THE MISSING
the missing
All of the information presented here comes directly from the Defense POW*MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
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WW II: December 7, 1941 – December 31, 1946
Missing as of 1973 – 73,685 Accounted For - 1,825 Unaccounted For – 71,860 |
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Since the renewal of U.S. POW/MIA recovery efforts in the 1970s, the remains of nearly 1,000 Americans killed in World War II have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. This number is in addition to the roughly 280,000 Americans whose remains were identified in a massive effort immediately after the war.
DPAA and our partners continue to build on over seventy years of investigative efforts with partner governments all over the world. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of WWII loss sites to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
TOKYO PRISON FIRE:
ENOURA MARU: 921 unaccounted for.
Over the course of World War II, Japanese authorities sent Allied prisoners of war (POW) from throughout the Pacific to camps in Japan, Korea and Manchuria for use as laborers. Because many of the transport vessels used, commonly known as “hell ships,” were unmarked, allied aircraft and submarines frequently attacked them, resulting in the deaths of thousands of POWs.
Around 8 a.m. on Dec. 14, 1944, U.S. Navy aircraft from USS Hornet (CV-12) spotted Oryoku Maru. Unaware of the prisoners on board, they attacked the vessel multiple times, forcing it to dock in Subic Bay, offshore from the Olongapo Navy Yard on Luzon. The following morning, U.S. aircraft launched another devastating attack, triggering an explosion and fire on Oryoku Maru. The guards gave the order to abandon the ship, forcing the POWs to swim to shore. Guards on land fired upon prisoners believed to be straying from the group. Of the 1,619 prisoners, 286 were reported dead or missing after the attack.
In San Fernando, La Union, Formosa, the surviving prisoners boarded the transports Enoura Maru and Brazil Maru. On Dec. 27, 1944, these ships departed the Philippines for the port of Takao, Formosa. Postwar investigators believed that some who died en route were buried at sea, while those who died after the Jan. 1, 1945, arrival may have been taken ashore for burial in a cemetery.
On Jan. 9, 1945, U.S. naval aircraft scored a direct hit on Enoura Maru in Takao Harbor, killing an estimated 300 POWs. After a few days, Japanese guards permitted the survivors to bring the dead ashore and bury them in a mass grave. On Jan. 13, the remaining POWs crowded onto Brazil Maru for the final leg of the journey.
DPAA and our partners continue to build on over seventy years of investigative efforts with partner governments all over the world. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of WWII loss sites to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
TOKYO PRISON FIRE:
- In one of the largest air raids of World War II, a night fire-bombing mission was conducted against Tokyo May 25-26, 1945. More than 500 U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 aircraft dropped nearly 4,000 tons of incendiaries that ignited a major firestorm that burned 22 square miles of Tokyo. Flames from the inferno produced by the incendiaries reached the Tokyo Military Prison located in Shibuya, a subdivision of Tokyo, killing all U.S. prisoners of war incarcerated there. The Japanese buried the remains associated with the incident on May 26, 1945. Despite post war recovery efforts, 37 POWs remained unaccounted for. In late 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency received permission to disinter unknown graves believed to be associated with bombing for possible identification, which started the agency’s Tokyo Prison Fire Project.
ENOURA MARU: 921 unaccounted for.
Over the course of World War II, Japanese authorities sent Allied prisoners of war (POW) from throughout the Pacific to camps in Japan, Korea and Manchuria for use as laborers. Because many of the transport vessels used, commonly known as “hell ships,” were unmarked, allied aircraft and submarines frequently attacked them, resulting in the deaths of thousands of POWs.
- One of the most infamous examples was the transfer of 1,619 POWs from the port of Manila, Philippines, to Moji, Japan, aboard the ships Oryoku Maru, Enoura Maru, and Brazil Maru. Over the course of the journey, nearly 75% of the prisoners died.
Around 8 a.m. on Dec. 14, 1944, U.S. Navy aircraft from USS Hornet (CV-12) spotted Oryoku Maru. Unaware of the prisoners on board, they attacked the vessel multiple times, forcing it to dock in Subic Bay, offshore from the Olongapo Navy Yard on Luzon. The following morning, U.S. aircraft launched another devastating attack, triggering an explosion and fire on Oryoku Maru. The guards gave the order to abandon the ship, forcing the POWs to swim to shore. Guards on land fired upon prisoners believed to be straying from the group. Of the 1,619 prisoners, 286 were reported dead or missing after the attack.
In San Fernando, La Union, Formosa, the surviving prisoners boarded the transports Enoura Maru and Brazil Maru. On Dec. 27, 1944, these ships departed the Philippines for the port of Takao, Formosa. Postwar investigators believed that some who died en route were buried at sea, while those who died after the Jan. 1, 1945, arrival may have been taken ashore for burial in a cemetery.
On Jan. 9, 1945, U.S. naval aircraft scored a direct hit on Enoura Maru in Takao Harbor, killing an estimated 300 POWs. After a few days, Japanese guards permitted the survivors to bring the dead ashore and bury them in a mass grave. On Jan. 13, the remaining POWs crowded onto Brazil Maru for the final leg of the journey.
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KOREAN WAR: June 27, 1950 – July 27, 1953
Missing as of 1973 – 8,157 Accounted For – 756 Unaccounted For - 7,401 |
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Since 1982, the remains of over 450 Americans killed in the Korean War have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. This number is in addition to the roughly 2,000 Americans whose remains were identified in the years following the end of hostilities, when the North Korean government returned over 3,000 sets of remains to U.S. custody
Under 7,500 Americans are still unaccounted-for from the Korean War, hundreds of whom are believed to be in a “non-recoverable” category, meaning that after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status.
DPAA and our partners continue to build on over sixty years of investigative efforts on the Korean peninsula. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of loss sites in South Korea to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
BATTLE OF CHOSIN RESERVOIR:
The Chosin Reservoir is a man-made lake located in the northeast of the Korean peninsula. From the end of November to mid-December 1950, it was the site of one of the most brutal battles between UN and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) during the Korean War. For approximately seventeen days, roughly 30,000 U.N. soldiers and marines faced an enemy force estimated at around 120,000 over rugged terrain in lethally cold weather.
General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief, Far East, superseded his orders and advanced his forces north toward the Yalu River to push North Korean forces into China. In late November 1950, the U.S. Eighth Army advanced in northwest Korea and the X Corps advanced along the east side of the Korean peninsula to sever enemy supply lines near the Chosin Reservoir. The U.S. 1st Marine Division, commanded by Major General Oliver P. Smith, advanced up the west side of the Chosin Reservoir while elements of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division, led by Regimental Combat Team 31 (RCT-31), advanced along the east side. The 3rd Infantry Division guarded the Marines’ flanks and a major supply base and airfield was constructed south of the reservoir at Hagaru-ri.
Over a thousand U.S. marines and soldiers were killed during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign and thousands more were wounded in battle or incapacitated by cold weather. Many men were buried where they fell, and due to the cold weather and the retreat of UN Forces from the area, hundreds of fallen marines and soldiers were unable to be immediately recovered. During Operation Glory in 1953 and 1954, the North Korean government returned the remains of thousands of war dead from UN cemeteries in northeastern North Korea, including over 500 isolated burials from the Chosin battlefield.
The Central Identification Unit at Kokura, Japan, was able to identify all but 126 of the remains, which were buried as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. From 1990 to 1994, the North Korean government returned 47 additional containers of remains which they attributed to the Chosin campaign. DoD teams from Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI) and later the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) conducted investigative and recovery operations in the Chosin Reservoir’s eastern sector from 2001 to 2005. From these recovery efforts and the continued forensic analysis of unknown remains, DPAA and its predecessor organizations have identified over 130 of the unaccounted-for missing personnel lost in the Chosin Reservoir Campaign.
Under 7,500 Americans are still unaccounted-for from the Korean War, hundreds of whom are believed to be in a “non-recoverable” category, meaning that after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status.
DPAA and our partners continue to build on over sixty years of investigative efforts on the Korean peninsula. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of loss sites in South Korea to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
BATTLE OF CHOSIN RESERVOIR:
The Chosin Reservoir is a man-made lake located in the northeast of the Korean peninsula. From the end of November to mid-December 1950, it was the site of one of the most brutal battles between UN and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) during the Korean War. For approximately seventeen days, roughly 30,000 U.N. soldiers and marines faced an enemy force estimated at around 120,000 over rugged terrain in lethally cold weather.
General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief, Far East, superseded his orders and advanced his forces north toward the Yalu River to push North Korean forces into China. In late November 1950, the U.S. Eighth Army advanced in northwest Korea and the X Corps advanced along the east side of the Korean peninsula to sever enemy supply lines near the Chosin Reservoir. The U.S. 1st Marine Division, commanded by Major General Oliver P. Smith, advanced up the west side of the Chosin Reservoir while elements of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division, led by Regimental Combat Team 31 (RCT-31), advanced along the east side. The 3rd Infantry Division guarded the Marines’ flanks and a major supply base and airfield was constructed south of the reservoir at Hagaru-ri.
Over a thousand U.S. marines and soldiers were killed during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign and thousands more were wounded in battle or incapacitated by cold weather. Many men were buried where they fell, and due to the cold weather and the retreat of UN Forces from the area, hundreds of fallen marines and soldiers were unable to be immediately recovered. During Operation Glory in 1953 and 1954, the North Korean government returned the remains of thousands of war dead from UN cemeteries in northeastern North Korea, including over 500 isolated burials from the Chosin battlefield.
The Central Identification Unit at Kokura, Japan, was able to identify all but 126 of the remains, which were buried as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. From 1990 to 1994, the North Korean government returned 47 additional containers of remains which they attributed to the Chosin campaign. DoD teams from Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI) and later the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) conducted investigative and recovery operations in the Chosin Reservoir’s eastern sector from 2001 to 2005. From these recovery efforts and the continued forensic analysis of unknown remains, DPAA and its predecessor organizations have identified over 130 of the unaccounted-for missing personnel lost in the Chosin Reservoir Campaign.
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VIETNAM WAR: July 8, 1959 – May 15, 1975
Missing as of 1973 - 2,633 Accounted For – 1,067 Unaccounted For – 1,566 |
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Since 1973, the remains of more than 1,000 Americans killed during the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Of the nearly 1,600 Americans still unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War, hundreds are believed to be in a “non-recoverable” category, meaning after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status.
DPAA and their partners continue to build on nearly three decades of Joint Field Activities (JFAs) with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations in each country to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
By 1968 there were nearly 500,000 U.S. service personnel in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), under the overall command of Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (COMUSMACV) General William C. Westmoreland. Aided by 650,000 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) personnel, the United States’ mission since 1965 had consisted of Rolling Thunder bombing campaigns against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), interdiction attempts along the Ho Chi Minh trail, and search and destroy missions against enemy forces throughout the South Vietnamese countryside. Optimism was high among U.S. military and planning personnel that these combined efforts were steadily degrading North Vietnam’s combat capabilities; within the near future, the U.S. intended to turn more and more of South Vietnam’s internal defense over to the ARVN.
A massive communist offensive, beginning in late January 1968, demonstrated that North Vietnam and its allies were still able to put up a fight. Throughout the evening of January 30-31, 1968, during the Vietnamese New Year holiday of Tet, more than 84,000 communist soldiers launched assaults on various U.S. and South Vietnamese military installations, cities, and hamlets. Enemy forces were a mix of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops and Viet Cong (VC) guerillas, with the former predominating towards the North – South Vietnamese border. Together they attacked more than 100 South Vietnamese targets, including most large cities, the capital of Saigon, and major U.S. bases. Although the sheer scale of the Tet Offensive was one of its most notable aspects, several actions deserve special mention:
Though Khe Sanh and Hue were notable exceptions, most communist forces involved in the Tet Offensive had been defeated and driven back by mid-February. They had failed to achieve either a crushing military victory or a general uprising against the South Vietnamese government.
Approximately 1,000 U.S. service personnel and 2,000 ARVN personnel lost their lives through March 1968. Communist losses, though numbers remain uncertain, were at least 40,000; the VC and its operations within South Vietnam were particularly hard-hit. However, the Tet Offensive played a major role in how U.S. policy planners and the U.S. public viewed the ongoing conflict in Vietnam. It was immediately obvious that the NVA and VC were not near defeat, that they could launch attacks nearly anywhere in South Vietnamese territory, and that the ARVN alone could not stop the bulk of these attacks. When Gen Westmoreland called for more than 200,000 additional troops to be sent to Vietnam in the aftermath of Tet, President Lyndon B. Johnson refused to authorize the increase. On March 31, 1968, President Johnson announced he would not run for reelection. Within a year his successor, President Richard Nixon, began the process of Vietnamization—a major shift in U.S. strategy that saw the eventual departure of U.S. military forces from South Vietnam. For the United States, the Tet Offensive had proven to be a military victory and a strategic defeat.
Author: Dr. Bradley Cesario, Texas A&M University
The fall of Saigon in April 1975 was nearly contemporaneous with the installation of another communist government in the region – that of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. A brief operation the next month between the United States and Khmer Rouge-controlled Cambodia, stemming from a hostage situation, would be the final combat action of the Vietnam War.
On May 12, 1975, a Khmer Rouge patrol boat approached the U.S.-registered container ship SS Mayaguez near the uninhabited Cambodian island of Poulo Wai. The communist gunboat forced the Mayaguez to stop via warning shots, including one from a rocket-propelled grenade, and Khmer Rouge fighters then boarded the American vessel. The U.S. and the Khmer Rouge used different measures for how far territorial waters extended. Claiming that the Mayaguez had been sailing in Cambodian waters, they seized the ship and took its captain and 39 crew members hostage. SOS signals sent from the Mayaguez and an initial U.S. report on the situation reached Washington, D.C. by the afternoon of May 12.
The next day, U.S. Navy P-3 reconnaissance aircraft located the Mayaguez, which had been moved to Koh Tang, an island around 30 miles from the Cambodian mainland. Plans for a U.S. rescue operation were immediately put into motion, and Koh Tang was put under constant surveillance, with the resultant sinking of Khmer Rouge patrol boats that fired on U.S. aircraft. A two-pronged rescue operation was developed: U.S. Marine units would board the Mayaguez with support from the frigate USS Harold E. Holt, while a separate U.S. Marine detachment would undertake an armed assault on Koh Tang, ferried by U.S. Air Force CH-53 and HH-53 helicopters. Both actions would begin early on the morning of May 15.
The boarding operation was a success, but U.S. personnel quickly discovered that the Mayaguez had been abandoned. U.S. attention shifted to the landing operations on Koh Tang, where Khmer resistance was proving to be much stiffer than anticipated. Estimates range between 200-300 enemy combatants. Three of the five helicopters in the initial U.S. landing were shot down, with two crashing on the northeastern beach of the island and one crashing into the ocean around a mile offshore. By the time the first assault wave was completed, eight of the nine U.S. helicopters had been destroyed or disabled, but 131 Marines and 5 USAF crewmen had been successfully landed on Koh Tang.
Around three hours after the operation had begun, the situation with regards to the hostages from the Mayaguez developed rapidly. A fishing boat waving a white flag approached Koh Tang and was intercepted by the destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson. Aboard was the crew of the Mayaguez; the ship’s captain reported that the Khmer Rouge moved them to another island the previous day, briefly interrogated them, and then freed them. The crew’s captors hoped that this would encourage the U.S. to call off bombing runs on ports and naval bases on the Cambodian mainland, which began on the morning of the 15th.
With the Mayaguez recovered and the ship’s crew safe, U.S. operations shifted towards successful extraction of all military personnel on Koh Tang. This initially required the insertion of more troops to stabilize the situation on the ground, particularly because personnel on the island were split into three separate groups. Additional helicopter-delivered reinforcements resulted in a total of around 230 Americans on the island, enough to maintain a defensive perimeter while withdrawals were continuing. Air Force helicopters extracted around 40 U.S. troops throughout the afternoon and evening of May 15, facing heavy enemy fire as the local perimeter continued to shrink with each successful transport. Gathering darkness also complicated operations, and the last 29 Marines reportedly left Koh Tang just after 8:00 pm.
The final 41 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall represent 25 Air Force pilots and crew, 2 Navy corpsmen, and 14 Marines; these were the men killed in the operation to rescue the crew of the Mayaguez. Of these, 23 Air Force personnel were lost in a helicopter crash in Thailand in preparation for the rescue. The remaining 18 service members lost their lives on and around the island of Koh Tang. The DPAA and its predecessor organizations, including the JTF-FA and JPAC, conducted multiple missions to Koh Tang and the Cambodian mainland to search for further information on these 18 men. These include the first examination of the three downed helicopters that remained on and around the island and interviews with surviving Khmer Rouge in 1992, and trips in 2001 and 2008 that discovered burial sites. Remains were successfully identified and repatriated in 2000 and 2012. As of 2018, five service members from the Mayaguez incident remain unaccounted for.
Author: Dr. Bradley Cesario, Texas A&M University
Of the nearly 1,600 Americans still unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War, hundreds are believed to be in a “non-recoverable” category, meaning after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status.
DPAA and their partners continue to build on nearly three decades of Joint Field Activities (JFAs) with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations in each country to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
- TET OFFENSIVE:
By 1968 there were nearly 500,000 U.S. service personnel in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), under the overall command of Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (COMUSMACV) General William C. Westmoreland. Aided by 650,000 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) personnel, the United States’ mission since 1965 had consisted of Rolling Thunder bombing campaigns against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), interdiction attempts along the Ho Chi Minh trail, and search and destroy missions against enemy forces throughout the South Vietnamese countryside. Optimism was high among U.S. military and planning personnel that these combined efforts were steadily degrading North Vietnam’s combat capabilities; within the near future, the U.S. intended to turn more and more of South Vietnam’s internal defense over to the ARVN.
A massive communist offensive, beginning in late January 1968, demonstrated that North Vietnam and its allies were still able to put up a fight. Throughout the evening of January 30-31, 1968, during the Vietnamese New Year holiday of Tet, more than 84,000 communist soldiers launched assaults on various U.S. and South Vietnamese military installations, cities, and hamlets. Enemy forces were a mix of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops and Viet Cong (VC) guerillas, with the former predominating towards the North – South Vietnamese border. Together they attacked more than 100 South Vietnamese targets, including most large cities, the capital of Saigon, and major U.S. bases. Although the sheer scale of the Tet Offensive was one of its most notable aspects, several actions deserve special mention:
Though Khe Sanh and Hue were notable exceptions, most communist forces involved in the Tet Offensive had been defeated and driven back by mid-February. They had failed to achieve either a crushing military victory or a general uprising against the South Vietnamese government.
Approximately 1,000 U.S. service personnel and 2,000 ARVN personnel lost their lives through March 1968. Communist losses, though numbers remain uncertain, were at least 40,000; the VC and its operations within South Vietnam were particularly hard-hit. However, the Tet Offensive played a major role in how U.S. policy planners and the U.S. public viewed the ongoing conflict in Vietnam. It was immediately obvious that the NVA and VC were not near defeat, that they could launch attacks nearly anywhere in South Vietnamese territory, and that the ARVN alone could not stop the bulk of these attacks. When Gen Westmoreland called for more than 200,000 additional troops to be sent to Vietnam in the aftermath of Tet, President Lyndon B. Johnson refused to authorize the increase. On March 31, 1968, President Johnson announced he would not run for reelection. Within a year his successor, President Richard Nixon, began the process of Vietnamization—a major shift in U.S. strategy that saw the eventual departure of U.S. military forces from South Vietnam. For the United States, the Tet Offensive had proven to be a military victory and a strategic defeat.
Author: Dr. Bradley Cesario, Texas A&M University
- THE MAYAGUEZ INCIDENT
The fall of Saigon in April 1975 was nearly contemporaneous with the installation of another communist government in the region – that of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. A brief operation the next month between the United States and Khmer Rouge-controlled Cambodia, stemming from a hostage situation, would be the final combat action of the Vietnam War.
On May 12, 1975, a Khmer Rouge patrol boat approached the U.S.-registered container ship SS Mayaguez near the uninhabited Cambodian island of Poulo Wai. The communist gunboat forced the Mayaguez to stop via warning shots, including one from a rocket-propelled grenade, and Khmer Rouge fighters then boarded the American vessel. The U.S. and the Khmer Rouge used different measures for how far territorial waters extended. Claiming that the Mayaguez had been sailing in Cambodian waters, they seized the ship and took its captain and 39 crew members hostage. SOS signals sent from the Mayaguez and an initial U.S. report on the situation reached Washington, D.C. by the afternoon of May 12.
The next day, U.S. Navy P-3 reconnaissance aircraft located the Mayaguez, which had been moved to Koh Tang, an island around 30 miles from the Cambodian mainland. Plans for a U.S. rescue operation were immediately put into motion, and Koh Tang was put under constant surveillance, with the resultant sinking of Khmer Rouge patrol boats that fired on U.S. aircraft. A two-pronged rescue operation was developed: U.S. Marine units would board the Mayaguez with support from the frigate USS Harold E. Holt, while a separate U.S. Marine detachment would undertake an armed assault on Koh Tang, ferried by U.S. Air Force CH-53 and HH-53 helicopters. Both actions would begin early on the morning of May 15.
The boarding operation was a success, but U.S. personnel quickly discovered that the Mayaguez had been abandoned. U.S. attention shifted to the landing operations on Koh Tang, where Khmer resistance was proving to be much stiffer than anticipated. Estimates range between 200-300 enemy combatants. Three of the five helicopters in the initial U.S. landing were shot down, with two crashing on the northeastern beach of the island and one crashing into the ocean around a mile offshore. By the time the first assault wave was completed, eight of the nine U.S. helicopters had been destroyed or disabled, but 131 Marines and 5 USAF crewmen had been successfully landed on Koh Tang.
Around three hours after the operation had begun, the situation with regards to the hostages from the Mayaguez developed rapidly. A fishing boat waving a white flag approached Koh Tang and was intercepted by the destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson. Aboard was the crew of the Mayaguez; the ship’s captain reported that the Khmer Rouge moved them to another island the previous day, briefly interrogated them, and then freed them. The crew’s captors hoped that this would encourage the U.S. to call off bombing runs on ports and naval bases on the Cambodian mainland, which began on the morning of the 15th.
With the Mayaguez recovered and the ship’s crew safe, U.S. operations shifted towards successful extraction of all military personnel on Koh Tang. This initially required the insertion of more troops to stabilize the situation on the ground, particularly because personnel on the island were split into three separate groups. Additional helicopter-delivered reinforcements resulted in a total of around 230 Americans on the island, enough to maintain a defensive perimeter while withdrawals were continuing. Air Force helicopters extracted around 40 U.S. troops throughout the afternoon and evening of May 15, facing heavy enemy fire as the local perimeter continued to shrink with each successful transport. Gathering darkness also complicated operations, and the last 29 Marines reportedly left Koh Tang just after 8:00 pm.
The final 41 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall represent 25 Air Force pilots and crew, 2 Navy corpsmen, and 14 Marines; these were the men killed in the operation to rescue the crew of the Mayaguez. Of these, 23 Air Force personnel were lost in a helicopter crash in Thailand in preparation for the rescue. The remaining 18 service members lost their lives on and around the island of Koh Tang. The DPAA and its predecessor organizations, including the JTF-FA and JPAC, conducted multiple missions to Koh Tang and the Cambodian mainland to search for further information on these 18 men. These include the first examination of the three downed helicopters that remained on and around the island and interviews with surviving Khmer Rouge in 1992, and trips in 2001 and 2008 that discovered burial sites. Remains were successfully identified and repatriated in 2000 and 2012. As of 2018, five service members from the Mayaguez incident remain unaccounted for.
Author: Dr. Bradley Cesario, Texas A&M University
COLD WAR: Sept. 2, 1945 – Aug. 21, 1991
Missing as of 1973 - 128
Accounted For - 2
Unaccounted For – 126 Location
Areas Involved: The former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Hungary, East Germany, North Korea, Albania, China
Missing as of 1973 - 128
Accounted For - 2
Unaccounted For – 126 Location
Areas Involved: The former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Hungary, East Germany, North Korea, Albania, China
In addition to the thousands of missing personnel who fought communist forces during wars in Korea, Vietnam, and other conflicts, many missing personnel risked their lives off of the battlefield while collecting intelligence on communist countries. The sacrifice made by these Americans enabled the U.S. and our allies to contain the threat of communist expansion until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to U.S. records, at the height of the Cold War, the West carried out more than 3,000 reconnaissance flights annually. About half of these occurred over or near communist-controlled Yugoslavia, Hungary, East Germany, North Korea, Albania, and the People’s Republic of China; the others occurred over or near the former Soviet Union.
DPAA is currently investigating 14 missions from the Cold War era in which aircrew members were lost and remain unaccounted-for. Available evidence suggests that most of these incidents were over-water losses. A total of 128 American missing personnel went missing on these missions, and DPAA and its predecessor organizations are proud to have identified several of these individuals and returned them to their families.
LOSSES:
According to U.S. records, at the height of the Cold War, the West carried out more than 3,000 reconnaissance flights annually. About half of these occurred over or near communist-controlled Yugoslavia, Hungary, East Germany, North Korea, Albania, and the People’s Republic of China; the others occurred over or near the former Soviet Union.
DPAA is currently investigating 14 missions from the Cold War era in which aircrew members were lost and remain unaccounted-for. Available evidence suggests that most of these incidents were over-water losses. A total of 128 American missing personnel went missing on these missions, and DPAA and its predecessor organizations are proud to have identified several of these individuals and returned them to their families.
LOSSES:
- April 8, 1950, a U.S. Navy PB4Y2 Privateer aircraft flying out of Wiesbaden, Germany, was shot down by Soviet fighters over the Baltic Sea. The entire crew of 10 remains unaccounted for.
- Nov. 6, 1951, a U.S. Navy P2V Neptune aircraft was shot down over the Sea of Japan. The entire crew of 10 remains unaccounted for.
- June 13, 1952, a U.S. Air Force RB-29 aircraft stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, was shot down over the Sea of Japan. The entire crew of 12 remains unaccounted for.
- Oct. 7, 1952, a U.S. Air Force RB-29 aircraft stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan was shot down north of Hokkaido Island, Japan. Of the eight crewmen on board, seven remain unaccounted for.
- Nov. 28, 1952, a civilian C-47 aircraft flying over China was shot down, and one American civilian remains unaccounted for.
- Jan. 18, 1953, a U.S. Navy P2V aircraft with 13 crewmen aboard was shot down by the Chinese, in the Formosa Straits. Six crew members remain unaccounted for.
- July 29, 1953, a U.S. Air Force RB-50 aircraft stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, was shot down over the Sea of Japan. Of the 17 crew members on board, 14 remain unaccounted for.
- May 6, 1954, a C-119 aircraft flying over Northern Vietnam was shot down. One of the two Americans onboard remains unaccounted for.
- April 17, 1955, a U.S. Air Force RB-47 aircraft based at Eielson Air Base, Alaska, was shot down near the southern point of Kamchatka, Russia. The entire crew of three remains unaccounted for.
- Aug. 22, 1956, a U.S. Navy P4M aircraft was shot down off the coast of China. Of the 16 crew members on board, 12 remain unaccounted for.
- Sept. 10, 1956, a U.S. Air Force RB-50 aircraft based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, with a crew of 16, was lost while on a reconnaissance mission over the Sea of Japan. The entire crew remains unaccounted for.
- July 1, 1960, a U.S. Air Force RB-47 aircraft stationed at RAF Brize Norton, England, was shot down over the Barents Sea. Of the six crew members on board, three remain unaccounted for.
- Dec. 14, 1965, a U.S. Air Force RB-57 aircraft was lost over the Black Sea, flying out of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The entire crew of two remains unaccounted for.
- April 15, 1969, an unarmed U.S. Navy EC-121 aircraft was shot down by North Korean fighters. Of the 31 men on board, 29 remain unaccounted for.
GULF WARS AND LIBYA: April 15, 1986 – Present Day
Missing - 7
Accounted For - 0
Unaccounted For - 7
Areas Involved: Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Libya
Missing - 7
Accounted For - 0
Unaccounted For - 7
Areas Involved: Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Libya
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On December 1, 2011, the responsibility to account for missing U.S. personnel in Iraq transferred from the U.S. Central Command to Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), which is now the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The current number of personnel missing from operations in Iraq and the Persian Gulf being actively pursued by DPAA is five—two missing personnel from Desert Storm, and three DoD contractors from Iraqi Freedom. DPAA also continues to pursue the fullest possible accounting for one missing personnel lost in 1986 during Operation El Dorado Canyon in Libya.
LOSSES:
Capt. Paul F. Lorence, of San Francisco, U.S. Air Force, was lost on April 15, 1986, when his F-111 aircraft went down during a strike over Libya.
Lt. Cmdr. Barry T. Cooke, of Austin, Texas, U.S. Navy, was lost on Feb. 2, 1991, when his A-6 aircraft went down in the Persian Gulf.
Lt. Robert J. Dwyer, of Worthington, Ohio, U.S. Navy, was lost on Feb. 5, 1991, when his FA-18 aircraft went down in the Persian Gulf.
Mr. Kirk Von Ackermann, of Albuquerque, N.M., DoD contractor, was lost on Oct. 9, 2003, while working in Forward Operating Base Pacesetter, Iraq.
Mr. Timothy E. Bell, of Mobile, Ala., DoD contractor, was lost on April 9, 2004, while working in Baghdad, Iraq.
Mr. Adnan al-Hilawi, of Orlando, Fla., DoD contractor, was lost on March 3, 2007, while working in Baghdad, Iraq.
LOSSES:
- Operation El Dorado Canyon (Libya), 1986
Capt. Paul F. Lorence, of San Francisco, U.S. Air Force, was lost on April 15, 1986, when his F-111 aircraft went down during a strike over Libya.
- Operation Desert Storm, 1991
Lt. Cmdr. Barry T. Cooke, of Austin, Texas, U.S. Navy, was lost on Feb. 2, 1991, when his A-6 aircraft went down in the Persian Gulf.
Lt. Robert J. Dwyer, of Worthington, Ohio, U.S. Navy, was lost on Feb. 5, 1991, when his FA-18 aircraft went down in the Persian Gulf.
- Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003-2010
Mr. Kirk Von Ackermann, of Albuquerque, N.M., DoD contractor, was lost on Oct. 9, 2003, while working in Forward Operating Base Pacesetter, Iraq.
Mr. Timothy E. Bell, of Mobile, Ala., DoD contractor, was lost on April 9, 2004, while working in Baghdad, Iraq.
Mr. Adnan al-Hilawi, of Orlando, Fla., DoD contractor, was lost on March 3, 2007, while working in Baghdad, Iraq.