|
 
The
Virtual
Wall
Personnel
in
Incident:
April
2:
Robin
F.
Gatwood;
Wayne
L.
Bolte;
Anthony
Giannangeli;
Charles
A.
Levis;
Henry
M.
Serex;
(all
missing
from
the
EB66).
LtCol.
Iceal
Hambleton
(rescued
after
12
days
from
EB66).
Ronald
P.
Paschall;
Byron
K.
Kulland;
John
W.
Frink
(all
missing
from
UH1H
rescue
helicopter),
Jose
M.
Astorga
(captured
and
released
in
1973
from
UH1H).
April
3:
William
J.
Henderson
(captured
and
released
in
1973
from
OV10A
rescue
craft);
Mark
Clark
(rescued
after
12
days
from
OV10A
rescue
craft).
April
6:
James
H.
Alley;
Allen
J.
Avery;
Peter
H.
Chapman;
John
H.
Call;
William
R.
Pearson;
Roy
D.
Prater
(all
KIA/BNR
from
HH53C
"Jolly
52"
rescue
chopper).
Also
in
very
close
proximity
to
"Bat
21"on
April
3:
Allen
D.
Christensen;
Douglas
L.
O'Neil;
Edward
W.
Williams;
Larry
A.
Zich
(all
missing
from
UH1H).
April
7:
Bruce
Charles
Walker
(evaded
11
days);
Larry
F.
Potts
(captured
&
died
in
POW
camp)
(both
missing
from
OV10A).
REMARKS:
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.
SYNOPSIS:
On
the
afternoon
of
April
2,
1972,
two
Thailand-based
EB66
aircraft
(Bat
21
and
Bat
22),
from
the
30th
Air
Division,
were
flying
pathfinder
escort
for
a
cell
of
B52s
bombing
near
the
DMZ.
Bat
21
took
a
direct
SAM
hit
and
the
plane
went
down.
A
single
beeper
signal
was
heard,
that
of
navigator
Col.
Iceal
Hambleton.
At
this
time
it
was
assumed
the
rest
of
the
crew
died
in
the
crash.
The
crew
included
Maj.
Wayne
L.
Bolte,
pilot;
1Lt.
Robin
F.
Gatwood,
LtCol.
Anthony
R.
Giannangeli,
LtCol.
Charles
A.
Levis,
and
Maj.
Henry
M.
Serex,
all
crew
members.
It
should
be
noted
that
the
lowest
ranking
man
aboard
this
plane
was
Gatwood,
a
First
Lieutenant.
This
was
not
an
ordinary
crew,
and
its
members,
particularly
Hambleton,
would
be
a
prize
capture
for
the
enemy
because
of
military
knowledge
they
possessed.
It
became
critical,
therefore,
that
the
U.S.
locate
Hambleton,
and
any
other
surviving
crew
members
before
the
Vietnamese
did
-
and
the
Vietnamese
were
trying
hard
to
find
them
first.
An
Army
search
and
rescue
team
was
nearby
and
dispatched
two
UH1H
"slicks"
and
two
UH1B
"Cobras".
When
they
approached
Hambleton's
position
just
before
dark,
at
about
50
feet
off
the
ground,
with
one
of
the
AH1G
Cobra
gunships
flying
at
300
feet
for
cover,
two
of
the
helicopters
were
shot
down.
One,
the
Cobra
(Blue
Ghost
28)
reached
safety
and
the
crew
was
picked
up,
without
having
seen
the
other
downed
helicopter.
The
other,
a
UH1H
from
F
Troop,
8th
Cavalry,
196th
Brigade,
had
just
flown
over
some
huts
into
a
clearing
when
they
encountered
ground
fire,
and
the
helicopter
exploded.
Jose
Astorga,
the
gunner,
was
injured
in
the
chest
and
knee
by
the
gunfire.
Astorga
became
unconscious,
and
when
he
recovered,
the
helicopter
was
on
the
ground.
He
found
the
pilot,
1Lt.
Byron
K.
Kulland,
lying
outside
the
helicopter.
WO
John
W.
Frink,
the
co-pilot,
was
strapped
in
his
seat
and
conscious.
The
crew
chief,
SP5
Ronald
P.
Paschall,
was
pinned
by
his
leg
in
the
helicopter,
but
alive.
WO
Franks
urged
Astorga
to
leave
them,
and
Astorga
was
captured.
He
soon
observed
the
aircraft
to
be
hit
by
automatic
weapons
fire,
and
to
explode
with
the
rest
of
the
crew
inside.
He
never
saw
the
rest
of
the
crew
again.
Astorga
was
released
by
the
North
Vietnamese
in
1973.
The
following
day,
Nail
38,
an
OV10A
equipped
with
electronic
rescue
gear
enabling
its
crew
to
get
a
rapid
"fix"
on
its
rescue
target
entered
Hambleton's
area
and
was
shot
down.
The
crew,
William
J.
Henderson
and
Mark
Clark,
both
parachuted
out
safely.
Henderson
was
captured
and
released
in
1973.
Clark
evaded
for
12
days
and
was
subsequently
rescued.
On
April
3,
the
day
Nail
38
was
shot
down,
a
UH1H
"slick"
went
down
in
the
same
area
carrying
a
crew
of
four
enlisted
Army
personnel.
They
had
no
direct
connection
to
the
rescue
of
Bat
21,
but
were
very
probably
shot
down
by
the
same
SAM
installations
that
downed
Bat
21.
The
helicopter,
from
H/HQ,
37th
Signal
Battalion,
1st
Signal
Brigade,
had
left
Marble
Mountain
Airfield,
Da
Nang,
on
a
standard
re-supply
mission
to
signal
units
in
and
around
Quang
Tri
City.
The
crew,
consisting
of
WO
Douglas
L.
O'Neil,
pilot;
CW2
Larry
A.
Zich,
co-pilot;
SP5
Allen
D.
Christensen,
crew
chief;
and
SP4
Edward
W.
Williams,
gunner;
remain
missing
in
action.
On
April
6,
an
attempt
was
made
to
pick
up
Clark
and
Hambleton
which
resulted
in
an
HH53C
helicopter
being
shot
down.
The
chopper
was
badly
hit.
The
helicopter
landed
on
its
side
and
continued
to
burn,
consuming
the
entire
craft,
and
presumably,
all
6
men
aboard.
The
crew
of
this
aircraft
consisted
of
James
H.
Alley;
Allen
J.
Avery,
John
H.
Call
III,
Peter
H.
Chapman,
William
R.
Pearson,
and
Roy
D.
Prater.
Search
and
rescue
noted
no
signs
of
survivors,
but
it
is
felt
that
the
Vietnamese
probably
know
the
fate
of
this
crew
because
of
the
close
proximity
of
the
downed
aircraft
to
enemy
locations.
On
April
7
another
Air
Force
OV10A
went
down
in
the
area
with
Larry
Potts
and
Bruce
Walker
aboard.
Walker,
the
Air
Force
pilot
of
the
aircraft,
evaded
capture
11
days,
while
it
is
reported
that
Potts
was
captured
and
died
|
Wayne
Louis
Bolte