Text File

South Vietnam William C. Pierson, III (1425)

On April 13, 1969, Warrant Officer Pierson and Captain Alvie J. Ledford were crewmen on an AH-1G aircraft making an attack run on an enemy gun position in Quang Nam Province. While at an approximate altitude of 500 feet and in a 45 degree dive, an accompanying aircraft pilot saw their aircraft hit by hostile ground fire. He also described seeing the pilot's compartment separate from the aircraft and disintegrate as it fell. Both crewmen were initially reported missing in action.

Captain Ledford's remains were recovered on April 20, 1969. Warrant Officer Pierson was declared dead/body not recovered, in October 1978. U.S. POWs returned alive during Operation Homecoming were unable to provide any information on the fate of Warrant Officer Pierson.

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

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Cambodia Jerry M. Shriver (1431)

On April 24, 1969, Sergeant First Class Shriver was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group Command and Control South with a 25 man Vietnamese/U.S. reconnaissance control in a covert cross border operation into Cambodia. While 23 kilometers southeast of Memot, Kampong Cham Province, the platoon engaged hostile forces. He was last seen running into woods near his platoon's helicopter landing zone. Vietnamese voices were later heard stated that one American was in the process of being captured. He was initially declared missing in action. The area of his loss was later struck by a B-52 strike.

In June 1970 a recovery team landed at the site of the platoon ambush and recovered the remains of two Vietnamese and another American platoon member. Their remains were found lying on the ground and had not been buried.

Sergeant Shriver was initially declared missing in action and after the end of hostilities was declared dead/body not recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on his fate.

Laos William J. Brashear Henry G. Mundt II (1437)

On May 8, 1969, Major Brashear and Lieutenant Mundt departed Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, in one of a flight of four F4C aircraft on a mission over Laos. Their aircraft was hit by hostile fire while over the target area near Chavane Airfield, Saravane Province. One parachute was seen to have deployed and a second floated. A search and rescue helicopter reported voice contact with one survivor but could not identify him. The survivor reported he was badly burned and had an injured leg. One member of the SAR flight identified the voice as that of Major Brashear.

Neither individual was identified alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system and neither of their remains have been repatriated. Both individuals were initially declared missing. Lieutenant Mundt was declared dead/body not recovered, in February 1979. Major Brashear was also declared dead/body not recovered.

In 1972 a People's Army of Vietnam defector reported observing a U.S. POW at the site where Major Brashear's aircraft was lost. He also reported he heard the POW was an F-105 pilot and a major.

Laos Virgil G. Stewart (1444)

On May 17, 1969, First Lieutenant Stewart was the pilot of an F-4D in the area of the Mu Gia Pass, Khammouane Province, Laos, when his aircraft sustained battle damage. He ejected from his aircraft and reported to rescuers that he was on the ground with a broken arm and leg. Rescue forces had a visual sighting of him and short beepers. A hostile gun position was located south of his position and it was attacked by SAR forces. A pararescue specialist later landed in the area and found him dead. Hostile groundfire prevented recovery of his body. He was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in May 1969.

In 1978, the Defense Intelligence Agency reevaluated a December 1972 report from the Defense Attache Office, Vientiane, prepared by the Air Force member (Project 5800-09-05) of the Attache's Exploitation Team. One of the items reported by the source of the report was that an F-4H had crashed circa May 1969 and it was assumed the pilot had been rescued. This report was reevaluated to be a possible correlation to one of several losses in the area of the crash, one of which was Lieutenant Steward's loss incident.

Laos James W. Grace (1455)

On June 14, 1969, Captain Grace and First Lieutenant Wayne J. Karas were the crew in an F-4D on a bomb damage assessment mission over Savannakhet Province. Their aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire while assessing damage to a bridge and was able to fly 85 kilometers east-northeast before both crewmen were forced to eject.

They parachuted safely from their aircraft and search personnel were in contact with them. The two crewmen landed approximately 100 meters apart and were soon recovered by SAR forces.

However, during their recovery, the rotor blade on the helicopter recovering Captain Grace hit a tree and this caused Captain Grace to fall from the jungle penetrator on which he was seated. He fell 300-500 feet to the ground and efforts to locate him there were unsuccessful. Friendly units searched the area during August 1969- June 1970 but found no evidence of him. Lieutenant Karas was recovered safely.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on Captain Grace's precise fate. In June 1976, Captain Grace was declared killed in action, body not recovered.

South Vietnam Donald L. Sparks (1456)

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Laos Patrick M. Fallon (1463)

On July 4, 1969, Colonel Fallon was the pilot of an A-1H, lead in a flight of two aircraft which departed Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand, late in the morning for an armed reconnaissance mission over Xieng Khouang Province, Laos. His aircraft was hit in the wing during his second pass over the target and Colonel Fallon bailed out. Aircrew overhead saw Colonel Fallon's parachute being dragged in and initially "guessed" Colonel Fallon was on the ground and a prisoner approximately 20 miles southeast of Muong Suoi. However, Colonel Fallon was able to report he had landed safely and was in good condition but receiving fire from nearby hostile forces. Aircraft in the area laid down air strikes within one hundred feet of his position and received hostile ground fire. They reported friendly forces were two and a half miles southwest of his location and advised him to move in that direction but Colonel Fallon was observed surrounded by hostile forces.

After being in communications with aircraft overhead for approximately thirty minutes, Colonel Fallon radioed "Put it in around me. They have zapped me. I've had it." However, radio communications continued with Colonel Fallon for approximately 15 more minutes with no evidence he'd been wounded.

Colonel Fallon's wingman observed hostile infantry on the ridge top around his position. U.S. aircraft delivered ordnance on Colonel Fallon's position. Colonel Fallon was declared missing in action.

In August 1969 the area Colonel Fallon was last seen was searched by ground forces but with negative results. On September 16, 1969, an unconfirmed report was received that a U.S. pilot had been killed by grenades while defending himself with a pistol. An attempt was being made to locate villagers who might know of the grave site.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on Colonel Fallon's precise fate. In August 1979 he was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

Laos Peter X. Pike Paul L. Bannon (1465)

On July 12, 1969, Major Bannon and First Lieutenant Pike were the crew in an F-4D which departed Ubon Air Base, Thailand, on a visual reconnaissance mission over Laos. While over Khammouane Province, Lieutenant Pike radioed that he was trying to find a hole in the clouds because their target area was unworkable due to poor weather conditions and he was going to move to another area. Their radio transmission suddenly stopped in mid-sentence at the same time their radar signal disappeared. The area in which the crew was flying at the time was mountainous terrain with mountain tops to 4500 feet and peaks in the area to 5830 feet. A limited aerial search of the area failed to locate any evidence of the missing crew.

In December 1970, the Swedish Government provided U.S. officials with a list of 207 names of American POWs and MIAs. Major Bannon's name was annotated that he was never captured in North Vietnam.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the eventual fate of the crew. Lieutenant Pike and Major Bannon were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death, in May 1974 and January 1979 respectively.

In late 1979, JCRC received information from an ethnic Lao resident in Thailand involved in self described Lao resistance activities. He reported that his element had captured a Pathet Lao guard from a cave prison in Khammouane Province to which 18 U.S. POWs had been transferred from Xieng Khouang Province in March 1979. The senior prisoner was described as Colonel Paul who was said to have been the pilot of a Porter aircraft shot down over the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang Province in 1971. In a separate letter to another individual, the source identified the senior POW as Paul W. Mercland. CIA was reportedly unable to corroborate the report, believed associated with the claimed presence of U.S. POWs in the area of Nhommarath in 1981. In June 1981, this incident was briefed by the DIA Director and his staff to the House Sub- Committee on Asian and Pacific Affairs which time the DIA said that the Nhommarath report had developed into "a complex and sensitive matter."

In April 1986, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received information about aircraft wreckage on the ground in the area of this loss incident. Other crash reports were deceived during December 1988-August 1989 which might correlate to this loss incident.

Laos Roger D. Helwig (1488)

On September 11, 1969, Helwig and fellow F-4D crewman Roger H. Stearns departed Da Nang, South Vietnam, on a visual reconnaissance flight over Savannakhet Province, Laos. After pulling low off their target, fuel was observed to be streaming from the top and bottom of their aircraft's wings. A small flash occurred on the left wing, and their aircraft rolled to the right and was almost completely inverted when it crashed into the ground in a stream bed several hundred feet beyond the target, exploding into a fireball on impact. The time from pull out to crash was estimated to be approximately five seconds, the canopy was seen still in place on the aircraft when it crashed, and no parachutes deployed. The two crewmen were declared missing.

Reports from others on the scene described part of a parachute in a tree beside the wreckage, an apparently deflated life raft to the west of the stream bed, and other badly torn parachute parts 75 meters north of the wreckage. There was no sign of any survivors. There were intermittent beepers in the area for the next two hours, but in no apparent order to the signals, and there was no voice transmission.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the two missing airmen and after the start of Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In October 1984, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received crash site information from a refugee in Thailand who provided the tail number of an F-4 aircraft which correlated to the F-4D's tail number involved in this incident. In March 1989 the site was surveyed by a joint team in May 1990 a data plate from the aircraft was recovered together with an identity card and human remains of Roger H. Stearns. Roger Helwig remains unaccounted for.

Laos Gray D. Warren Neil S. Bynum (1505)

On October 25, 1969, First Lieutenant Bynum and Captain Warren were the crew in an F-4D on a forward air control mission over Khammouane Province. A bulldozer was sighted in the target area and they made two passes over the bulldozer. While on their third pass, a low angle pass on the dozer, they hit the bulldozer with a pod of high explosive rockets and then their aircraft was observed to impact on the ground and approximately 100 meters north of the bulldozer, exploding into a large fireball. The wreckage of their aircraft was spread over a 400 meter area. The area of impact was in the area of Ban San and Route 912, approximately nine kilometers from the Laos/North Vietnam border. There were no known survivors and both airmen were declared missing in action. SAR forces encountered hostile weapons fire during a two hour visual reconnaissance of their crash site.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. They were declared dead/body not recovered, on separate dates in 1973 and 1976.

South Vietnam John G. Graf (1523)

On November 15, 1969, Commander Graf, a U.S. Navy intelligence officer, was accompanying U.S. Army Captain Robert White on a flight south of Saigon. Their aircraft was hit by hostile small arms fire and crashed along the coast in Vinh Binh Province. Both crewmen parachuted to safety, were captured by local guerilla forces, and held in a provincial level prison. Both crewmen were initially reported as missing and then reclassified as POWs.

Commander Graf escaped from the prison circa February 1971 and was never seen again by Captain White. Captain White survived in the Vinh Binh prison. In 1972, a captured People's Army of Vietnam document from Military Region 3 in the southern Vietnam delta identified him as the only American POW in captivity in the delta who had not been evacuated to the Region 3 Headquarters controlled prison in the U-Minh mangrove swamp in Kien Giang Province.

Captain White's name did not appear on the Provisional Revolutionary Government's list of Americans to be repatriated during Operation Homecoming. Then, at the end of March 1973, People's Army of Vietnam General Tran Van Tra advised U.S. officers with the Joint Military Commission that Captain White had been omitted from the list and was to be repatriated. He was released to U.S. officials on April 1, 1973, the last American POW released during Operation Homecoming. Upon repatriation, he stated he was led to believe during the war that Commander Graf was still alive but had been told prior to his release that Commander Graf had died.

Wartime records recovered from the Vinh Binh area included the interrogation reports of Captain White and Commander Graf. After Operation Homecoming, Commander Graf was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

U.S. investigators in Vietnam recently interviewed former staff of the provincial prison who described Commander Graf's escape. His body was recovered later and it was evident he had drowned. His body was buried in a river bank which later eroded in flooding, washing away the area where his body had been buried.

Laos Benjamin F. Danielson (1535)

On December 5, 1969, Captain Danielson was flying an F4C from Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, on an interdiction mission over Laos. His aircraft was hit by hostile groundfire while in a high angle bomb delivery into an area of up through 75mm anti-aircraft fire in a heavily defended area near the North Vietnamese border. He and his co-pilot ejected and landed close together in Khammouane Province, Laos. Captain Danielson and his co-pilot were separated by a stream but were in contact with one another until December 6. On that date the co-pilot heard the sound of excited voices from a hostile search party scouring the area where Captain Danielson was located. The co-pilot then heard weapons firing, a scream from the area where Captain Danielson was hiding and then silence. There was no further radio transmission from Captain Danielson. The co- pilot was rescued the following day.

Captain Danielson was not reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. He was initially declared missing and was declared dead/body not recovered in June 1976.

Laos Bruce C. Fryar (1542)

On January 2, 1970, Captains Fryar and Nicholas G. Brooks were the crew of an A-6A from the U.S.S. Ranger, one in a flight of two on a late afternoon strike mission over the Mu Gia Pas in Khammouane Province. A forward air controller saw an orange flash followed by a fire on the right side of their aircraft. The forward air controller and flight leader saw two deployed parachutes and ejection seats. Two beepers were heard on guard frequency and there was a weak voice transmission which was unintelligible.

A pararescue specialist was lowered to the site of one parachute and found a lifeless body he identified later through a photograph as that of Captain Fryar. While attempting to hook his body onto a cable to remove it, the pararescue specialist reported Captain Fryar's body was limp, his head had turned 360 degrees as if his neck was broken, and his legs were bent up behind his head. Hostile ground fire forced the SAR force to withdraw and the effort was temporarily suspended. The SAR force returned on June 3, 1970 and Captain Fryar and his parachute were gone. There was an electronic beeper that morning but no pattern to its transmission. The SAR effort was continued until suspended January 7th. On January 19, 1970, a People's Army of Vietnam unit in Laos radioed it had captured one injured pilot but was unable to get the second. The pilot was "very sick" but had been killed by ethnic minorities. The second pilot was eventually captured but later escaped.

Both crewmen were initially declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to describe their precise fate and after Operation Homecoming both were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In April 1982 Captain Brooks remains were repatriated and identified.

In February 1986 the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received information that remains had been recovered from this crash site and repatriated in May 1985 but no remains correlated to Captain Fryar were identified at the Central Identification Laboratory. In May 1991, a joint U.S./Lao investigation of the crash site led to the interview of witnesses who stated the bodies of two crewmen were recovered after the incident and buried in an adjacent bomb crater. The joint team did recover remnants of two survival tests, one flight suit and other artifacts but no remains. This site excavated was believed that of this loss incident.

North Vietnam 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.

South Vietnam Gary B. Scull (1572)

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Laos Dennis G. Pugh (1573)

On March 19, 1970, Captain Richard A. Rash and First Lieutenant Pugh were the crew in an F-4D on a combat mission over Khammouane Province. They were hit by hostile ground fire and ejected from their aircraft in an area approximately 15 kilometers south of the Mu Gia Pass. Airborne search and rescue forces established contact with both of them on the ground but were unable to recover them due to darkness. The next day SAR forces reestablished contact with Lieutenant Pugh who reported that hostile forces were within ten meters of his position. He requested the SAR forces place ordnance on his position and he then held down the transmit key on his radio. Then, excited Asian voices were heard followed by 15 to 20 shots being fired, followed by silence. Ordnance was placed on his position as he requested and there was no further contact with him.

Captain Rash was rescued on March 21st and reported hearing the sound of small arms fire from Lieutenant Rash's location after which he lost radio contact with him. Further efforts to locate Lieutenant Pugh were unsuccessful and he was declared missing in action.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the eventual fate of Lieutenant Pugh. He was later declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In 1984, U.S. intelligence received information from a source describing the shoot down of an aircraft in which one pilot was rescued and one was taken prisoner. This report was believed to possibly correlate to this loss incident although Captain Rash and the SAR pilots believed Lieutenant Pugh had died.

Laos Richard L. Ayers Robert E. Rausch (1596)

On April 16, 1970, an RF-4C with a two man crew of Major Ayers and Captain Rausch departed Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon to conduct reconnaissance along the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam as well as the adjacent area of Savannakhet Province, Laos. They refueled in flight and advised their controller that they were heading north to another target area. The new target area was known to be a high threat area with 37mm and other anti- aircraft weapons. They were last reported over Savannakhet Province but did not return from their mission and were declared missing in action. There were no chutes or beepers located.

Subsequent to their disappearance, Radio Hanoi's domestic service reported its forces had shot down an RF-4C in the Vinh Linh Special Zone, the North Vietnamese side of the DMZ, on the afternoon of April 16, 1970. This report was correlated to the loss of Major Ayers' aircraft.

On April 17, 1970, a People's Army of Vietnam unit radioed a report concerning four recent U.S. aircraft shoot downs. Three of the aircraft were F-4 and the completely burned remains of one crewman were found in one F-4 crash site wreckage. The pilot of the fourth aircraft, an RF-4C, was also killed. The portion of this radio message dealing with the RF-4C was believed associated with Major Ayers' shoot down even though People's Army forces only reported (one) pilot killed.

South Vietnam Eugene L. Wheeler (1598)

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Laos Charles S. Rowley (1600)

On April 22, 1970, Lieutenant Colonel Rowley was the navigator on an AC-130 on an armed reconnaissance mission over Saravane Province, Laos. It was hit by 37mm antiaircraft fire and crashed. One crewman was rescued alive and ten others, including LTC Rowley, were reported missing in action. No chutes or beepers were reported for the ten mission. Lieutenant Colonel Rowley's photograph was identified by returnees.

During the mid-1980s private U.S. and Lao POW hunters produced a photograph of a Caucasian reported to be LTC Rowley alive in Laos. In May 1991 U.S. intelligence received information of the recovery of identification media containing the name and social security account number of LTC Charlie B. Davis, the aircraft's navigator.

Cambodia Dale W. Richardson Rodney D. Price, Jr. Bunyan D. Price Robert M. Young (1610)

On May 2, 1970, eight U.S. Army personnel were flying in a UH-1H in northern Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam. They crossed into Cambodia and were shot down by hostile ground fire, crashing southwest of Memot City. One Army Private evaded capture and was rescued. Four were captured. Two of those captured, Warrant Officer Maslowski and Specialist Crowson, were released in February 1973 during Operation Homecoming. Warrant Officer Varnado was wounded in the right side and left leg. He was taken to a hospital after captured and was never seen by U.S. POWs as alive after that time. A wartime report was received describing an American POW who died at Hospital K-21 on 26 August 1970, wounded in the left thigh during a helicopter crash in June 1970. The unit which shot down the helicopter was Z26 Company, 75th Artillery Group.

In January 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government acknowledged the death in captivity of Captain Young and Warrant Officer Michael B. Varnado. Varnado's returns were repatriated on April 27, 1989. The death of Captain Young was witnessed by nine U.S. POWs who were repatriated during Operation Homecoming. In February 1975, a Viet Cong defector who had served as a guard at prison camp TB.22 described Captain Young's death and located his burial site.

In April 1970, a Viet Cong defector reported having seen an American in Kampong Cham Province in April 1970. This report was believed associated with Specialist Price. In 1981 three South Vietnamese Army escapees from prison B-7 in Kratie Province reported an American POW there in 1971 who had reportedly been there for one year. During their only one hour interview they identified one of two photographs of Price as similar to the individual imprisoned at their camp. This identification led to a reclassification of Price from missing in action to POW.

Specialist Griffin and Captain Richardson were last seen alive after their crash and prior to the capture of Captain Young and the three others. Although those surviving into captivity were kept together and joined other U.S. POWs then in custody inside Cambodia, returning U.S. POWs never saw Richardson, Price or Griffin alive in captivity. A classified document last believed in the possession of Captain Richardson was shown to Captain Young. Captain Richardson was last seen alive and firing his pistol at enemy forces and was then hit by hostile fire while running.

After the end of hostilities, all unaccounted for crewmen were eventually declared dead/body not recovered.

South Vietnam Larry G. Kier Refugio T. Terran (1613)

On May 6, 1970, Private First Class Kier and Private First Class Terran were at a fire support base in Quang Tri Province. Their position came under an enemy attack and a nearby ammunition dump 20 meters from their bunker was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. Napalm from the ammunition dump leaked into their position which caught fire and burned. After the attack Terran could not be located, and Kier, at a separate location, could not be located either. Both individuals were declared killed in action, body not recovered in the late 1970s.

In August 1991, a Vietnam resident turned over the partially melted identity card belonging to Kier together with two bone fragments. The bones were reportedly recovered during 1987 and were turned over to a U.S. representative in Hanoi. The fragments are currently undergoing analysis.

South Vietnam Alan R. Trent Eric Huberth (1619)

On May 13, 1970, First Lieutenant Huberth and Captain Trent were the crew in an F-4D, one in a flight of two F-4 which took off from Phu Cat Air Base against a target approximately 105 miles northwest inside Cambodia. There was .30 and .50 calibre ground fire against their aircraft while in the target area. Their aircraft was observed to crash into a ridge line during a dive. A forward air controller saw no one eject, no parachutes and heard no beepers. Another F-4 on the scene and with a clear view of the crash reported the aircraft exploded on impact with a full load of munitions on board and the resultant wreckage was spread over a 500 meter area. There was a search and rescue effort on May 14th and 15th, to include a ground team on the 14th, but there was no evidence that anyone had survived the incident.

Both airmen were initially reported missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. In November 1973 both were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

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

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Laos Donald B. Bloodworth James W. Reed (1650)

On the evening of July 24, 1970, Captain Reed and First Lieutenant Bloodworth departed Udorn Air Base, Thailand, in an F-4D, one in a flight of three aircraft on a night escort mission over Laos. They refueled in flight and preceded to the Plain of Jars area of Xieng Khouang Province to provide escort to an AC-119 gunship. The gunship located a truck on Route 7 and fired on in. After expending its ammunition, Captain Reed's aircraft also attacked the truck. They were unsuccessful on their first pass and were approved for a second pass over the target but there were no further communications with the crew. Shortly thereafter, there was a large explosion on the ground near the target. There were no chutes or beepers and a ground search was not possible to extremely heavy hostile activity in the crash site area.

On July 25, 1970, a hostile unit in Laos radioed that its forces had shot down one F-4 on July 25th with anti-aircraft fire and the pilots had been captured. This report was initially believed correlated to this loss incident but was later determined to probably correlate with another incident in South Laos, which occurred on July 25th, and not this incident, which occurred in North Laos on July 24th.

Both crewmen were declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of the two missing crewmen. After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In July 1973, the Defense Attache Office Exploitation Team (Project 5310-03-E) forwarded information from a prisoner who described the crash of one of three jets bombing on the eastern rim of the Plain of Jars circa April 1968. One aircraft reportedly dove on a ground target but didn't recover from its dive and crashed. The next day the source heard from a Pathet Lao medical technician that two crewmen were killed in the crash.

DIA believed this report might be associated with this loss incident. In 1973 the Exploitation Team forwarded information from a former Pathet Lao describing an aircraft crash said to have occurred in 1969 near Nong Tang cave. While it was initially suspected it might pertain to this loss incident, DIA reevaluated it after Operation Homecoming and concluded it might pertain to the loss incident of a returnee, Charles Reiss.

In 1986 the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received a report about a crash site in the vicinity of this loss incident. In January 1990, a joint JCRC/Lao team visited the area of this loss incident and was told a Lao national had remains to turn over. The source could not be located at that time. In July 1971 a joint team investigated the site and in December 1991 another joint team visited the site, locating F-4 wreckage and a portion of parachute harness.

South Vietnam Bernard H. Plassmeyer (1660)

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Laos Fred A. Gassman David A. Davidson (1663)

On October 5, 1970, a joint U.S./Vietnamese reconnaissance team designated Team Fer-de-Lance from the 5th Special Forces Group Command and Control North group engaged hostile forces in the Phu Dung operational area in Saravan Province. The Assistant Team Leader, Sergeant Gassman, radioed to an aircraft overhead that the Team Leader had been hit by hostile fire and fallen off a cliff, the team was receiving hostile ground fire from three sides, and they were low on ammunition. The Assistant Team Leader then radioed "I've been hit - and in the worst way." Several groans were heard over the circuit and then the radio went silent.

Two other team members later described how Staff Sergeant Davidson was hit by a long burst of enemy fire after which Sergeant Gassman was talking on the radio when he too was shot. Sergeant Gassman groaned and fell to the ground with a large hole in his back. One Vietnamese team member with Sergeant Gassman when he was shot believed he had died.

After the incident the Sergeants Gassman and Davidson were declared missing in action. 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.