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Missing In Action

Robert Clarence Marvin
Lieutenant USN
Unit:The Hancock
Born: December 10,1940
Home: Allegan, MI
Missing since February 14,1967
Loss Coordinates: 181058N 1065500E
Over water, North Vietnam
Neither his body nor plane have been recovered
Category: 5
Actf/Vehicle/Ground: A1H
Refno: 0594

Robert Clarence Marvin was born December 10, 1940 and lived in Dexter, Michigan. Bob won a Navy scholarship and attended the University of Michigan. He left his family in California following his flight training and went to Vietnam. He flew 111 missions from Kitty Hawk before going on the carrier Hancock.~~~
On February 14,1967, he flew an A1H from the Hancock on a mission. His pl;ane developed trouble shortly after takeoff. He and his wingman turned to return to the carrier, but Bob's engine stalled and cut off all electrical power, so no radio messages were received from him. His wingman tried to set a glide path to conform to the powerless glide Marvin's plane would be in, but never caught sight of Marvin's plane. The Navy searched the area for two days but did not find any debris or sign of Marvin or his plane.
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Panel 15E Row 28

Francis James Feneley
03/US Air Force
Unit:(unknown) Cam Ranh Bay
Born: January 30,1930
Home: Curtis, MI Missing since: May 11,1966
Loss coordinates: 174257N 1063457E (XE678593)
North Vietnam
Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D
Refno: 0337

Captain Francis Feneley was returning from what was to have been his last mission in Vietnam when he was shot down in the Gulf of Tonkin north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ).
In his last letter home, dated two days before the apparent crash, he told his mother he expected to be home for her birthday on May 12.
The career Air Force pilot was shot down only two months before North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked the U.S. destroyer Maddox in the Tonkin Goulf. The U.S. retaliated with what was claimed at the time to be the first aircraft bombing of North Vietnam.
Feneley's F105D was part of a Rolling Thunder mission on May 11,1966. As he was returning from the mission, and was on the coast of North Vietnam, over Quang Binh Province, approximately halfway between the cities of Dong Hoa and Quang Khe, Feneley's aircraft was struck by hostile fire and immediately had a flame out. The aircraft was observed to impact in water.
By May 27th, the Air Force had accumulated what they felt was sufficient evidence that Feneley was killed at the time of the crash of his aircraft, that they classified him 'presumed' killed in Action, Body Not Recovered. No trace of him was ever found.
Francis Feneley's family has not given up the quest to discover exactly what happened to him on May 11,1966. His mother is conviced that he may someday come home alive. She refused the Air Force's offer of a memorial service saying she will not have services for her son until she knows he is dead and has his body. Like the majority of POW/MIA family members, she is prepared for the worst, hopeful for the best. She wants the truth, and wants her son home.

Panel 7E Line 48

John Benedict Nahan III
E3/US Marine Corps
Unit: A Company, 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
Born: June 20,1945
Missing since: August 3,1967
Loss Coordinates: 160622N 1072247N (YC545820)
South Vietnam
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: CH46A
Refno: 0784

In early August, 1967m a bube-man team from A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division began a night reconnaissance patrol in the A Shau Valley that was spotted by a Montagnard tribal woman and child, who alerted a nearby North Vietnamese unit.
North Vietnamese troops slowly surrounded the Marine patrol and another that had joined it, trapping them for two days in hopes of luring a helicopter rescue.
The following day (August 3), the first of tow helicopters arrived and loaded some men from the patrols, but was hit by a bazooka shell and crashed during takeoff. The pilot was killed by small-arms fire. The nine passengers were believed to have perished, but all of their bodies could not be recovered because of hostile fire.
John Nahan and Jack Wolpe were passengers aboard the aircraft. They were two of the A Company Reconnaissance patrol. Thomas Gopp was crewchief of the helicopter. James McGrath was a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman attached to H & S Company accompanying the Recon team. These four were listed as killed in Action, Body Not Recovered (KIA/BNR).
The men of the CH46A shot down on August 3,1967 are listed with honor among the missing because no remains were found. Their cases seem quite clear. For others who are listed missing, resoultion is not as simple. Many were known to have survived their loss incident. Quite a few were in radio contact with search teams and describing an advancing enemy. Some were photographed or recorded in captivity. Others simply vanished without a trace.

Panel 24E Line 73

 

Patrick Henry Carrol
02/US Air Force
Unit: Commando Sabre Operations, 31st Tatical Fighter Wing, Tuy Hoa Airbase, South Vietnam
Born: December 12, 1942
Home: Berkley, MI
Missing Since: November 2, 1969
Loss Coordinates: 144500N 1071700E (YB218846)
Loas
Missing In Action
Category:2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F100F
Refno: 1510

When North Vietnam began to increase their military strength in South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on nutral 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. Fortunatly, 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 between Laos and Vietnam. Many were alive on the ground and in radio contact with search and rescue and other palanes; 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.
On November 2, 1969, Lt. Col. Lawrence W. Whitford, Jr., pilot, and 1st Lt. Patrick H. Carroll, navigator, departed Tuy Hoa Airbase in South Vietnam in a F100F Super Sabre fighter bomber on a visual reconnaissance mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.
Whitford radioed that he was running out of fuel in Attapeu Province, about 20 miles east of the city of Muong May. He had a scheduled refueling, but never appeared. Searches did not reveal any sign of the aircraft crash or the crew.
Several months later, a damaged plane thought to be the plane flown by Carrol and Whitford was found in the area with no bodies inside and nothing to indicate that the crew had perished in the crash. Both Whitford and Carroll were declared Missing in Action.
Carroll and Whitford went down in an area heavily infiltrated by enemy forces. In Whitford's case, there is certain idication that the enemy knows what happened to him. As pilot, he would have ejected second. In Carroll's case, it is highly suspected that the Lao or the Vietnamese know his fate. Whitford and Carroll are two of the nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos, never to return. Although Pathet Lao leaders stressed that they held "tens of thousands" of American prisoners in Laos, not one man held in Laos was ever released- or negotiated for.
Patrick Carroll attended the Air Force Academy, graduated from the University of Colorado and had just begun a promising career in the military. Larry Whitford was a seniro officer with a distinguished record. The country they proudly served abandoned them in their haste to leave an unpopular war.
Were it not for the thousands of reports concerning Americans still held captive in Southeast Asia, the Whitford and Carroll families might be able to close this tragic chapter of their lives. But as long as Americans are alive, being held captive, one of them could be Carroll or Whitford. It's time we brought these men home.

Panel 16W Line 19

Louis Buckley, Jr.
Unit: Mortar Platoon, Company C, 1stst Battalion (airborne), 12th Cavalry
Born: May 20, 1943
Home: Detroit, MI
Missing Since: May 21, 1966
Loss Coordinates: 141048N 1083002E (BR664628)
South Vietnam
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 0344

Sgt. Louis Buckley was attached to a mortar platoon based at An Khe, South Vietnam. The day after his 33rd birthday, Buckley's 22 man platoon was inserted by helicopter to LZ Hereford, located northeast of An Khe near the Song Ba River. The platoon was to provide continuous fire support for C Company's sweep of the area lying between LZ Hereford and LZ Milton to the south.
Everything went without a hitch, and around 1200 hours, the platoon prepared to be picked up to rejoin the rest of the Company at the bottom of the valley. Helicopters were inbound when mortar platoon members saw a number of enemy soldiers five meters away, and opened fire with their M16s. As if by signal, other enemy located on a hill about 300 meters away poured a hail of machinegun, mortar and rocket launcher fire onto the platoon's position. The platoon's 81mm mortar was knocked out almost immediatly, and the platoon, taking heavy casualities, called for help.
The company commander immediately ordered his 1st Platoon to get up the hill, and led the rest of the company, scrambling, sliding and falling in a desperate effort to reach the mortar platoon. The commander did not realize until later the scope of the attack and that his entire company might have been in a classic ambush. The enemy had watched patiently until the Americans felt confident that the LZ was secure, and they launched their attack. The mortar company had 6 wonded, 15 dead and one missing.
The Viet Cong on top of the hill divided into two groups to search for the remaining Americans, loot the dead and grab what arms and munitions they could. Just 35 minutes after the first call for help, the enemy was gone, and so was Sgt. Louis Buckley. His pack was found with blood on it. He was declared Missing In Action. Survivors reported seeing Sgt. Buckley withdrawing at a southwesterly direction by himself. He is reported to have had blood on his shirt and arm, althought it is not known for certain if he was wounded.

Panel 7E Line 94

James Robert Klimo
E4/US Army
Unit: 281st Aviation Compaany, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade
Born: December 28, 1949
Home: Muskegon, MI
Missing Since: November 04,1969
Loss Coordinates: 123327N 1085304E (BP702890)
South Vietnam
Status: Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Refno: 1515 Other personal in this incident: John A. Ware; Terry L. Alford; Jim R. Cavender (All Missing)

On November 4,1969, WO Terry L. Alford, aircraft commander; WO1 Jim R. Cavender, pilot; SA4 John A. Ware, crew chief; and SP4 James R. Klimo, door gunner; were flying a series of combat support missions in a UH1H helicopter (serial #67-19512) in South Vietnam.
WO Alford was returning to his base at Nha Trang from Duc Lap at about 1920 hours when he made his last known radio contact with the 48th Aviation Company operations at Ninh Hoa. Either the pilot or aircraft commander gave his approximate location as Duc My Pass, and stated he was in the clouds and instrument meteorlogical conditions (IMC). Shortly afterwards, the controller at Ninh Hoa heard a radio transmission that WO1 Alford was in trouble. The pilot reported, inexplicably, that the helicopter was flying upside down.
The Defense Department has told family members that the helicopter was on a secondary mission heading toward a buffer zone between Cambodia and South Vietnam, an area in the Central Highlands the helicopter was in by mistake. The helicopter is not believed to have been shot at. Search efforts were conducted for six consecutive days, but nothing was found.
According to the Defense Department, one crewmember's body was recovered at a later time, but no remains were ever found that could be inentified as Alford, Klimo, Ware or Cavender. The four crew memebers were not among the prisoners of war that were released in 1973. High ranking officials admit their dismay that "hundreds" of suspected American prisoners of war did not return. Klimo's sister has identified her brother as one of the prisoners of war pictured in a Vietnamese propaganda leaflet.

Panel 16W Line 30

Charles Joseph Cudlike
E4/US Army
Unit: Company B, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry (Airmobile), 101st Airborne Division
Born: August 16,1948
Home: Detroit, MI
Missing Since: May 18, 1969
Loss Coordiantes: 161431N 1071039E (YC312992)
South Vietnam
Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Refno: 1445

On May 18,1969, SP4 Charles J. Cudlike and his unit were engaged in battle in Thua Tien Province, South Vietnam. During the fighting, Cudlike was injured, and was being medically evacuated from the battle area by helicopter.
The injured teammembers were boarding the helicopter when it had to leave quickly because of a heavy volume of enemy fire. At this time, Cudlike had been unable to completely board the aircraft, and was hanging on one of the skids of the helicopter and the door gunner aboard the helicopter was trying to pull him into the ship. Due to his own wounds, the gunner was unable to pull him in.
When the pilot of the helicopter became aware of the situation he started looking for a place to land, but before he could do so, Cudlike fell from the aircraft at an altitude of 500 feet into the jungle.
Comprehensive searches were conducted by air with no success. Cudlike was declared killed in Action, and his body was never recovered.
War is hell. Men are killed by other men whom they call their enemy. But men are also killed by "misadventure"- by senseless drowning, falls, and by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. At 21, Charles Cudlike had just begun to live.
Because no trace of Cudlike's remains were found, his name is maintainded among those who are missing and captured in Southeast Asia. Experts believe that hundreds of these Americans are still alive, captive, and want to come home. One can imagine that Cudlike would gladly serve on one more patrol to help bring them home.

Panel 24W Line 39

Robert John Welsh
03/US Airforce
Unit: 11th Tactical Recon Squardron, Udorn Airfield, Thailand
Born: March 23,1926
Home: Detroit, MI
Missing Since: January 16,1967
Loss Coordianates: 212659N 1052546E (WJ445718)
North Vietnam
Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: RF4C
Refno: 0566
Other Personnel In Incident: Michael S. Kerr(released POW)

On January 16,1967, an unarmed Air Force RF4C Phantom aircraft flown by Capt. Robert J. Welsh depared Udorn Airfield, Thailand for a photo reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam near Hanoi. Welch's navigator that day was 1Lt. Michael S. Kerr.
Welch and Kerr's aircraft was shot down about 35 miles northwest of Hanoi. They were perhaps making an inspection run over targets hit the day before as part of a 37-plane mission to destroy railroads, hightways, bridges and SAM (surface-to-air mission) sites 15 miles from Hanoi.
Welch and Kerr were career Air Force officers. Their families were frends, the two trained together on the photographic version of the Phantom jet, went to Vietnam together in 1966, flew together and were shot down together. Their families moved to Washington State to wait. Welch and Kerr didn't return home together; Kerr was released in 1973, Welch was not.
They had flown out of Udorn, Thailand, on a bright, clear day for the low-altitude photographic mission around Hanoi. A SAM was fired at the plane, but did not make a direct hit. The plane pitched up and Kerr blacked out. When he recovered, he reached for the ejection-seat handle over his head, but the force was too strong. He grabbed the other one between his legs and got out.
Kerr did not see Welch bail out, but observed the plane impact and explode on the side of a hill. Kerr was competely uninjured. Before he was taken to Hanoi, a young boy showed him a piece of the tail of his plane. Kerr wondered if he also found Welch or brought out dog tags, if Welch had died. Throught his captivity, Kerr never saw Robert Welch, but he never stopped looking.
After he returned, Kerr and his wife were divorced. Mrs. Kerr and Mrs. Welch are still friends, and very much involved in the effort to achieve the release of men like Wobert Welch whom they stronlgy believe are alive today. Nearly 2500 Americans did not return from the war in Vietnam. Thousands of reports have been received indicating that some hundreds remain alive in captivity. Whether Welch is alive or dead is not know. What is certain, however, is that Vietnam and her communist allies can tell us what happened to most of our men...including Robert Welsh.

Panel 14E Line 41

James Willard Kooi
E3/US Marine Corps
Unit: 3rd Recon Company, 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
Born: November 18,1948
Home: Fruitport, MI
Missing Since: June 11,1967
Loss Coordinates: 165454N 1065530E (YD048689)
South Vietnam
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ch46A
Refno: 0734
Other Personnel In Incident: Dennis R. Christie; Curtis R. Bohlscheid; John J. Foley; Jose J. Gonzales; Thomas M. Hanratty; Michael W. Havranek; Charles D. Chomel; Jim E. Moshier; John S. Oldham; James E. Widener (all missing)

On June 11,1967, 1LT Curtis Bohlscheid was the pilot of a CH46A helicopter inserting a seven-man Marine Force Recon team into a predesignated area 11 1/2 nautical miles northwest of Dong Ha, South Vietnam--right on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). A total of four aircraft were involved in the mission, two CH46's and two UH1E helicopter gunships. Bohlscheid flew the lead aircraft. His crew included MAJ John S. Oldham, LCPL Jose J. Gonzales (crew chief), and PFC Thomas M. Hanratty (crew chief).
Members of the 3rd Recon Company, 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division who were being inserted were CPL Jim E. Moshier, LCPL Dennis R. Christie, LCPL John J. Foley III, LCPL Michael W. Havranek, LCPL James W. Kooi, PFC Charles D. Chomel, and PFC James E. Widener.
The flight departed Dong Ha at about 11:15 a.m. and proceeded to the insertion location. The gunships made low strafing runs over the landing zone to clear booby traps and to locate any enemy troops in the area. No enemy fire was received and not activity was observed. The lead aircraftr then began its approach to the landing zone. At an estimated altitude of 400-600 feet, the helicopter was observed to climb erratically, similar to an aircraft commencing a loop. Machinegunmen had been waiting for the opportune time to fire on the aircraft. Portions of the rear blades were seen to separate from the aircraft and a radio transmission was received from the aircraft indicating that it had been hit. The helicopter became inverted and continued out of control until it was seen to crash by a stream in a steep ravine.
Subsequent efforts by ground units to reach the crash area failed due to a heavy bunker complex surrounding the site. The ground units inspected the site from within 500 meters through binoculars and observed no survivors. All eleven personnel aboard the helicopter were therefore classififed Killed In Action, Body Not Recovered. Other USMC records indicate that the helicopter also burst into flames just prior to impacting the ground.
For the crew of the CH46A lost on June 11,1967, death seems a certainty. For hundreds of others, however, simple answers are not possible.

Panel 21E Line 90

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