Name: Thomas Richard Okerland
Rank/Branch: W1/US Army
Unit: 61st Assault Helicopter Company "Lucky Stars", 268th Aviation
Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade
Date of Birth: 05 August 1948 (Everett WA)
Home City of Record: Seattle WA
Date of Loss: 03 January 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 134700N 1090630E (BR960250)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: U6 "Beaver"
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.
Other Personnel In Incident: Luis G. Holguin; Dennis W. Omelia; Patrick
Magee; Carl Palen; Ferris Rhodes; Michael Parsons (all missing)
SYNOPSIS: On January 3, 1971, Capt. Ferris A. Rhodes, Jr. was the pilot of a
U6 "Beaver" (serial #52-25884), carrying six passengers: 1Lt. Michaeld D.
Parsons, WO1 Thomas R. Okerland, WO1 Dennis W. Omelia; WO1 Luis G. Holguin;
SP6 Patrick J. Magee; and SP5 Carl A. Palen. This was an administrative
support flight from Qui Nhon to Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam, to collect
replacement helicopters for the company. Some of the men aboard were
helicopter pilots, and would fly the choppers back to the base at Qui Nhon.
The U6 "Beaver" is an older, fixed wing aircraft of reasonable size (bigger
than a "Bird Dog", for instance), rather short and squatty with a somewhat
wide body. The aircraft departed Qui Nhon at about 0900 hours on January 3
without filing a proper flight plan, nor was the weather briefing obtained
prior to takeoff. About 14 miles southeast of Phu Cat, at 1120 hours, radio
and radar contact was lost with the plane.
Because Capt. Rhodes had announced plans to remain overnight at Ban Me
Thuot, no immediate searches were made. By January 9, when Rhodes and his
passengers still had not returned, search efforts were begun at 0900 hours,
and continued throughout the day with no sign of the aircraft or its
personnel.
The area of takeoff was tricky and the weather conditions were not good.
Other pilots said that if planes taking off did not reach a safe altitude
fast enough, they would crash into a mountain. Cruising speed for the
"Beaver" was a mere 106 mph making it a prime target for flak. Conditions in
the area indicated that the aircraft was shot down, and several years passed
before the crew was finally declared dead.
Evidence mounts that Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia. It is not
known for sure if any of the crew of the U6 survived and are among them, but
there is no evidence that they are dead. If they survived, they could still
be alive. If not, then someone else's brother, son, husband, father is
alive. We owe them our very best effort to bring them home.
[NEXT]
