DOLAN, THOMAS ALBERT
Name: Thomas Albert Dolan
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: 220th Aviation Company, 212th Aviation
Battalion, 11th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation
Division Date of Birth: 15 August 1948 Home
City of Record: Baltimore MD Date of Loss: 10
August 1971 Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 165158N 1064301E (XD829654)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category:
4 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: O1G Refno: 1766
Other Personnel in Incident: Paul J. Bates
(missing)
Source: Compiled 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 in 1998.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On August 10, 1971, Capt. Paul J.
Bates, pilot and SP5 Thomas A Dolan,
observer, were flying an O1G (serial
#51-2267) conducting a visual reconnaissance
mission in Quang Tri, South Vietnam when
their aircraft crashed and burned.
At 1455 hours that day, Capt. Bates was
trying to show the pilot of an accompanying
aircraft a target in the area. A few minutes
later, his aircraft appeared to fly into the
trees and disappear.
The accompanying aicraft flew to the crash
site and observed the wreckage located on a
slope. There were no signs of anyone moving
about the area or any bodies near the
wreckage. Shortly after the crash, the
aircraft began to burn. Several aircraft
conducted search operations for survivors
with no success.
Those witnessing the crash and those
conducting the search operations believed
that it was extremely unlikely that Capt.
Bates or SP5 Dolan could have survived the
crash or escaped the fire. The cabin section,
half of the wings, and part of the tail were
completely destroyed by the crash and fire.
Because of the difficult terrain and lack of
visual indication of survivors, no ground
search was made. In spite of the grave
outlook of the fates of Bates and Dolan, the
Army did not declare them killed, but as
Missing In Action. Reasons for this
determination are not known.
Bates and Dolan are among nearly 2500
Americans who remain prisoner, missing or
unaccounted for from the Vietnam war.
Unfortunately, mounting evidence indicates
that hundreds of Americans are still captive,
waiting for the country they proudly served
to secure their freedom.
In our haste to leave an unpopular war, it
now appears we abandoned some of our best
men. In our haste to heal the wounds of this
same war, will we sign their death warrants?
Or will we do what we can to bring them home?
Over 2,000 POW/MIA(s) are still missing from
Vietnam. Please
get involved and adopt a POW/MIA from OJC.
Help us bring
them all back to the USA alive or to bury in
their country's soil.
