Operation Just Cause ...for as long as it takes
by Marilyn Grote
When you think you have heard it all, heard all the awful, horrendous things that can happen to the POW/MIA(s) and their families you find out there is still more to add to that list. This incident, what has happened since then is beyond imagination and hard to take in without rage and frustration entering with it. This month the Moonduster Chronicles is proud to introduce you to
POW/MIA George D. Macdonald:
CPT. George D. Macdonald - Abandoned by the USA in Laos
Rank/Branch: 01/US Air Force (promoted to Captain while missing)
Unit: 16th Special Operations Squadron, Ubon AB, Thailand
Position: LLL/TV Operator (MOS 1585Z)
Date of Birth: 02 September 1948
Home City of Record: Evanston, IL
Date of Loss: Thursday, 21 December 1972
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 152712N 1060048E (XC087086)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft: AC-130A Spectre Gunship #56-0490
Other Personnel In Incident: Rollie Reaid; Thomas T. Hart III; John Winningham; Francis Walsh; James R. Fuller; Robert T. Elliott; Robert L. Liles; Harry Lagerwall; Paul Meder; Delma Dickens; Stanley Kroboth; Charles Fenter (all missing); Joel R. Birch (partial remains recovered); Richard Williams and Carl E. Stevens (rescued).
Source: Synopsis compiled by Task Force Omega, Inc. of Glendale, AZ.
SYNOPSIS: The Lockheed AC130A Spectre gunship first made its trial appearance in Vietnam in late 1967. Because it was highly maneuverable at low speeds and could spend hours in an operational area while delivering a precisely placed stream of withering fire on a target, it immediately proved its worth in combat. Within one year, all but 3 AC130A gunships were deployed to SEA. Those 3 aircraft remained in the US to train additional aircrews. The AC130A was armed with 2 M61 Vulcan cannons mounted in the first half of the fuselage and could deliver a stream of accurate fire from each gun at a rate of 100 shells per second. It was usually used at half that rate to conserve ammunition. A pair of 40mm Bofors cannons were mounted in the aft section that could deliver a steady stream of 300 rounds of ammunition per minute. Some AC130s were armed with 105mm Howitzers mounted in place of the rear Bofors cannons. This modification made the gunship an extremely affective tank killer.
On 21 December 1972, the crew of a Lockheed AC130A gunship named "Thor," tail number 56-0490 and call sign "Spectre 17," departed Ubon, Thailand on an interdiction mission to interrupt enemy movement along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. Its crew of 16 was comprised of Capt. Harry R. Lagerwall, Pilot; Major Francis A. Walsh, Jr., Fighter Pilot who was listed as an additional crewman for this mission; Capt. Stanley N. Kroboth, Co-pilot; Capt. Thomas T. Hart III, Table Navigator; TSgt. James R. Fuller, Flight Engineer; TSgt. Robert T. Elliott, Weapons Mechanic; A1C Charles F. Fenter, Weapons Mechanic; A1C Rollie K. Reaid, Weapons Mechanic; then 1st Lt. George D. Macdonald, LLL/TV Sensor Operator; 1st Lt. Delma Dickens, Infra-Red Sensor Operator, 1st Lt. Robert L. Liles, Fire Control Officer; Major Paul O. Meder, Infra-Red Sensor Operator; TSgt. John Q. Winningham, Illuminator Operator Instructor; TSgt. Carl E. Stevens, Illuminator Operator; TSgt. Richard Williams, Aerial Gunner; and Capt. Joel R. Birch, Black Crow Operator/Electronic Warfare Officer. With the exception of Major Walsh who was a member of the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron, all members of this aircrew were assigned to the 16th Special Operations Squadron. Both Squadrons were stationed at Ubon Airbase, Thailand.
During the flight to the target, Spectre 17 inexplicably broke altitude descending to a lower level according to crewmen aboard other gunships taking part in the same mission, and was hit by enemy ground fire. After evaluating the amount of battle damage sustained by Thor, the decision was made to attempt to return to base. After 10 minutes of stable, level flight, fuel accumulated ankle deep in the cargo area igniting an explosion that severely damaged the aircraft, but did not cause it to disintegrate.
According to reports provided by other aircrews who monitored radio communications between the crew of Spectre 17, along with communications between aircraft, none of the 16 crewmen were injured by the ground fire that initially damaged the gunship. The crewmen were preparing for a possible bailout by putting on their parachutes, and those men not necessary for flying it were moving to the rear of the aircraft. The jump bell was heard over the headsets of those monitoring communications between the aircraft 5 to 10 seconds before Spectre 17 exploded. Further, once the men hit the ground, many emergency beepers were heard "going off all over the place."
TSgt. Richard Williams parachuted just before the explosion and TSgt. Carl E. Stevens did the same immediately afterward. Both men evaded enemy patrols and were rescued hours later. According to US intelligence reports that vary somewhat in content in as much as each gives bits and pieces of the story, once Carl Stevens and Richard Williams were rescued - and within 24 hours of the incident - the crash site was visited by either friendly indigenous forces and/or a US Search and Rescue (SAR) team who found and photographed 2 piles of bloody bandages and 5 deployed parachutes.
The partial remains of Capt. Joel R. Birch, which consisted of part of one arm and hand, were recovered and these "remains" were later identified through fingerprints. He was listed as Killed in Action/Body Recovered because of this positive identification. Other than TSgt. Stevens and TSgt. Williams who were rescued, no other crewmen could be located.
Based on the physical examination of the crash site, Thor cut a path of destruction through jungle vegetation, which is consistent with a long, horizontal glide flight path to the jungle floor rather than a crater/hole in the jungle floor caused by a relatively vertical, rapid decent. The crash occurred in the rugged jungle covered mountains just a few hundred meters from the village of Nong Song Hong, Champassak Province, Laos; approximately 13 miles due east of Xe Don Lou River, which empties into the Mekong River on the west side of the town of Pakse, some 25 miles southwest of the crash site.
According to a 1973 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) intelligence report, in early 1973, a US satellite photographed the roughly 10-foot high numbers "1973" or "1573" and the initials "TH" stomped out in elephant grass some 200 miles north of the crash site. No matter how the numbers and letters are examined, experts believe they can only be connected with the crew of Spectre 17, and almost certainly belong to Tom Hart. For example: the internal call sign and name of that aircraft was THOR. The only man aboard that aircraft with those initials was Tom Hart. Further, the #1 crew position on the AC130 and MC130 aircraft is the table navigator rather than the pilot – Tom Hart's position. The number "573" was on the crew compartment's window on the right side of that aircraft. The year was 1973 when the signal was made and photographed. That satellite photograph was later evaluated by other intelligence experts who stated that the letters were not stamped out in elephant grass, which would have indicated it was made by someone passing through the area. They determined those letters and numbers were made by planting manioc plants to form the signal, which shows permanency.
From 1981 to 1984, the Special Forces Detachment in Korea was charged by President Reagan with the responsibility of collecting live POW information throughout Southeast Asia. "SFDK" was commanded by Major Mark Smith, he himself a returned POW from the Vietnam War. Through his efforts, and those of team Intelligence Sergeant Mel McIntire, an agent net of 50 agents was established, specifically in Laos. The result of this intelligence net resulted in Major Smith compiling a list of some 26 American POWs by name and captivity location, with Thomas T. Hart III and George D. Macdonald being two of them. SFDK collected information that indicated other members of this aircrew were also alive, although that data was not as conclusive as the information on Hart and Macdonald.
In April 1984, Major Smith received a message from one of his agents specifying that on 11 May three US Prisoners of War would be brought to a given location on the Lao/Thai border. The only prerequisite was that an American be on the Thailand side of the border to receive the men. When this information was reported up his chain of command, Major Smith's team was ordered not to leave Korea, to destroy all documents pertaining to LIVE POWs and they were sent back to the United States 6 months early. This documented information was provided to the United States Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in sworn testimony on 28 January 1986.
In September 1982, 10 years after the crash, a private sector delegation of family members were allowed to visit the crash site unofficially. They did not know ahead of time if they would be allowed to go to a crash site, or which one. Ironically, Tom Hart's wife was part of this delegation. This site is extremely difficult to reach unlike literally dozens of other crash sites in the immediate area. Once there, they confirmed through first-hand observation the vegetation was visibly thinner than in the surrounding jungle consistent with a glide-path landing. There was no crater which would be expected if the flight path had been steep. There were two small depressions consistent with the location of the engines. Between the 2 depressions was a shallow "trench-like depression" which was consistent with the aircraft fuselage.
In February, 1985, a joint US/Lao excavation of the AC130A crash site was conducted. A large number of small bone fragments and a few teeth, which had obviously been subjected to intense heat and with a total weight of only 6 pounds, were found. A 4 1/2 month examination of these bones and teeth resulted in the US Government's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii (CIL-HI) reporting the "positive identification" of remains for all 13 crew members still missing. None of the bones or teeth were attributed to the missing portion of Capt. Birch.
The Hart, Macdonald and Fuller families had an independent study of their men's remains done by a Board Certified Forensic Anthropologist. He stated, "I am able to conclude that it is scientifically impossible to identify said bone fragments as the mortal remains of any individual." Later investigation of the CIL revealed that eleven of the thirteen positive identifications could not have been made scientifically. In January 1987, because of Civil Court action, the Defense Department rescinded the identification of Tom Hart's and George Macdonald's remains. Other families of this crew sought the Court's assistance in fighting this travesty, however, officially the USG considers all 13 men to be "accounted for."
Did the remaining 13 crewmen aboard Spectre 17 have their remains recovered and identified or are they still among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos and remain unaccounted for? Many of these men were known to be alive on the ground. The Laotians admitted holding "tens of tens" of American Prisoners of War, but these men were never negotiated for either by direct negotiation between our countries or through the Paris Peace Accords that ended the War in Vietnam since Laos was not a party to that agreement.
Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE America Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY. Pilots and aircrews were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served. While the USG considers Tom Hart and George Macdonald, as well as James Fuller, to be "remains returned," their families do not. They ask that Americans continue to wear their men's POW/MIA bracelets and help them fight for an honorable accounting of them.
The following is based on the book "The Bamboo Cage" and confirmed in conversation with Mr. Mooney:
An interesting point: Jerry Mooney, a now retired Cyptanalyst formerly employed by the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted an enemy radio transmission on the night of 21 Dec 1972. In this transmission it was stated that five Americans had been captured. Spectre 17 was the only plane downed in the area that night. At Fort Meade, Jerry had read transcripts of Vietnamese radio traffic and knew that, at the time, evidence existed that a number of crewmen had survived and been captured. Thomas Hart and four others for certain, but possibly more crewmen were alive after the shootdown - this is a fact that Jerry knows. He has given sworn testimony and submitted affidavits on this case.
Further, the radio intercepts and transcripts proving men were captured were not reported at the time they were received. A B6 Analyst held on to pertinent data on the shootdown at Pakse. When Jerry asked him why he had not reported it, he said it was processed late and this might make the NSA look bad. The incident had occurred late in the war and reporting it after the Peace Accords had been signed would have been embarrassing. Jerry asked the B6 Analyst if he had at least called the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and informed them. He said, "No, DIA did not have to know everything."
A brief chronolgy of events in this case, given to me in a letter by Jerry Mooney: Almost immediately after the shootdown, a Post Fire Report (PFR) by a North Vietnamese AAA unit reflected the shootdown of the AC-130. In the PFR, 5/13 was reflected in a column meaning five were captured alive and 8 were dead. They did a cold/warm body count for sure. A few weeks later, another office at NSA decrypted a message confirming the PFR, five captured. The Analyst threw it away fearing a late report would reflect on him. The shootdown was logged and briefed as follows:
1)Five captured alive
2)Destination - forced labor in Laos, most likely a truck parks and cave storage system.
3)Vietnamese knowledge of the incident for negotiation: 559th TG, BT42, BT3T, B-9, BT-14,673d Div., 377th Div. & 367th Div.
Jennifer Martinez has without a doubt one of the most complete websites I have ever seen for CPT George D. Macdonald. The web site has all the facts so this month we did not do a lot of question and answers. But I still wanted you to get to know a little about Jennifer as a person.
Moonduster Chronicles is proud to introduce you to Jennifer Martinez:
Hello, my name is Jennifer Martinez. For many years I have worn a POW bracelet with the name of CPT. George D. Macdonald. I am a POW/MIA Activist and Researcher and have been involved with this issue since the mid 1980's. I have not given up hope. I have researched the war, the POW/MIA issue and George's case in particular, for many years. There is evidence that George was captured and is possibly still alive. A special "Thank You" goes out to Mr. Matt Jacobson for sharing with me his memories of that fateful night and the days that followed, as well as providing me with information as to who did what on the aircraft and what their responsibilities were. I would also like to say "Thank You" to Col. & Mrs. Earl P. Hopper, Sr. and the Macdonald Family for all their help. Failure is not an option.
The one question I wanted to ask Jennifer was to explain what is an Activist/ Researcher?
She supplied the following answer for this article:
For some reason, I'm having problems with the question, "What is an Activist?" I try to teach others of the plight of our POW/MIAs, I write the letters to our elected officials, I argue with DPMO, I stay informed and updated on the issues pertaining to our cause and my case. Things like that....
As a researcher, I try my best to research this case. That includes things like learning about the 16th SOS, the war in Laos, the conditions of the war in 1972, learning about the role of gunships, how they operated and what they were capable of doing, each man's position on the gunship, etc. I have also worked hard at finding others with knowledge on the downing of Spectre 17 and talked with them. We still have a long way to go on this case. After having obtained "official statements" from people who were there that night, we have more questions than before. So I continue to try to locate people who knew anything about Spectre 17 and talk to them. I had the Macdonald family request George's records from the USG, we are waiting on those now.
It takes a lot of dedication to do this; I've spent hundreds of hours on this case, if not more. I've found it is somewhat easier with the Internet, easier to find and talk to people. I do the best I can, the alternative is to do nothing at all. I can't do that. We know George got off that plane and was alive, I can't just go about my merry little life and forget about him. That is not an option for me. These men need help so I continue to plod along, against all odds and along the way I pray everyday and I ask God for a miracle. They must come home, I don't know how or when but they must.
Please take time to visit the following webpages:
You can find Jennifer's web site for CPT Macdonald at:
Her email address is yotanka@earthlink.net
Thank you Jennifer for you cooperation and help with this month's article. You have done an outstanding job and I appreciate all your effort and cooperation. You have my greatest respect and admiration and I pray you and CPT Macdonald's family get all the information they need to bring him back home.
MG
