Name: Michael Lora Bouchard
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit:
Date of Birth: 01 November 1938
Home City of Record: Missoula MT
Date of Loss: 20 December 1968
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 161800N 1063400E (XD673026)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Other Personnel In Incident:
(backseater rescued)
Source:
Compiled by Homecoming II Project (919/527-8079) 15 March 1991 from one
or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Copyright
1991 Homecoming II Project.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS:
When North Vietnam began to increase their military strength in South
Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary,
as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before. The
border road, termed the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" was used for transporting weapons,
supplies and troops. Hundreds of American pilots were shot down trying to stop
this communist traffic to South Vietnam. Fortunately, search and rescue teams in
Vietnam were extremely successful and the recovery rate was high.
Still there were nearly 600 who were not rescued. Many of them went down along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the passes through the border mountains between Laos and Vietnam. Many were alive on the ground and in radio contact with search and rescue and other planes; some were known to have been captured. Hanoi's communist allies in Laos, the Pathet Lao, publicly spoke of American prisoners they held, but when peace agreements were negotiated, Laos was not included, and not a single American was released that had been held in Laos.
One of the aircraft dispatched on strike missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail was the Grumman A6 Intruder. The Intruder is a two-man all-weather, low-altitude, carrier-based attack plane, with versions adapted as aerial tanker and electronic warfare platform.
The Intruder's advanced navigation and attack system, known as DIANE (Digital Integrated Attack navigation Equipment) allowed small precision targets, such as bridges, barracks and fuel depots to be located and attacked in all weather conditions, day or night, from a minimum safe altitude. The crews of the A6, were in the words of the commander of the Seventh Fleet, among the most talented and courageous pilots in the air. The planes were credited with some of the most difficult single-plane strikes in the war, including the destruction of the Hai Duong bridge between Hanoi and Haiphong by a single A6.
LT Michael L. Bouchard was an Intruder pilot assigned a night mission over Laos on December 20, 1968. He and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) proceeded over the city of Muong Nong in Savannakhet Province, Laos for their mission over the famed Ho Chi Minh Trail.
At about 1:15 a.m., the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire on the bombardier/navigator's side of the aircraft. The navigator called for Bouchard to eject and got out himself. The backseater's parachute was seen by other pilots and two emergency beeper signals were heard (indicating that both crew members ejected safely), but Bouchard was not located. The navigator searched for Bouchard for a half hour, but then had to leave the area of heavy enemy activity for his own rescue. Rescue attempts for Bouchard were delayed because of heavy enemy in the area, and later, no trace was ever found. Mike Bouchard was placed in Missing In Action status.
Since American involvement in Vietnam ended in 1975, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner, or otherwise unaccounted for in Indochina have been received by the U.S. Government. Many officials, having examined this largely classified information, have reluctantly concluded that many Americans are still alive today, held captive by our long-ago enemy.
Whether Bouchard survived the downing of his plane is unknown. What is certain, however, is that the U.S. has a legal and moral responsibility to do everything possible to bring him home.
