after his arrival. The investigation of his loss incident is continuing.

South Vietnam Charles A. Dale David S. Demmon (0094)

First Lieutenant Dale and Specialist 4th Class Demmon were flying reconnaissance in an OV-1C on June 9, 1965 and were last known located over Vinh Binh Province. They did not return from their mission. They were initially listed as missing in action, although U.S. intelligence began to receive reports indicating they had been captured.

In December 1970, a prisoner identified Demmon's photograph as the picture of an individual imprisoned in a POW camp in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. This led to his reclassification from missing in action to prisoner of war. Another report was received in March 1971 stating Demon was alive in a prison at Kratie, Cambodia in January 1970. The source was given a polygraph, and there was no indication of deception. Other reported sightings of unnamed caucasians were placed in Demmon's file as possibly correlating to him, including one in 1966 which placed him in Central Vietnam.

Demmon was carried as a POW at the end of Operation Homecoming. Both Demmon and Dale were later declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their fate.

In March 1992, a U.S. investigating team in Vietnam attempting to locate witnesses to the loss of the two-man crew interviewed residents of Cuu Long Province, the new name for Vinh Binh Province. They provided information concerning the downing of an aircraft correlating to the OV-1C involved in this incident. Local villagers stated that the aircraft crashed, and the bodies of the aircraft's two occupants washed up on the shore where they were buried by local residents. Efforts to locate their reported grave sites have not been successful to date.

South Vietnam Walter L. Hall Bruce G. Johnson Fred M. Owen Robert L. Curlee Donald R. Saegaert Joseph J. Compa, Jr. Craig L. Hagen (0096)

On June 19, 1965, those involved in this loss incident were on board a UH-1B helicopter on a combat operation into a landing zone six kilometers from the town of Dong Xoai, Phuoc Long Province. Their helicopter was hit by ground fire and crashed. Captain Johnson, an advisor to the South Vietnamese Army's 5th Infantry Division, reported to another helicopter in the area that the aircraft's crew and all others on board were dead and his position was receiving incoming enemy mortar fire. There was no further transmission from Captain Johnson after the end of the mortar fire.

A later search of the area failed to produce any sign of the seven servicemen.

In late 1965, a Viet Cong produced film was captured which appeared to depict a portion of the battle at Dong Xoai. The film appeared to show the dead bodies of Sergeant First Class Owen and First Lieutenant Hall. Information was later received from another source that the seven U.S. were killed in this incident, four found in the helicopter and three others at the airstrip. Intelligence reports of unidentified U.S. POWs sightings several months before this incident occurred were received later and were placed in the file of these servicemen. One report associated with the capture of an American at the battle of Binh Gia was placed in Captain Johnson's file, but may have correlated to the capture of another Captain several months earlier.

Captain Johnson was initially reported missing. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide information about his precise fate or the fate of the others. Captain Johnson was declared dead/body not recovered in February 1978.

South Vietnam Richard C. Bram John F. Dingwall (0108)

On July 8, 1966, Staff Sergeant Bram and Gunnery Sergeant Dingwall left their unit at Chu Lai Air Base for a hike in the surrounding countryside. They were last seen in a local hamlet.

Local South Vietnamese police reported on July 8th that the Viet Cong had captured and killed two Americans and then buried their bodies. This report led to a muster of the unit and the discovery that Sergeants Bram and Dingwall were missing. A search of the area in which they were last seen produced hearsay information that the two had been captured, but there was conflicting information on their fate. They were never seen alive again, and their remains were never located.

Both individuals were initially declared missing. In September 1978 they were declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their survival in captivity, and U.S. investigation teams in Vietnam have been unable to learn anything further concerning their precise fate.

South Vietnam Fred Taylor Henry J. Gallant (0109)

On July 13, 1965, Sergeants Taylor and Gallant were members of Detachment B-52, 5th Special Forces Group, with a Vietnamese reconnaissance patrol which encountered a hostile force 18 kilometers northwest of An Khe, Pleiku Province. Surviving patrol members reported last seeing Taylor assisting Gallant to cover as hostile forces pressed toward them. A search of the area after the engagement failed to locate any trace of them. They were both declared missing in action and, in July 1966, were declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their final fate.

North Vietnam 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.

South Vietnam Samuel Adams Charles G. Dusing Thomas Moore

(0180)

On October 31, 1961, four U.S. Air Force sergeants were traveling by bus from the coastal resort town of Vung Tau toward Saigon. They were stopped by local Viet Cong forces and taken prisoner. On November 2, 1965, the four sergeants attempted to escape from custody, and Staff Sergeant Jasper N. Page was successful. He last saw Sergeant Adams as the Viet Cong were chasing him and shooting at him.

The status of the three was changed from missing in action to prisoners of war. All appeared on the Provisional Revolution Government's died in captivity list provided to the U.S. in January 1973. Their date of death was given as December 1965. The remains of the other three sergeants have never been returned. All were declared dead/body not recovered after the end of hostilities. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their fate.

In March 1992, the Joint Task Force interviewed a witness in Vietnam who described sightings of the four servicemen shortly after their capture at way-station B50. Information was also received that one prisoner escaped and the remaining three prisoners were shot. After burial, their bodies were later exhumed and reburied at a new location which has since been deforested, and the grave site can not be located.

North Vietnam 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.

South Vietnam James T. Egan (0235)

On January 21, 1966, Lieutenant Egan was serving as Artillery Forward Observer with a patrol element of the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. Their patrol was fired upon, and after the skirmish, Lieutenant Egan could not be located. The next day Lance Corporal Edwin R. Grissett, Jr. (Case 0236) was also declared missing when he became separated from the same patrol.

In April 1966, information was received that both Grissett and Egan were captured alive from a South Vietnamese Popular Force soldier who had just escaped from Viet Cong captivity. The soldier asserted that Corporal Grissett told him Lieutenant Egan was wounded and later shot by the Viet Cong. Another report was received from a different source that an American with an individual correlating to Corporal Grissett had been shot and killed.

Corporal Grissett was reclassified as POW during the war, but Lieutenant Egan was not. Neither were accounted-for at the end of Operation Homecoming, after which both were declared dead/body not recovered. Corporal Grissett's remains were repatriated and identified in June 1989.

In August 1990, U.S. field investigators in Vietnam interviewed eight witnesses concerning the capture of the two Marines. The information they provided did not lead to the recovery of any remains of Lieutenant Egan.

Vietnam Cecil J. Hodgson Frank N. Badolati Ronald T. Terry (0242)

On January 28, 1966, Sergeant First Class Hodgson and other patrol members were on a combat patrol in the An Lao Valley, Binh Dinh Province. They encountered a hostile force and evaded. Following the action the three could not be located and were declared missing.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on the three servicemen, and they were not reported alive in the Vietnamese prison system. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered.

South Vietnam Donald S. Newton (0258)

On February 26, 1966, Sergeant Newton and Private First Class Wills were members of a long range reconnaissance patrol. They departed their patrol base on a short mission and were never seen again. After their disappearance information was received that two U.S. servicemen had been captured during a firefight. One was killed, and the second, named "Newton," was found wounded and was then captured alive.

Both were declared missing in action. Neither was classified as captured. After Operation Homecoming both were declared dead/body not recovered. Neither of their remains have been repatriated.

In August 1990, U.S. field investigators in Vietnam interviewed witnesses in Vietnam who described the ambush of two Americans. One was shot and killed, his body left behind on a river sandbank. The second was taken prisoner. En route to a higher headquarters, the Viet Cong unit found itself having to move to avoid detection from a U.S. heliborne operation. The American prisoner, believed to possibly correlate with Sergeant Newton, was shot and killed to ensure the unit could move and avoid detection. A grave site of the dead American was identified, but no remains could be located. In March 1991, U.S. field investigators interviewed another witness who provided generally similar information concerning the killing and burial of an American which closely correlated to this incident.

South Vietnam William M. Collins Delbert R. Peterson Robert E. Foster (0267)

On March 9, 1967, Captain Collins, Lieutenant Peterson and Staff Sergeant Foster were part of a six-man crew providing close air support to a Special Forces camp. Their aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire and crash landed to the north of the A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province. According to survivors, enemy small-arms fire hit and killed Foster and Collins. A-1E aircraft struck the surrounding enemy positions. Lieutenant Peterson was last seen moving into undergrowth. The survivors called out to Lieutenant Peterson but received no response. Special Forces personnel arrived later that day and found the bodies of Sergeant Foster and Captain Collins but were unable to recover them due to enemy activity. They could not locate Lieutenant Peterson.

Lieutenant Peterson was declared missing. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his fate. He was declared dead/body not recovered in February 1978.

North Vietnam 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.

South Vietnam Jimmy M. Malone (0326)

On May 4, 1966, Private Malone was serving as a radio operator with his unit in Tan Uyen District, Bien Hoa Province. His unit, participating in Operation Hastings, had just completed its combat assault and was establishing its position with Private Malone's platoon on the unit's perimeter.

Private Malone was detailed to pick up mail from his weapons platoon. He departed his position along a trail outside of the perimeter but never returned. A search of the area located jungle- boot prints believed to have been made by Private Malone. The impression of the search party was that Private Malone had taken the trail but had made a wrong turn away from his unit's perimeter.

The boot prints were later joined by sandal prints, and they both led to a fortified Viet Cong position. His squad came under hostile sniper fire during their search. The next day another platoon swept the area and located still more foot prints approximately 1500 meters away, but there was no trace of Private Malone.

Private Malone was declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information about him. After Operation Homecoming he was declared killed in action/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In June 1984, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received a report about the recovery of remains in Tan Uyen District, now a part of Song Be Province. The remains and a dog-tag were reportedly turned over to local authorities. This report was placed in Private Malone's file due to the coincidence in loss location.

On March 12, 1992, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigation in Thu Dau Mot District, Song Be Province, led to an interview with a former Political Officer from the 4th Artillery Company, 3rd Battalion, Dong Nai Regiment. The officer stated that a reconnaissance element from his unit had killed an American in the area where Private Malone disappeared and that he had recovered one web belt and a .45 caliber sidearm. The soldier was part of an American force which had just come to operate in the area. The body was buried along a trail near a stream in the area. A helicopter later appeared and broadcast an appeal for information about a missing serviceman. U.S. investigator's tended to discredit the account they were offered.

South Vietnam Bennie Lee Dexter (0333)

On May 9, 1966, Airman Second Class Dexter departed Pleiku City for Banmethuot City by jeep. He never arrived at his destination, and an ensuing search turned up his jeep on May 11, 1966. Local civilians reported he had been stopped and taken prisoner. There were wartime reports about an American POW in captivity whose circumstances of capture were similar to that of Airman Dexter. One report asserted that he died of starvation in February 1967.

Airman Dexter was carried in a POW status at the end of Operation Homecoming. He was later declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to confirm his fate.

Joint Casualty Resolution Center field investigations in Vietnam during April 1989 led to the interview of witnesses who described Dexter's capture and imprisonment near Banmethuot. The same witnesses stated that he was shot and killed during an escape attempt and that his remains were buried nearby. U.S. investigators were unable to locate any evidence of his grave or remains.

South Vietnam Louis Buckley, Jr. (0344)

On May 21, 1966, Sergeant Buckley, a member of the Motor Platoon of the 12th Cavalry, was with his unit in Binh Duong Province. His unit came under enemy attack at Landing Zone Hereford and was forced to withdraw. Sergeant Buckley was last seen in the area with blood on his shirt and arm. Friendly reinforcements arrived, but Sergeant Buckley could not be located.

He was initially declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on his fate. In January 1978, he was declared dead/body not recovered.

In October 1981, U.S. intelligence received information from a Vietnamese refugee concerning the death of an American soldier in the area Sergeant Buckley disappeared. It could not be specifically correlated to Buckley.

South Vietnam William Ellis, Jr. (0372)

On June 24, 1966, Ellis was declared missing while on a combat operation in Kontum Province. After the end of hostilities he was declared dead/body not recovered. In December 1990, a U.S. field team in Vietnam reported the results of their recent field trip into the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. During their visit, they interviewed a doctor who saw several American POWs during 1967 or 1968 in western Kontum Province. The doctor was aware that one African-American had died at his hospital and that a dead American's body was preserved for use as a medical training aid.

The doctor also stated that three Caucasian Americans died there, and he believed they were buried nearby. These reports were tentatively correlated to Schiele (Case 1112), Van Bendegom (0762) and a then unidentified third Caucasian American. The report about the African-American appeared to correlate to Ellis (0372). Other information, possibly concerning Schiele, traced his movements from the area of his capture to his turnover, then to the 62nd Regiment and later to B-3 Front Headquarters.

South Vietnam Robert H. Gage (0381)

On July 3, 1966, Lance Corporal Gage and another Marine from the 1st Division left their platoon's position to find someone to do their laundry and entered Thanh Thuy Village, which is 15 kilometers south-southeast of Da Nang City, Quang Nam Province. When last seen, Corporal Gage was engaged in conversation with a woman. He never returned to his platoon's position and was declared missing. Friendly forces detained local village women on July 3rd and 4th but were unable to obtain information on Corporal Gage's fate. On July 5, 1966, the Marines learned that the Corporal had actually entered a Viet Cong controlled hamlet.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on Corporal Gage's fate. In August 1974, he was declared killed in action/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

North Vietnam 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.

South Vietnam Robert L. Babula Dennis R. Carter Robert C. Borton John L. Bodenschatz (0439)

On August 28, 1966, the four PFCs were members of the 1st Marine Division and were with a fire team at an ambush site ten kilometers southwest of Da Nang City, Quang Nam Province. They failed to return from their mission and were declared missing. On September 4, 1968, Bodenschatz' dog-tags and a partial wrist watch were located. Local residents did not provide any information about the fate of the four men.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information about their fate. They were declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death in November 1974.

South Vietnam Lawrence B. Tatum (0453)

On September 10, 1966, Tatum was the pilot of an A-1E which was hit by hostile antiaircraft fire and crashed eight kilometers north of the Rao Thanh River currently in Trung Luong District, Quang Tri Province. A forward air controller did not observe Tatum

bail out but did hear an emergency beeper for approximately one minute. He later observed a presumable parachute slack in the trees on a hillside. He never saw Tatum safely on the ground. He observed hostile forces approach the parachute and evidently pull it out of the tree.

Tatum was initially declared missing. After Operation Homecoming he was declared dead/body not recovered.

In April 1990 a U.S. team in Vietnam located a crash site with material consistent with that of an A-1E, but no personal artifacts were found. Local witnesses were unable to provide any information. A U.S. team located information in the records of People's Army Military Region 4 indicating that a U.S. pilot died in a crash on the date. The place and time correlated to Tatum's loss incident, but the pilot's name was not available.

North Vietnam 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.

South Vietnam Daniel L. Niehouse (0529)

On November 25, 1966, Mr. Niehouse, a salesman for Ford Motor Company, was driving between Saigon and Dalat when he was stopped and detained by Vietnamese communist forces 20 kilometers north of the town of Xuan Loc. Three foreign civilians released from captivity on January 1, 1967 (Thomas R. Scales, Robert W. Monahan, Mrs. Ofelia T. Gaza) last knew Mr. Niehouse to be alive in captivity with them. Prior to their release, Mrs. Gaza's husband and an Australian civilian died in captivity.

Mr. Niehouse was reported missing and then captured. He was identified by the Provisional Revolutionary Government at Operation Homecoming as having died in captivity on April 12, 1967. His remains have not yet been repatriated. Other returning POWs were unable to provide information on his eventual fate.

South Vietnam Burt C. Small (0607)

On March 6, 1967, Specialist Small was assigned to Quang Ngai Province from the 5th Special Forces Group as a member of Advisory Detachment 108. A South Vietnamese irregular force unit (CIDG) was ambushed, and, after the skirmish, Small was missing. A CIDG soldier later escaped and reported that Specialist Small had been captured alive.

His status was changed from missing in action to POW. After Operation Homecoming he was declared dead/body not recovered. His remains have never been repatriated and other returning U.S. POWs were unable to confirm that he was alive in any of the Vietnamese prisons in South or North Vietnam.

The Joint Casualty Resolution Center conducted field investigations in the area of Specialist Small's capture. They received information that Specialist Small had been captured alive and was wounded at the time of his capture. All members of the capturing unit are reportedly deceased.

North Vietnam 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.