*Names of Officers were given to me by Captain Jim Perso

HOLDEMAN, Robert Eugene; Capt., USMC; MIA: Yes;  Panel: 30E Line 85
A6A B/N, MIA on a Rolling Thunder, over North Vietnam.

WALLACE, Hobart McKinley, Jr.; LtCol., USMC; MIA: Yes;  Panel: 34E Line 82
A6A Pilot, MIA on a Rolling Thunder, over North Vietnam. 

CLEM, Thomas Dean, Capt., USMCR;  MIA: Yes;  Panel: 54E Line 24
A6A Pilot, MIA over North Vietnam. 

FICKLER, Edwin James; Capt., USMCR; MIA: Yes;  Panel: 34W Line 23
A6A Pilot, MIA on a mission to the A Shau Valley, between Laos and Vietnam.  
I returned to Danang when he was overdue.  A corporal ran up the ladder to look at my face when I took off the oxygen mask.  He was looking for Jim Fickler.  When he recognized me, he wanted to know if I knew anything.  I didn't.  He said , "I'm glad you are back, but I am really concerned about Captain Fickler." Despite extensive searches, no sign of any wreckage was found.  Jim and I served together at Cherry Point and Danang.   

KUHLMAN, Robert John, Jr.; Major, USMC; MIA: Yes; Panel: 34W Line 23
A6A B/N, MIA on a mission to the A Shaw Valley, with Jim Fickler.  

LONO, Luther Albert; LtCol, USMC; MIA: Yes;  Panel: 17W Line 18
A6A Pilot.  Bombing mission over Laos.  I served with him until I left Vietnam.  He was our XO.

***Other causalities not noted by Captain Perso

CURRAN, Patrick: Lt., USMC, MIA: Yes; Panel: Panel: 17W Line 18
A6A B/N, Bombing mission over Laos.

Abrams, Lewis Herbert: LtCol., USMC; MIA: Yes, remains returned; Panel: 30E Line 83
A6A Pilot, Bombing mission over Haiphong, North Vietnam.

Avery, Robert Douglas: Lt.; USMC, MIA: Yes; Panel 34E Line 80
A6A B/N, Bombing mission over North Vietnam.

Murray, Patrick Peter: Capt. USMC; MIA: Yes, remains returned; Panel 54e Line 23
A6A B/N, Bombing mission over North Vietnam

McGarvey, James Maurice: Major; USMC; MIA: Yes; Panel 18e Line 42
A6A Pilot, Bombing mission over North Vietnam.

Carlton, James Edmund, Jr.: Capt. USMC; MIA: Yes; Panel 18e Line 39
A6A B/N, Bombing mission over North Vietnam.

Fanning, Hugh Michael.: Capt.: USMC; MIA: ???; Panel 28e Line 103
A6A Pilot, Bombing mission over North Vietnam.

Kott, James Jay: Capt.: USMC; MIA: ???; Panel 18e Line 104
A6A B/N, Bombing mission over North Vietnam.

Stevenson, Thomas G. Jr.: LCpl., USMC;  KIA: Panel 31w Line 24
Ground Personnel, Rocket attack on hanger area.

Davis, Richard Glen: LCpl; USMC; KIA: Panel 29e Line 2
Ground Personnel, Flight line accident.

Hutter, Robert Nelson: L/CPL., USMC; KIA: Panel 35e Line 73
Ground Personnel, TAD to perimeter guard duty, Rocket attack.

Bio's of Personnel and Synopsis of Incident
Names are grouped by Pilot and B/N

LONO, LUTHER ALBERT  Name: Luther Albert Lono Rank/Branch: O4/US Marine Corps Unit: VMA 242, MAG 11, Pilot Date of Birth: 12 June 1931 Home City of Record: Tacoma WA (family in hiding) Date of Loss: 29 September 1969 Country of Loss: Laos Loss Coordinates: 161500N 1065700E (XD678036) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action - Remains identified and returned June 2001 Category: 4 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A Refno: 1495 Other Personnel In Incident: Patrick R. Curran - Remains identified and returned June 2001

LUTHER ALBERT LONO

On 29 September, 1969, Maj. Luther A. Lono, pilot; and 1Lt.Patrick R. Curran, bombardier>  navigator were dispatched aboard an A6A to conduct an armed reconnaissance mission in support of Seventh U.S. Air Force operations over Laos. The mission was under the control of an Air Force Airborne Tactical Air Control aircraft, and was to be conducted in a heavily defended enemy area. 

The mission proceeded without incident until 8:50 p.m., at which time the Airborne Tactical Air Control aircraft lost contact with the Lono/Curran aircraft. Their last radio contact had been about 25 miles west of Khe Sanh. Attempts to contact the aircraft were unsuccessful, and at 10:30 p.m., the commanding officer of the 11th Aircraft Group 11 declared them "overdue". 

At this declaration, electronic search efforts began for the crew members, and a signal was received by the Tactical Air Control aircraft at 0248 hours on September 30 which was believed to be a signal from an emergency transmitter. Subsequent attempts to contact the crew were unsuccessful. A visual search began at dawn on September 30, but no sign of the crew or aircraft was found.

Both men were placed in "MIA" status.  Presumptive Findings of Death for the two were issued: 28 Aug 1978 for Curran; 28 November 1978 for Lono.   

The crash site was located and excavations conducted which resulted in the recovery of human remains in February 2000. The remains were positively identified on 27 June 2001 as being those of Luther Albert Lono and Patrick Robert Curran. Their remains are co-mingled in a single grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

Burial: Arlington National Cemetery Arlington Arlington County Virginia, USA Plot: Section 60 Site 7758

Two fellow Marines that I served with have come home.

To read a touching poem about Major Lono  by CPL Dean F. Glorso Click HERE.

HOLDEMAN, ROBERT EUGENE 

REMAINS RETURNED 06/26/97
Name: Robert Eugene Holdeman 
Rank/Branch: O2/United States Marine Corps,  B/N 
Unit: VMA 242 Mag 11 
Date of Birth: 30 October 1931 
Home City of Record: Winchester IN 
Date of Loss: 25 November 1967 
Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over water 
Loss Coordinates: 200000 North 1070000 East 
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action - remains returned 06/26/1997 
Category: 2 
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A 
Missions: Other Personnel in Incident: Abrams, Lewis Herbert - remains returned 06/26/1997

ABRAMS, LEWIS HERBERT  Remains returned 06/26/97  Name: Lewis Herbert Abrams  Rank/Branch: O5/United States Marine Corps, Pilot  Unit: VMA 242 Mag 11  Date of Birth: 17 August 1929  Home City of Record: Montclair NJ  Date of Loss: 25 November 1967  Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over Water  Loss Coordinates: 200000 North 1070000 East  Status (in 1973): Missing in Action - remains returned 06/26/1997  Category: 2  Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Missions: Other Personnel in Incident: Maj. Robert Holdeman, remains returned 06/26/1997 REMARKS: CACCF states "crash not at sea"

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE NEWS RELEASE
60TH AIR MOBILITY WING(AMW) 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
TRAVIS AFB, CA 
PHONE: (707)424-2011
NEWS RELEASE NO. 9706-20 JUNE 26, 1997

The remains of FIVE American service members previously unaccounted for from Southeast Asia have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial in the United States. Their remains will be repatriated in a ceremony at 4:00 pm June 26 on the Travis flight line. They are identified as LT.COL. LEWIS H. ABRAMS, MARINE CORPS, of Montclair, N.J.; MAJ. ROBERT E. HOLDEMAN, MARINE CORPS. of Winchester, Ind.; and CAPTAIN JOHN N. FLANIGAN, MARINE CORPS, of Winter Haven, Fla. THE NAMES OF TWO AIR FORCE AVIATORS WILL NOT BE RELEASED AT THE REQUEST OF THEIR FAMILIES. 

On Nov. 25, 1967, Abrams and Holdeman were shot down while flying a night strike mission near Haiphong, North Vietnam. A radio Peking broadcast confirmed the Marine Corps aircraft had been shot down in the vicinity of Haiphong. In 1988  the Socialist Republic of Vietnam repatriated what they believed to be the remains of U.S. service personnel lost during the Vietnam War. Included in the remains was a military identification card fragment with what appeared to be the name Abrams. In 1993 and 1995, joint U.S. and Vietnamese teams investigated and excavated a crash site in Hai Phong Province. Local villagers reported that remains had previously recovered and turned over to higher authorities. They also turned over bone fragments found near the crash site. On August 19, 1969, Flanigan and his pilot were flying an F-4B as escort for a photo recon mission over North Vietnam. They lost contact with other aircraft in their flight, and never made it back to their base at Danang, South Vietnam. In 1989, the Vietnamese government repatriated remains believed to be those of Flanigan. Four subsequent joint US and Vietnamese investigations were able to locate their crash site in Quang Binh Province. The site was excavated in 1995 where aircraft wreckage, aircrew related items, and personnel effects were located, but NO human remains were found. The remains of Flanigan turned over by the Vietnamese were positively identified and Mitochondrial DNA testing was used to confirm the identification. With the identification of these FIVE service members, 2118 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

To read more about Col. Abrams go to this website http://www.virtualwall.org/da/AbramsLH01a.htm .

WALLACE, HOBART MCKINLEY, JR  Name: Hobart McKinley Wallace Jr.  Branch/Rank: United States Marine Corps/O4, Pilot  Unit: MAG 12 1 MAW 533 All Weather Tac Squadron  *Note - were flying with VMA(aw)242 on this mission.  Date of Birth: 10 October 1933  Home City of Record: SHARON WV  Date of Loss: 19 January 1968  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 0 0 Status (in 1973): Missing in Action  Category: 4  Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A #152636  REMARKS: CACCF/CRASH/PILOT  Missions: Other Personnel in Incident: PATRICK MURRAY-REMAINS RETURNED 85  Refno: 0996

MURRAY, PATRICK PETER  Name: Patrick Peter Murray  Branch/Rank: United States Marine Corps/O3, B/N Unit: 533 All Weather TAC SQ/MAG 12 1 MAW *Note - were flying with VMA(aw)242 on this mission.  Date of Birth: 01 October 1942  Home City of Record: ST PAUL MN  Date of Loss: 19 January 1968  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 213200 North 1052900 East  Status (in 1973): Missing In Action  Category: 4  Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Missions: Other Personnel in Incident: Hobart Wallace, MIA, REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86  Refno: 0996  REMARKS: Vinh Phu 5 miles East/Southeast of Phu Tho  CACCF/CRASH/AIRCREW/POSTHUMOUS PROMOTION.  No further information available at this time.

CLEM, THOMAS DEAN  Name: Thomas Dean Clem  Rank/Branch: 02/USMC Reserve, Pilot Unit: Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Date of Birth: 31 May 1942  Home City of Record: New Paris, IN (born Goshen, IN)  Date of Loss: 3 May 1968  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: N164658 E1070157  Status (in 1973): Killed in Action/Body not Recovered  Category: 3  Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Refno: 1156 Other Personnel in Incident: Avery, Robert D., missing

AVERY, ROBERT DOUGLAS  Name: Robert Douglas Avery  Rank/Branch: United States Marine Corps/O2, B/N Unit: VMFA 533 MAG 12  Date of Birth:18 December 1941  Home City of Record: Morgantown NC  Date of Loss: 03 May 1968  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 164658 North 1070157 East  Status (in 1973): Presumptive Finding of Death  Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Missions: Other Personnel in Incident: Thomas Clem  Refno: 1156

SYNOPSIS:

Senate Select Committee Report: North Vietnam (1156)
Robert D. Avery
Thomas D. Clem 

On May 3, 1968, Avery and Clem were the crew in an A-6A on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam providing support to U.S. Air Force operations along Route Package 1.  Radar contact was lost with the aircraft when it was approximately 10 kilometers northwest of the coastal town of Dong Hoi and six kilometers southeast of the district seat of Bo Trach in Quang Binh Province.  SAR forces were unable to locate any sign of the crew which was declared missing. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on the eventual fate of the crew.  After Operation Homecoming they were declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. In January 1991, a U.S. team in Vietnam visited Bo Trach District and reviewed archival documents. One document listed the downing of an A-6A on May 3, 1968 in which both crewmen died. In July 1991, U.S. researchers at the Military Region IV museum in Vinh City obtained access to an archival list of gravesites of Americans who died there during the war. One entry listed Robert D. Avery as buried in Quang Ninh District from an F-105 downed on April 15, 1968. In January 1992, a Region IV air defense record listed an A6A downed on May 3, 1968 with both crewmen dead. In December 1992, a copy of the list of burial sites was turned over by Vietnam to Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs.

In 1995, nearly three decades after Clem's and Avery's plane disappeared, a joint U.S.-Vietnamese team was probing the coast of Vietnam for another airplane, part of a continuing effort to locate unaccounted for veterans.

On a narrow, sandy plain near a row of scrub pines, they found a brackish-water- filled crater they would later confirm as the crash site of an A-6A.

The pilot of that plane was Lt. Thomas Dean Clem. His friend and crewmate was Lt. Robert Douglas Avery.

Declassified records in the Library of Congress show that the plane's mission in the dark, early morning of May 3, 1968, was to bomb enemy supply routes to the south. The records also detail the government's attempts to find the plane.
But though the military has known about the crash site since the mid-1990s, the Avery family learned about it only within the past few weeks. The news came too late for Avery's mother, who died last spring (2002). His father died in 1984, enduring an agony of uncertainty. Doug Avery's wife, Grace, who wrote him letters on forms supplied by the North Vietnamese, died of cancer in 1986, not knowing for sure what happened.

The joint U.S.-Vietnamese team know they have the right aircraft. They found personal effects. They found crew materials. They found human remains [but they] have no DNA potential.

KUHLMAN, ROBERT JOHN, JR.  Name: Robert John Kuhlman Jr.  Branch/Rank: United States Marine Corps/O2, Pilot  Unit: VMA 242 MAG 11  Date of Birth: 25 August 1944  Home City of Record: RICHMOND IN  Date of Loss: 17 January 1969  Country of Loss: South Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 106700 North 1072100 East  Status (in 1973): Missing In Action  Category: 4  Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A #152586  Missions: Other Personnel in Incident: Edwin Fickler, missing  Refno: 1362

REMARKS: CACCF/CRASH/PILOT/QUANG TRI 

On the evening of 17 January 1969 the crew of an A6A Intruder conducting direct air support and armed reconnaissance missions in the vicinity of the Ashau Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The Ashau Valley parallels the Vietnam/Laos border and is approximately 30 miles southwest of the city of Hue. The aircraft departed Da Nang Air Base at 8:43pm, and arrived in the Ashau Valley area at approximately 8:50pm. Upon arriving in the area, the Bombardier/Navigator, Robert Kuhlman, contacted the Forward Air Controller for assignment of missions. At 9:25pm the Forward Air Controller passed a target to the aircraft which appeared in the northern portion of the Valley. The Controller of the mission attempted to contact the aircraft at 9:45pm to assign another target; this attempt was met with negative results. Further attempts were made to make contact but in each instance the results were negative. Search operations were initiated at 10:25pm and continued throughout the night. The following day visual, electronic and photographic searches were conducted until 12:30pm on 22 January 1969. All searches failed to reveal any sign of the aircraft. The possibility that the aircraft crashed in the target area can only be presumed. The airborne controller did observe what appeared to be an explosion, which he assumed at that time was a bomb cluster followed by a secondary explosion. It was known that the enemy possessed antiaircraft weapons in the vicinity of the Ashau Valley.

McGARVEY, JAMES MAURICE  Name: James Maurice McGarvey  Rank/Branch: O4/US Marine Corps  Unit: VMA 242, MAG 11  Date of Birth: 21 August 1933  Home City of Record: Valparaiso IN  Date of Loss: 17 April 1967  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 183100N 1055300E (WF923471)  Status (in 1973): Missing in Action  Category: 2  Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Refno: 0643  Other Personnel in Incident: James E. Carlton (missing)

CARLTON, JAMES EDMUND JR. Name: James Edmund Carlton, Jr.  Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps  Unit: VMA 242, MAG 11  Date of Birth: 10 July 1939  Home City of Record: Birmingham AL  Date of Loss: 17 April 1967  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 183100N 1055300E (WF923471)  Status (in 1973): Missing in Action  Category: 2  Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Refno: 0643  Other Personnel in Incident: James M. McGarvey (missing)

REMARKS: On April 17, 1967, Major James M. McGarvey, pilot, and Capt. James E. Carlton, Jr., systems operator, were assigned a mission against a well defended target located approximately twenty miles southeast of Vinh, Nghe An Province, North Vietnam. At 11:12 p.m., during McGarvey's attack run, the aircraft trailing McGarvey's by approximately eight miles reported seeing a brilliant orange flash mushrooming from the area of the lead aircraft, after which no radio contact could be established with the aircraft. Search and rescue operations were initiated and lasted until April 26, 1967, with negative results. Both McGarvey and Carlton were declared Missing in Action. Throughout the war, the McGarvey and Carlton families waited, knowing it was possible that their men had been captured, even though they heard no word of either of them. At the end of the war, however, when 591 Americans were released from POW camps, McGarvey and Carlton were not among them. The Vietnamese denied any knowledge of them. It is unlikely that the aircraft carrying McGarvey and Carlton was sighted, shot down, exploded into a brilliant orange flash and crashed in a heavily defended area without being detected by the Vietnamese. It is unlikely that no information is available on their fates, although the Vietnamese continue to deny knowledge of them.

FANNING, HUGH MICHAEL  REMAINS RETURNED - 07/17/84 - Family does NOT accept I.D. Name: Hugh Michael Fanning  Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps  Unit: 1st Marine Air Wing, Da Nang  Date of Birth: 12 July 1941 (Washington DC)  Home City of Record: Ft. Worth TX (family in OK)  Date of Loss: 31 October 1967  Country of Loss: North Vietnam  Loss Coordinates: 205000N 1061200E (XJ248040)  Status (in 1973): Missing In Action  Category: 2  Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A  Other Personnel in Incident: Stephen Kott (remains returned)

KOTT, STEPHEN JAY REMAINS RETURNED - 07/17/84 Name: Stephen Jay Kott Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps Unit: 1st Marine Air Wing, Da Nang Date of Birth: 12 May 1940 Home City of Record: Greenville SC Date of Loss: 31 October 1967 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 205000N 1061200E (XJ248040) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A Refno: 0886

Other Personnel in Incident: Hugh M. Fanning (remains returned)

REMARKS: On October 31, 1967, Capt. Fanning and bombardier/navigator Capt. Stephen J. Kott were sent on a mission over North Vietnam as number two in a flight of two aircraft on a night electronics support mission. Their radio code name was "Oatmeal." At about 1:50 a.m., Fanning indicated he was approaching the target. At 2:02 a.m., the leader observed a bright orange flash in the vicinity of the target area and in the estimated position of Fanning's aircraft which he estimated to be about 15 miles east of Hanoi at an altitude of 100-500 feet. It was believed that Fanning and Kott could have survived the crash of the aircraft, and the two were classified Missing in Action. The U.S. believed that the Vietnamese could account for them. Several reports surfaced concerning the crash of Fanning's and Kott's plane in the ensuing years, including one account that Kott was killed in the crash, but Fanning was captured and taken away by jeep. The accuracy of these reports is uncertain. In August, 1984, remains were returned by the Vietnamese propertied to be those of Fanning and Kott. For more on this story check the following website out.
http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/f/f002.htm

To my knowledge, which is constantly being updated, only three enlisted men were killed during VMA(AW) 242's tour in Vietnam.  Their bio's follow.

Stevenson, Thomas G., Jr. Name: Thomas G. Stevenson, Jr. Rank/Branch: LCPL - E3 - USMC - Regular Unit: VMA 242, MAG 11 20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Date of Birth: May 02, 1948 Home City of Record: ORLANDO, FLORIDA Length of service 2 years. Tour of duty:  Began on Aug 09, 1968 Date of Loss: February 23, 1969 Country of Loss: Danang, Quang Nam , South Vietnam Category: Hostile, Ground Casualty: Artillery, Rocket, or Mortar Body was recovered Religion PROTESTANT Panel 31W - Line 24

SYNOPSIS:

Stevenson was killed during an early morning rocket attack that struck the taxiway/tarmac/hanger area.  A Russian/Chinese rocket hit the roof of VMA(AW)242's hanger reducing a thirty foot in diameter section into a mass of swirling shrapnel.  Stevenson was exiting the main hanger doors which were open. He was within a few feet of being directly under the impact area.  Thomas was hit either by this shrapnel or by a piece of the rocket.  

When the rocket struck the hanger, I was climbing into my assigned defensive revetment bunker.  It was about 30 feet away from where Stevenson was hit.  I did not see the incident happen.  I saw Stevenson within 3 - 5 seconds after he was struck.  Medical assistance was summoned but to no avail.

Davis, Richard Glen

Name: Richard Glen Davis
Rank/Branch: LCPL - E3 - USMC - Regular
21 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Date of Birth: Born on Sep 04, 1946
Home City of Record: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Length of Service: 2 years.
Tour of Duty: began on Oct 26, 1966
Date of Loss Nov 01, 1967
Country of Loss: Da Nang, QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM
Category: Non-Hostile, died of illness/injury; Ground Casualty; Other Accident
Body was recovered
Religion: PROTESTANT
Panel 29E - Line 2

Richard was killed in a freakish accident when a canopy accidentally closed striking him.

Hutter, Robert Nelson

Name: Robert Nelson Hutter
Rank/Branch: LCPL - E3 - USMC - Regular
20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Date of Birth: Born on Oct 26, 1948
Home City of Record: Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri
Length of Service: 2 years.
Tour of Duty: began on Oct 12, 1967
Date of Loss Jan 30, 1968
Country of Loss: Da Nang, QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM
Category: Hostile, GROUND CASUALTY
ARTILLERY, ROCKET, or MORTAR
Body was recovered
Religion: PROTESTANT
Panel 35E - Line 73

Robert was killed during a 122 rocket attack while assigned TAD for perimeter guard duty.

**** Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project and the P.O.W. NETWORK 2 April 1992 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews and the Senate Select Committee Hearing Report.  Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 1998. ****

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