POW'S /MIA'S
JOHNSON, BRUCE GARDNER Name: Bruce Gardner Johnson Rank/Branch: O3/US Army Unit: MACV SD 5891 Date of Birth: 15 July 1937 Home City of Record: Harbor Beach MI (family in Salina KS) Date of Loss: 10 June 1965 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 113521N 1065309E (YT056817) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 1 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Other Personnel In Incident: Joseph J. Compa; Robert L. Curlee; Craig L. Hagen; Walter L. Hall; Fred M. Owens; Donald R. Saegaert (all missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project (919/527-8079) 01 April 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: ON GND - SED 6 DED - UNDR FIRE - J SYNOPSIS: On May 25, 1965, Special Forces Detachment A-342 was airlanded at Dong Xoai, a district capital of Phuoc Long Province, through which the Viet Cong supply lifeline from Cambodia into War Zone D tracked. The Special Forces Detachment, together with Navy Seabees, built a camp and among other duties, assumed the MACV subsector role for Don Luan district. Intermittent Viet Cong mortar rounds lobbed into the new camp, and were considered only the usual harassment, but sightings of large VC formations nearing the town increased. At 2310 hours on the night of June 9, CIDG teams around the camp's perimeter were silenced by the 762nd and 763rd VC Regiments. There was no opportunity to warn the camp, and only a few survived. At 2330, the camp was heavily mortared, and came under a heavy ground assault. The camp was overrun, and most of the CIDG and LLDB withdrew. At the camp, 2Lt. Charles Q. Williams, seriously wounded, was directing the defense of the compound with singular valor and would later be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Dong Xoai. Before South Vietnamese relief forces could arrive, a team of advisors was sent in from Than Son Nhut, where MACV was headquartered. The team was aboard a UH1B helicopter from the 188th Aviation Company flown by Lt. Walter L. Hall. The crew consisted of Sgt. Craig L. Hagen, gunner; SSgt. Joseph J. Compa, crew chief; and WO Donald Saegaert, co-pilot. The advisors from MACV Special Detachment 5891 were SSgt. Robert L. Curlee, the medic; and Capt. Bruce G. Johnson and SFC Fred M. Owens, advisors. When the helicopter was disembarking troops on a plantation landing zone, it came under heavy mortar and small arms fire. The helicopter took off and started a climbing turn. Upon clearing some buildings left of the landing zone, the helicopter went into uncontrolled flight and in crashing, skidded into some parked vehicles and burst into flames. A circling pilot immediately established radio contact with Johnson, who stated that he was standing by the downed helicopter, and that the crew and other two advisors with him were dead. He reported that the situation was very bad - not to send anyone else in. Johnson stated that he was under heavy fire, and two mortar shells were subsequently seen to land in his vicinity. A subsequent search of the crash site was conducted when the area was resecured (on June 15), but no American remains were found, nor was Johnson seen. Villagers in the area reported that an American had been captured on that day, but no verifiable information has surfaced since that time. Villagers also stated that the Viet Cong had carried away the bodies of 7 Americans and had buried them. A captured Viet Cong film entitled "Dong Xoai in Flames" pictured the bodies of five or six Americans as well as several crashed helicopters. One of these helicopters bore the serial number 38557. The name tag "Owens" and the last two letters of another name tag, "ll" (possibly Hall's) are shown in the film, lending some more credence to the report that the Viet Cong took possession of the aircraft and that all aboard were killed. There is no real reason to suspect that any of the seven men aboard the UH1B shot down at Dong Xoai are, indeed, alive. But there is no question that the communists know the fate of these men. All of these men can be easily accounted for. It appears that Johnson, at least, may have been captured. Mounting evidence indicates that Americans are still being held prisoner in Southeast Asia today. As long as even one American remains alive, held unjustly, we owe him our best effort to bring him home.
CUSHMAN, CLIFTON EMMET Name: Clifton Emmet Cushman Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force Unit: Date of Birth: 02 June 1938 Home City of Record: Grand Forks ND Date of Loss: 25 September 1966 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 213800N 1062600E (XJ501927) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D Others in Incident: (none missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: The F105 Thunderchief (or "Thud") performed yoeman service on many diversified missions in Southeast Asia. F105s flew more combat missions over North Vietnam than any other USAF aircraft and consequently suffered the heaviest losses in action. They dropped bombs by day and occasionally by night from high or low altitude and some later versions (F105D in Wild Weasel guise) attacked SAM sites with their radar tracking air-to-ground missiles. This versatile aircraft was also credited with downing 25 Russian MiGs. Capt. Clifton E. Cushman was the pilot of an F105D which embarked on a bombing mission over the Haiphong area of North Vietnam on September 25, 1966. He never returned from the mission, but was downed about 45 miles southwest of the harbor. Although the U.S. believes that the Vietnamese could account for Cushman, they have denied knowledge of his fate. When 591 American prisoners of war were released from Hanoi in the spring of 1973, Clifton Cushman was not among them. He, like nearly 2500 others, remain missing. The majority of these men, unlike "MIA's" from other wars, can be accounted for. Since the end of American involvement in Indochina, over 10,000 reports have been received concerning Americans held captive. Over 100 of the cases are still actively researched today. Collectively, the reports make a compelling case that Americans are still held prisoner in Southeast Asia, yet the U.S. has been unable to secure their freedom. Whether Clifton Cushman died the day his plane went down or survived to be held prisoner today is not known. What seems certain, however, is that someone knows his fate. It's time we got answers. Clifton E. Cushman was promoted to the rank of Major during the period he was maintained Missing in Action.
HUME, KENNETH EDWARD Name: Kenneth Edward Hume Rank/Branch: O4/US Navy Unit: Date of Birth: 22 July 1931 Home City of Record: Cincinnati OH Date of Loss: 29 March 1965 Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over Water Loss Coordinates: 200359N 1073659E (YH736208) Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 5 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F8D Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 April 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. REMARKS: CRASH AT SEA - NO PARA/SEAT - J SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot reported shot down on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam. The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF models were equipped for photo reconnaissance. The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war. Lt.Cdr. Kenneth E. Hume was the pilot of an F8D. On March 29, 1965, Hume's aircraft crashed at sea at a point near Dao Bach Long Vi island in the Gulf of Tonkin. No parachute was observed, nor was an ejection seat seen. Hume was declared Killed/Body Not Recovered. As Defense Department records list Hume's loss as hostile loss, it is presumed that he was either launching or returning from a combat mission when he crashed. Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive today. Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and were prepared to be wounded, killed, or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they proudly served.
