Name: Charles Lane Jr.
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 21 April 1942
Home City of Record: Yankton SD
Date of Loss: 23 August 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 215000N 1052000E (WK550020)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Other Personnel in Incident:
Larry E. Carrigan (released POW)
Source:
Compiled by Homecoming II Project 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:
The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a
multitude of functions including fighter-bomber. The 2-man aircraft was very
fast (Mach 2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles). The F4 was also
extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and high altitudes. Most pilots
considered it one of the "hottest" planes around.
Capt. Charles Lane, Jr. was the pilot and Capt. Larry E. Carrigan the bombardier/navigator on an F4 sent from Ubon Airfield, Thailand, on a strike mission over North Vietnam on 23 August 1967. The aircraft was number four in a flight of four aircraft.
About 25 miles southwest of Hanoi, the aircraft was struck by hostile fire and disintegrated. Other members of the flight observed the crew to eject and saw two parachutes. One emergency beeper signal was heard.
The Department of Defense later learned that Larry E. Carrigan was a Prisoner of War. He was released during Operation Homecoming in 1973, but there was no further word of Charles Lane, Jr.
Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports have been received by the U.S. relating to Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam war. Many authorities now believe hundreds are still alive in captivity today. The U.S. Government, although involved in talks with the Vietnamese since the end of the war, has been unable to bring home a single live prisoner. The Vietnamese, on the other hand, refuse to let the issue die, with the ultimate hope of normalizing relations with the west.
The Americans who are still captive have been reduced to bargaining pawns between two nations. For their sakes, everything possible must be done to bring them home. The sacrifice of tens of thousands of America's young men is mocked by the abandonment of their comrades. For the sake of our future fighting men and those who have given their lives in the defense of their country, we must see to it that we never again abandon our soldiers to enemy hands.
Although six years passed before Lane was adminstratively declared dead, based on no new information he was alive, Lane was not advanced in rank. Carrigan's rank remained the same during the period he was a prisoner of war.
