![]() United States Navy Aircrew 17 February 1968 |
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United
States Navy Aircrew:
Unit: Observation Squadron 67 Date of Loss: 17 February 1968 Country of Loss: Laos Loss Coordinates: 164959N 1055858E (XD030612) Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 3 The Lockheed P2 "Neptune" was originally designed for submarine searching, using magnetic detection gear or acoustic buoys. Besides flying maritime reconnaissance, the aircraft served as an experimental night attack craft in the attempt to interdict the movement of enemy truck convoys. Another model, the OP2E, dropped electronic sensors to detect truck movements along the supply route through Laos known as the "Ho Chi Minh Trail". The Ho Chi Minh Trail was used by the North Vietnamese for transporting weapons, supplies and troops. Hundreds of American pilots were shot down trying to stop this communist traffic to South Vietnam. Fortunately, 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 along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the passes through the border mountains between Laos and Vietnam. Many were alive on the ground and in radio contact with search and rescue and other planes; 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. The Neptune had precise navigational equipment and accurate optical bombsight. Radar was housed in a well on the nose underside of the aircraft, and radar technicians felt especially vulnerable working in this glass bubble nosed aircraft. The aircraft could place seismic or acoustic devices within a few yards of the desired point. To do so, however, the OP2E had to fly low and level, making it an easy target for the enemy's anti-aircraft guns that were increasing in number along the Trail. On February 17, 1968, an OP2E from Observation
Squadron 67 departed Thailand in a flight of four aircraft on an operational
mission over Laos. The crew of the aircraft included Commander Glenn M.
Hayden; Lt.Jg. James S. Kravitz;
After completion of the first target run, the
aircraft reported to its fighter escort and forward air control aircraft
that it had been hit by small arms fire but would continue with the second
target run.
The fighter escort climbed to the top of the
overcast to await the OP2 rendezvous, but the aircraft never emerged from
the cloud base. The fighter dropped below the clouds to search for the
OP2 and found burning wreckage.
Full Name: FRANK ARTHUR DAWSON Date of Birth: 9/29/1946 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: AN Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Full Name: GLENN MILLER HAYDEN Date of Birth: 5/1/1927 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: CDR Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Full Name: JAMES EDWARD MARTIN Date of Birth: 12/27/1942 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: AN Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Full Name: CHESTER LEROY COONS Date of Birth: 3/29/1936 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: ADJ2 Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Full Name: PAUL NICHOLAS DONATO Date of Birth: 3/14/1940 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: BOSTON, MASSACHUSTTS Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: ATN1 Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Full Name: JAMES STEPHEN KRAVITZ Date of Birth: 6/7/1941 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: LTJG Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Full Name: CURTIS FRANK THURMAN Date of Birth: 5/19/1941 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: ST JAMES, MISSOURI Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: LT Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Full Name: JAMES CHARLES WONN Date of Birth: 5/10/1944 Date of Casualty: 2/17/1968 Home of Record: PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA Branch of Service: NAVY Rank: ENS Casualty Country: LAOS Casualty Province: LZ Status: MIA Posted: 11 August 2006 |
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