Name: David Ives Mixter
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army Special Forces (5th Group)
Unit: Company A, Command & Control Central, MACV-SOG
Date of Birth: 22 January 1949 (New York NY)
Home City of Record: Darien CT
Date of Loss: 29 January 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 143726N 1072554E (YB619180)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
REMARKS:None
SYNOPSIS: Sgt. David I. Mixter was a rifleman assigned from 5th
Special Forces Group through Special Operations Augmentation to
Command & Control Central,MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command,
Vietnam Studies and Observation Group). MACV-SOG was a joint
service high command unconventional warfare task force engaged in
highly classified operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th
Special Forces channeled personnel into MACV-SOG (although it was
not a Special Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation(SOA),
which provided their "cover" while under secret orders to MACV-SOG.
The teams performed deep penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance
and interdiction which were called,depending on the time frame,
"Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire" missions.
On January 29,1971,Sgt. Mixter was part of a long range reconnaissance
patrol (LRRP) on a mission in Attopeu Province, Laos. The unit was
operating near what is known as the "Parrot's Beak" area of Cambodia,
where Laos,Cambodia and Vietnam borders meet. At 1400 hours that day,
Mixter's team made contact with an enemy force. B40 rocket propelled
grenades were fired at the team,one of which exploded directly in front
of Sgt. Mixter. When he was checked by the team leader,Sgt. Mixter's
chest was covered with blood,and he did not respond at all.
Sgt. Mixter was thought to be dead,and had to be left behind in the rush
to break contact with enemy troops. The remainder of the team was
ultimately extracted. Searches the next day produced some of Mixter's
possessions,but he had vanished.
For every insertion like Mixter's that was detected and stopped,
dozens of other commando teams safely slipped past NVA lines to strike
a wide range of targets and collect vital information. The number of
MACV-SOG missions conducted with Special Forces reconnaissance teams into
Laos and Cambodia was 452 in 1969. It was the most sustained American
campaign of raiding,sabotage and intelligence gathering waged on foreign
soil in U.S. military history. MACV-SOG's teams earned a global reputation
as one of the most combat effective deep penetration forces ever raised.
The missions Mixter and others were assigned were exceedingly dangerous
and of strategic importance. The men who were put into such situations
knew the chances of their recovery if captured was slim to none. They
quite naturally assumed that their freedom would come by the end of the
war. For 591 Americans,freedom did come at the end of the war. For another
2500,however,freedom has never come.
Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to missing Americans
in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.,convincing many authorities
that hundreds remain alive in captivity. While Sgt. David I. Mixter may not
be among those who are live,what would he think of us?
