REMARKS:

"Dutch" Netherland's family was accustomed to his long absences from home. His wife of 18 years had "learned to live with potential disaster." She was not, however, prepared for what happened to Dutch on May 10, 1967.

While flying a mission in the Haiphong area of North Vietnam, Netherland's A4C was shot down. His last known location was about 10 miles southeast of the city of Haiphong. Flyers reconnoitering the site where his burning plane plunged to the ground believe they heard his voice. But no word has come through about him since. When American POWs were released in 1973, Dutch Netherland was not among them. He is one of nearly 2500 Americans who disappeared in Vietnam. Many of these men were alive on the ground; some were known to have been prisoners of war.

Thank you for calling the National League of Families Update Line.  This message is being recorded on Friday, June 16th.  The number of Americans still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War is now 2,017. Today, the Defense Department provided the names of three Americans now  accounted for, and the name of a fourth was not publicly released at the  request of his family.

Those announced include Captain Roger M. Netherland, USN, of Pennsyvania, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Lopez, USA, of Washington, and Major William H. Seward, USMC, of Georgia.  The remains of Captain Netherland, missing since May 10, 1967, were unilaterally repatriated by the Government of Vietnam on September 11, 1989. The remains of Colonel Lopez and Major Seward were jointly recovered in August of 1993 and October of 1994.  The accounting for these three Americans, plus the one Air Force officer not publicly identified, brings the number still missing and unaccounted for to 2,017, 1,514 in Vietnam.  Of the 427 still missing in Laos and the 68 unaccounted for in Cambodia, approximately 85% were lost in areas under Vietnam's wartime control.  There are also 8 Americans still unaccounted for in the territorial waters of the PRC.