Name: Michael Timothy McCormick
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit: Attack Squadron 115, USS MIDWAY
Date of Birth: 08 July 1946
Home City of Record: Honolulu HI
Date of Loss: 10 January 1973
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 185948N 1051836E (WG327003)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Other Personnel in Incident: Robert A. Clark (missing)
Source:
Compiled by Homecoming II Project with the assistance of one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
Date Compiled: 01 January 1990
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS:
Lt. Michael T. McCormick was a pilot and Lt.JG Robert A. Clark a
bombardier/navigator assigned to Attack Squadron 115 onboard the aircraft
carrier USS MIDWAY (CVA-41). On January 10, 1973, 17 days before an agreement
was signed in Paris ending American involvement in the war in Southeast Asia,
McCormick and Clark launched in their A6A "Intruder" attack aircraft. Together
with another A6 aircraft, they were to provide support for B52 air strikes, and
had three targets assigned to them over North Vietnam.
The weather that day was overcast with a 1500 foot cloud cover. There was intense surface-to-air (SAM) missile activity in their target area, and an estimated total of 15 missiles were fired - three at the USS Midway aircraft and 12 at the B52s. The crew of another aircraft reported that he did not think the missiles were aimed at him. The boosters of the missiles were diffused by the overcast, which proved to be very distracting. On egress the crewman noted additional SAM boosters along with the glow from the B52 bomb strikes. He coasted out over the coast and planned to orbit there until McCormick and Clark crossed the coastline to join him.
When McCormick and Clark did not arrive, and there was no radio contact, the wingman retraced his route at an altitude of 15,000 feet while making numerous radio calls. No fires were seen and no enemy reaction was noted. Other aircraft crewmembers thought they heard a 3-4 second transmission that sounded like an ECM (emergency transmission), but Search and Rescue (SAR) missions were flown in the area with no contact and no crash location or wreckage found.
McCormick and Clark were last known to be over Nghe An Province, about 20 miles west of the city of Phu Dien Chau. Both men were placed in Missing in Action status. Other than the brief radio signal, no sign of either man was ever found.
Because of the circumstances surrounding the downing of this aircraft, and the fact that the area was heavily defended, the U.S. believes there is good reason to suspect that the Vietnamese know the fates of McCormick and Clark. The Vietnamese, however, deny any knowledge of them.
Mounting evidence indicates that Americans are being held prisoner in Southeast Asia today. As long as even one American remains alive, held unjustly and against his will, we owe him our best effort to bring him home. McCormick and Clark could be among those thought to be alive. What must they be thinking of their country?
