SFC Robert Charles "Chuck" O'Hara 

 Name: Robert Charles "Chuck" O'Hara

Rank/Branch: E5/US Army

Unit: 282nd Aviation Company, 212th Aviation Battalion, 16th Aviation Group,

1st Aviation Brigade

Date of Birth: 18 May 1949 (Cedar Rapids IA)

Home City of Record: Lost Nation IA

Date of Loss: 06 February 1969

Country of Loss: South Vietnam

Loss Coordinates: 162750N 1070238E (YD82212)

Status (in 1973): Missing In Action

Category: 4

Acft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H

Other Personnel In Incident: Charles I. Stanley; Ronald D. Briggs; David E.

Padgett; Eugene F. Christiansen; Donald E. Parsons (all missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 1990 from one or more of

the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence

with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.

NETWORK.

SYNOPSIS: On February 6, 1969, CW2 Charles I. Stanley, pilot; 1Lt. David E. Padgett, aircraft commander; SP5 Robert C. O'Hara, crew chief; PFC Eugene F. Christiansen, door gunner; LtCol. Donald E. Parsons, 1Lt. Ronald D. Briggs, and Maj. Vu Vanh Phao, ARVN, all passengers, were aboard a UH1H (serial #67-17499) on a resupply mission in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.

While in route from Landing Zone Vandergrift to LZ Tornado, 1Lt. Padget contacted the LZ Tornado radio operator at about 1100 hours and stated that due to poor weather conditions and poor visibility, the flight was returning to LZ Vandergrift.

At that time, the radio operator at LZ Tornado could hear the helicopter northeast of his location, which sounded as if it were heading in a northerly direction. When the aircraft failed to return to LZ Vandergrift, a coordinated search and rescue operation was initiated and continued for seven consecutive days, finding nothing.

However, on the morning of February 7, Crown, an airborne control aircraft, reported receiving radio beeper signals several times from the general vicinity of where Lt. Padgett's aircraft was last reported. The beeper signals were estimated to emanate from that general direction. The source of the signals was never determined.

The area in which the aircraft was estimated to go down has been dubbed "Antenna Valley" and is located west of Cam Lo and on the backside of Camp Carrol. The area was occupied by NVA regulars, and was never cleared. On-site search was not possible at that time.

On July 5, 1972, an NVA rallier reported seeing two Caucasian POWs in the vicinity of a T-35 commo-liaison station on the 499th infiltration corridor in Laos. The two POWs were being taken to North Vietnam. This information was tentatively correlated to LT Padgett and PCF Christiansen.

In September 1970, LTC Parson's wife and friends identified him in a North Vietnamese film of a protestant service in a POW environment. CW2 Stanley's mother made a tentative identification of her son in the same film.

The reports relating to the crew of the UH1H that went down on February 6, 1969 are typical of the over 10,000 reports received by the U.S. Government relating to Americans prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. After reviewing "several million documents" and conducting "over 250,000 interviews" the USG has been unable to state categorically that Americans are still alive.

Families who receive these reports are especially tortured. With no means to prove or disprove them, the torment is indescribable. When they turn to their government, they are usually met with the "mindset to debunk" described by one high official in Congressional hearings. When they approach Vietnam, they are told the person they seek is unknown to them. Yet the reports continue to flow in, month after month, year after year. And year after year, families wait.

And year after year, American servicemen wait -- wondering if their country will ever bring them home.

[r1372.97]

NAMES:

BRIGGS, Ronald D., lLT, USA

CHRISTIANSEN, Eugene F., PFC, USA

O'HARA, Robert C., SP5, USA

PARSONS, Donald E., LTC, USA

PADGETT,, David E., lLT, USA

STANLEY, Charles I., CW2, USA

OFFICIAL STATUS:

BRIGGS: DEAD, BODY NOT RECOVERED

CHRISTIANSEN: MISSING

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: All of these individuals were lost in one helicopter incident. There are two correlated intelligence reports describing four of them, and two of the individuals were identified by family and friends in a North Vietnamese film. There have been no confirmations of death on any of these men since the incident date.

REFNO: 1372 20 Apr 76

1. On 6 February 1969 CW2 Charles I. Stanley, pilot, 1Lt. David E. Padgett, aircraft commander, LTC Donald E. Parsons, lLT Ronald D. Briggs, and Maj. Vu Vann Phao (ARVN), passengers, SP5 Robert C. O'Hara, crewchief, and PFC Eugene F. Christiansen, gunner, were aboard a UH1H helicopter, ( #67-17499), on a resupply mission in South Vietnam. At about 1100 hours, while enroute from Landing Zone ((LZ) Vandgrift to LZ Tornado, 1LT. Padgett contacted the LZ Tornado radio operator, and stated that due to poor weather conditions and Door visibility the flight was returning to LZ Vandgrift. At that time the radio operator at LZ Torando could hear the helicopter northeast of his location, which sounded as though it was heading- in a northerly direction. When the aircraft failed to return to LZ Vandgrift a coordinated search and rescue operation was initiated and continued for a period of seven consecutive days, finding nothing. However, on the morning, of 7 February, R-Crown, (an airborne control aircraft), reported receiving radio beeper signals several times from the -general vicinity of where lLT Padgett's aircraft was last reported. The beeper signals were estimated to emanate from a point-- near grid coordinates (GC) YD 170 300. (The incident coordinates are listed in JCRC files as YD 182 212). (Ref 1 & 3)

2. On 4 September 1969 an ARVN source reported that in August he had seen LTC Parsons, Maj. Phao, LT. Briggs, and four other unidentified American POW's at a hospital in Laos. (The four unidentified POW's possibly were PFC Christiansen, CW2 Stanley, 1LT. Padgett and SP5 O'Hara). (Ref 2)

3. On 5 July 1972 an NVA rallier reported seeing two Caucasian POW's in the vicinity of a T-35 Commo-Liaison station on the 599th Infiltration Corridor in Laos (UTM coordinates unknown). The two POW's were being taker to North Vietnam. (Information in this report possibly correlates to LT. Padgett and PFC Christiansen). (Ref 3)

4. LTC Parsons' spouse and friends identified him in a North Vietnamese film of a Protestant Service in September 1970. CW2 Stanley's mother made a tentative identification of her son in the same film. (Ref 3)

5. During the existence of JCRC, the limited information available precluded any efforts toward the resolution of this case. These individuals' names and identifying data were turned over to the Four-Party Joint Military Team with a request for any information available. No response was forthcoming. lLT Briggs and LTC Parsons are currently carried in the presumptive status of Dead, Body Not Recovered. CW2 Stanley, lLT Padgett, PFC Christiansen and SP5 O'Hara are currently carried in the status of Missing.

1. RPT (U), HQ USARV W w/inclosures, 7 Apr 69.

2. RPT- (U), HQ 3rd Army (Information from Mrs Patrick A. Parsons) 15 Sep 70.

3. RPT (U), MIA SEA.- Page 16, 31 Mar 73.

1. Ronald D. Briggs 1372-0-01

2. Eugene F. Christiansen 1372-0-02

3. Robert C. O'Hara 1372-0-03

4. Donald E. Parsons 1372-0-04

5. David E. Padgett 1372-0-05

6. Charles I. Stanley 1372-0-06

Information from No-Quarter:

The Wall Memorial
1st Aviation Brigade