Name: Gary Gene Wright
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Unit: Udorn AFB, Thailand
Date of Birth: 20 November 1930
Home City of Record: San Diego CA
Date of Loss: 17 January 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 205000N 1053000E
(WJ589073) Status (in 1973): Missing In
Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: RF4C
Other Personnel In Incident: Frederick
Wozniak (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II
Project 15 October 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources,
correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources,
interviews.
REMARKS: A/C DISAP - NO TRACE OF CREW
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air
Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served
a multitude of functions including
fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo
and electronic surveillance. The two man
aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles,
depending on stores and mission type).
The F4 was also extremely maneuverable
and handled well at low and high
altitudes. Most pilots considered it one
of the "hottest" planes around.
Maj. Gary G. Wright and his backseater,
1Lt. Frederick J. Wozniak, were aboard
an RF4C aircraft when it disappeared on
an unarmed reconnaissance mission over
North Vietnam on January 17, 1967. The
plane was lost in Than Hoa Province.
That same day, Peking Radio announced
that three American planes had been
downed over Hanoi on January 17. The
announced location coincided with the
intended flight path of Wright's
mission. While no names were given,
there is a reasonable possibility that
Wright and Wozniak survived.
Wright and Wozniak were not among the
prisoners of war that were released in
1973 by the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese
deny any knowledge of them, though
circumstances surrounding their incident
indicate the strong probability that
enemy forces knew their fates.
Alarmingly, evidence continues to mount
that Americans were left as prisoners in
Southeast Asia and continue to be held
today. Unlike "MIAs" from other wars,
most of the nearly 2500 men and women
who remain missing in Southeast Asia can
be accounted for. If even one was left
alive (and many authorities estimate the
numbers to be in the hundreds), we have
failed as a nation until and unless we
do everything possible to secure his
freedom and bring him home.
Gary G. Wright was promoted to the rank
of Colonel and Frederick J. Wozniak was
promoted to the rank of Major during the
period they were maintained Missing in
Action.
