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South Vietnam Bobby M. Jones Jack R. Harvey (1949)

On November 28, 1972, Captain Jones and First Lieutenant Harvey departed Udorn Air Base, Thailand, to ferry an F-4D to Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam. The last contact with the crew was when they were approximately 32 kilometers northwest of Da Nang and the aircraft then disappeared from the radar screen. They did not arrive at Da Nang and were declared missing. Search and rescue aircraft in the area heard three "Mayday" calls and beeper signals but could not associate them with this missing crew. Subsequent to their disappearance, aircraft wreckage was located on Bach Ma Mountain in Phu Loc District, Thua Thien Province and believed associated with their crash site.

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on the eventual fate of the two missing airmen. In 1978 they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

North Vietnam James R. McElvain (1952)

On December 18, 1972, Major McElvain and Colonel Ronald Ward departed Takhli Air Base, Thailand, in an F-111A for a single ship strike mission over North Vietnam. At 2100 hours they radioed the Joint Rescue Control Center that they'd attacked their assigned target. At this point they were plotted to be approximately 26 miles east-southeast of the town of Nam Dinh and at the mouth of a river along the Thai Binh/Nam Ha Province boundary and advised they had passed over the coastline. There was no further transmission from them and their intended course was to be out over the Gulf of Tonkin. At 2129 hours they did not make a communications check. An extensive search along their intended flight path failed to disclose any evidence of either the aircraft or its crew and the crew was declared missing in action.

On December 19, 1972, the People's Army reported it had shot down a B-52 the previous night and captured seven airmen. In another report, the seven captured were described as coming two B-52 and another aircraft not further identified, from which they'd captured a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major from a two man aircrew. On the same day another unit radioed that three of those captured were from a downed B-52 crew. No names of any Americans were in these reports. These reports were placed in the files of the these missing airmen.

One returnee stated he might have heard McElvain's name on a radio broadcast. No other returnees heard the name and no regular monitoring service reported his name on any domestic of foreign broadcasts. A next of kin of one of the crewmen received a rumor their aircraft had been shot down by a U.S. Navy aircraft.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the fate of the two crewmen. After Operation homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered.

North Vietnam Arthur V. McLaughlin John F. Stewart Randolph A. Perry Irwin S. Lerner (1955)

On December 20, 1972, a B-52 with a six man crew departed Utapao Air Base, Thailand, one in a cell of three B-52s who were part of a larger bombing force on a nighttime ARC LIGHT bombing mission over North Vietnam. At 2030 hours and prior to reaching their target, the B-52 was hit by a surface to air missile. Attempts to contact the crew were unsuccessful and darkness prevented the sighting of any parachutes. Beepers were heard but could not be correlated to any specific crewmen from this aircraft due to multiple aircraft losses and beepers from other downed crewmen.

After the shoot down, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) announced the capture of one crewman, Captain Paul L. Granger and a second crewman, Captain Thomas J. Klomann, was listed as a POW to be repatriated on the DRV list provided the U.S. in Paris on January 27, 1973.

After his release from captivity, Captain Granger stated that his aircraft was attacked by a MIG aircraft when they were approximately 70 kilometers from Hanoi. Then, surface to air missiles were launched; one struck the right wing of their aircraft and a second SAM exploded in front of the B-52's cockpit. There was a noticeable thump which was either another exploding SAM or the navigator, Captain Klomann, ejecting. Captain Granger ejected at an altitude of 28,000 feet when ordered to do so by Major Stuart, the aircraft commander. Neither Captain Granger nor Captain Klomann had any information on the eventual fate of other crewmen. The remaining crewmen, all declared missing in action, at the time, were declared killed in action, body not recovered, by 1982.

Laos Frank A. Gould (1959)

On December 20, 1972, a B-52D on a mission over North Vietnam was hit by a surface to air missile while over Hanoi. The pilot followed his exit route from the area and headed for Laos. The aircraft started losing power 25 minutes later and there were control problems with the aircraft. The crew initiated bailout procedures that night while at an altitude of 19,000 feet and over mountainous jungle terrain just over the border of North Vietnam and over Laos.

Major Gould suffered injuries to his right arm and leg from the surface to air missile explosion but had been able to apply bandages to the bleeding which had nearly stopped by the time other crewmen successfully ejected from the B-52. The aircraft's co- pilot heard Major Gould's ejection seat firing sequence but did not observe him eject from the aircraft. The aircraft crashed in Houa Phan Province approximately 40 kilometers northeast of the Ban Ban Valley in eastern Xieng Khouang Province. Search and rescue forces recovered five crewmen on December 21st but there was no parachute or beeper from Major Gould and he was declared missing in action.

On the late afternoon of December 21, SAR forces saw possible mirror flashes from an area where the five survivors were rescued but nightfall prevented identification of the source of the possible mirror flashes. The SAR effort continued the next day in the area but without locating any evidence of Major Gould.

One returning U.S. POW had knowledge of Major Gould, but what he learned about Major Gould was received prior to his own mission. He heard that Major Gould was alive on the ground and awaiting rescue but no information in such a context has ever surfaced. Major Gould's name did not appear in POW communications channels. After Operation Homecoming Major Gould was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In February 1991, U.S. intelligence received a report with identity card information associated with Major Gould and traced to a resident of Xieng Khouang Province. In March 1991, a report came from a Lao resident in Thailand claiming that remains and artifacts had been recovered from northeast Laos near the border of North Vietnam. The report was believed possibly correlated to this incident. In December 1991, a source turned over information associated with a B-52 data plate and identity card information of Frank A. Gould. The source provided hearsay information that Major Gould was alive and living in Oudomsai Province, Laos, with a Lao wife and four children in an area approximately 6-7 kilometers east of the town of Ban Houay Sai near the border with Thailand.

Laos Paul V. Jackson, III (1967)

On December 24, 1972, Captain Jackson was the pilot of an O-1 serving as a forward air controller for a flight of four A-7D aircraft on combat operations over the southern portion of the Plain of Jars, Xieng Khouang Province. Captain Jackson's aircraft collided with an A-7D in an area approximately four kilometers west of Route 5. The other aircraft's pilot, Captain Charles F. Reiss, parachuted from his aircraft, was captured by People's Army of Vietnam forces, and was transported to North Vietnam. The two aircraft crashed 1500 yards apart and Captain Jackson's aircraft exploded and burned on impact.

One good parachute was seen at the time and this was identified as Captain Reiss who established voice contact from the ground, reporting a leg injury. He was declared missing in action and reclassified as a POW after his name appeared on the Pathet Lao list released on February 1, 1973. He was released on March 28, 1973, during Operation Homecoming.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on Captain Jackson. Captain Jackson was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in January 1973.

Laos John R. Wallerstedt Steven B. Johnson (1977)

On January 4, 1973, Captains Wallerstedt and Johnson were the crew in an F-4D on an operational mission over Savannakhet Province. Their aircraft was apparently struck by hostile groundfire and went out of control while recovering from a bombing run. The aircraft crashed approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Tchepone and five kilometers north of Route 9. Both crewmen parachuted from the aircraft and landed approximately 30 meters apart. The crewmen had radio contact with one another while coming down in the parachute. Search and rescue forces were later able to establish radio contact with Captain Wallerstedt but did not establish contact with Captain Johnson.

Captain Wallerstedt located Captain Johnson on the ground, pinned under a tree limb too heavy for him to lift. It appeared that Captain Johnson's parachute landing into trees had broken off a limb which fell on him. Captain Johnson was unconscious, bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose, and was gasping for breath.

After 15 minutes in that state Captain Wallerstedt could detect no pulse. Due to approaching hostile ground forces, Captain Wallerstedt left Captain Johnson, showing no signs of life, and evaded. He was later rescued.

Captain Johnson was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in January 1973. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his fate.

South Vietnam Richard A. Knutson Mickey A. Wilson William A. Stinson Manuel A. Lauterio Elbert W. Bush William L. Dean (1978)

On January 8, 1973, a UH-1H helicopter from the 62nd Aviation Company with a crew of four and three passengers from the Military Assistance Command Army Advisory Group departed Landing Zone Sally in Quang Tri Province en route to Quang Tri City. It was later reported to have flown across the Thach Han River into hostile territory and circled twice with its guns firing at an unknown ground target. It was then fired on by the People's Army of Vietnam using SA-7 ground to air missiles. The first missile missed and the second hit the helicopter's boom. A third hit the helicopter proper prior to its crash in the area of the South Vietnamese Army's Ai Tu Combat Base. Multiple SA-7 launches drove off SAR forces in the area of the helicopter shoot down. The seven servicemen were declared missing in action.

Subsequent to their loss, CIA forwarded hearsay information from a Vietnamese source reporting a helicopter had been shot down on January 8, 1973, in the area of this loss incident. Four U.S. pilots were reportedly captured and the fate of two other crewmen was unknown. DIA later determined that CIA had terminated the source due to possible fabrication of information.

DIA In August 1973, DIA received a hearsay report of a helicopter crash site in the area of this loss incident. Two remains were reportedly in the crash site area in Trieu Phong District, Quang Tri Province.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of the missing servicemen. After Operation Homecoming, all were declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

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

See Vessey 135 Discrepancy Cases for case summary.

Laos Arthur D. Bollinger Dale Brandenburg Peter R. Cressman Joseph A. Matejov Todd M. Melton Severo J. Primm, III George R. Spitz (1983)

On February 5, 1973, an EC-47Q disappeared over Saravan Province while on an electronic intelligence mission. An airborne search effort later located the wreckage of the aircraft. A ground search team located three or four charred bodies and was able to recover one of them, the remains of Robert E. Bernhardt. In providing his own analytical comments concerning the meaning of a Vietnam People's Army radio message intercepted shortly after the loss of the EC-47Q, Baron 52, an U.S. Air Force communications analyst concluded the substance of the message indicated that several of the Baron 52 had been captured alive and were being moved to North Vietnam. However, based on the condition of the crash site and the evidence found there, the commander of the unit concluded that those on the aircraft had all perished. In February 1973 the crew was declared killed in action, body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

In June 1989, a private U.S. POW/MIA hunter in Thailand reported information from a self declared Lao resistance leader that six of the Baron 52 crew were alive and he believed they were being held in Saravan Province. In June 1990, a DIA field element in Thailand, the Stony Beach Team, received information from a source asserting that five of the crew were alive and living with ethnic Lao Theung in Laos (Bollinger, Brandenburg, Spitz, Primm, Cressman.) A Lao resistance group asserted it would take action. DIA concluded this was a similar to the earlier and fabricated report.

In the fall of 1992, the Senate Select Committee received sworn testimony from DIA's senior POW/MIA analyst, Robert DeStatte. Mr. DeStatte provided detailed information on what was known about the disappearance of Baron 52 and the intercepted North Vietnamese communications, noting that the report that so excited the U.S. Air Force analyst actually related to the movement of four airmen to the area of the port city of Vinh in the panhandle of North Vietnam and hundreds of kilometers from the site of Baron 52's disappearance. With such a message received only minutes after the loss of Baron 52 in South Laos, DIA concluded the report correlated to airmen other than those in Baron 52.

In October 1992 the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs forwarded his strong recommendation to the Lao Government that the planned crash site investigation of Baron 52 take place as scheduled. On November 2, 1992, a joint U.S./Lao team traveled to Sekong Province and to the crash site of Baron 52.

The team found the wreckage still there. Two witnesses were interviewed who described the crash of the aircraft and the resultant fire. One witness described visiting the site the next morning and finding a burned corpse which was recovered by SAR aircraft. Three North Vietnamese advisors arrived several days later to inspect the site.

The joint team recovered one of Joseph A. Matejov's dog tags from the site as well as personal and military artifacts, including pieces of two flight suits. The team's recovery of unopened parachute canopy releases indicated some of the missing crewmen were undoubtedly still on board the aircraft at the time of impact.

South Vietnam Joseph G. Greenleaf Clemie McKinney (2044)

On April 14, 1972, Lieutenants Greenleaf and McKinney were the crew in an F-4J, one in a flight of three over an area approximately 25 kilometers northwest of Quang Tri City, Quang Tri Province. A forward air controller observed five rounds of antiaircraft fire hit the cockpit area of their aircraft midway through a bombing run and crash just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. It was observed throughout the dive and impact by a forward air controller who reported the aircraft crashed with canopies in place and there were no ejections. Both crewmen were declared missing in action.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

On August 14, 1985, Vietnamese officials repatriated remains identified as Lieutenant McKinney. U.S. officials were told that Lieutenant Greenleaf had died at Cua Viet, Quang Tri Province, in November 1972. In August 1991, U.S. investigators in Vietnam uncovered records of the 280th Air Defense Regiment referencing the downing of an Aircraft on April 14, 1972 and possibly associated with this loss incident. One shovel on display at the unit museum was reportedly recovered by the 103th Battalion from the aircraft's crash site.

Laos Melvin A. Holland Herbert A. Kirk Patrick L. Shannon Henry G. Gish Willis R. Hall Clarence F. Blanton James H. Calfee James W. Davis Dave S. Price Donald K. Springsteadah Don F. Worley (2052)

On March 11, 1968, a group of U.S. Air Force military technicians with personal documentation as civilian members of Lockheed Aircraft Service were based on Phou Pha Thi Mountain at Site 85 in Houa Phan Province. This was a covert operation in Laos known by the code name Project HEAVY GREEN. In the early morning pre-dawn hours of March 11th, the site was assaulted and overrun by a force of People's Army of Vietnam Bartels sappers. Eight technicians escaped and were evacuated, one of whom died later while en route to Ubon, Thailand. Eleven others at the TACAN site were declared missing. All were later reinstated to their U.S. Air Force service status and rank.

In March 1970 the families were brought to Washington and briefed on the circumstances of loss of these servicemen. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate. In 1982 the Secretary of the Air Force declassified the project for the first time and the 11 U.S. Air Force servicemen who became missing at Lima Site 85 on Phou Pha Thi Mountain were entered onto the Defense Department's official casualty roles as killed in action, body not recovered.

In 1972, an officer of the People's Army of Vietnam, described to the Army Attache's Exploitation Team (Project 5310-03-E) senior Interrogation Officer how his unit was preceded up the karst by a hand picked small sapper force which overcame U.S. personnel at the TACAN site. He heard some were thrown off the cliff. The People's Army forces seized sensitive equipment and documents before the TACAN site was bombed by U.S. aircraft. The officer was not aware of any American who was taken prisoner or survived the sapper assault and is the only People's Army source who assaulted Site 85 and came into U.S. hands during the war.

One report from the same Exploitation Team in 1972 from a former Pathet Lao described a male caucasian being escorted to the Pathet Lao Headquarters early in 1968 but this sighting could not be correlated to those at Lima Site 85. In late 1990 a former Pathet Lao stated that three U.S. had indeed survived and had been taken away from Site 85. This report followed a January 1989 report from a private U.S. citizen and POW/MIA hunter offering information on 275 U.S. POWs in Southeast Asia at 17 different locations, 3 of whom correlated to names of those missing at Site 85.

Over water Harry E. Mitchell Michael J. Kustigian (2053)

On the morning of May 6, 1968, Seamen Mitchell and Kustigian did not report for an assigned worked detail on board the U.S.S. Long Beach. The Long Beach was at the time an estimated 40 miles off the coast of Central Vietnam in the South China Sea and heading into the Gulf of Tonkin. An on-board investigation failed to disclose any cogent reason for the disappearance of the two seamen and they were reported missing. Both had been confirmed on board the ship the previous evening when the ship was well at to sea. However, a later U.S. Navy review board classified the two men as deserters and they were not listed as Southeast Asia casualties due to the Defense Department's policy of excluding deserters from casualty reports.

In 1979 the U.S. Navy reviewed its previous findings in the case of Mitchell and Kustigian. Upon review, both seamen were declared missing non-hostile and then declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

After their initial disappearance, a Stars and Stripes article erroneously reported them as having been located. Another report offered information that Harry Mitchell was seen later in the United States but this was never confirmed and neither seaman has ever been confirmed alive since the night of May 5th/6th, 1968 and the precise circumstances of their disappearance and fate have never been definitely established.