Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
by Marilyn Grote
Moonduster Chronicles is proud to introduce you to another American Hero, Richard M. Cole, Jr.:
Remains identified 10/21/94
[One of nine men identified "as a group"
COLE, RICHARD MILTON JR.
Name: Richard Milton Cole Jr.
Rank/Branch: E6/USAF
Unit: 16th SOS (PAF), Ubon, Thailand
Date of Birth: 20 July 1940
Home City of Record: Uniondale NY
Date of Loss: 18 June 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 161500N 1071200E (YC343978)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: AC130A
Other Personnel in Incident: Jacob Mercer; Richard Nyhof; Robert Wilson; Leon A. Hunt; Larry J. Newman; Paul F. Gilbert; Stanley Lehrke; Robert Harrison; Donald H. Klinke; Gerald F. Ayres; Mark G. Danielson (all missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 1990 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
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: Lockheed's versatile C130 aircraft filled many roles in Vietnam, including transport, tanker, gunship, drone controller, airborne battlefield command and control center, weather reconnaissance, electronic reconnaissance, and search, rescue and recovery.
During the mission, the aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) and went down near the border of Laos and Vietnam. In fact, the first location coordinates given to the families were indeed Laos, but were quickly changed to reflect a loss just inside South Vietnam.
Three survivors of the crash were rescued the next day. After several years of effort, some of the family members of the other crewmembers were able to review part of their debriefings, which revealed that a bail-out order was given, and that at least one unexplained parachute was observed, indicating that at least one other airman may have safely escaped the crippled aircraft.
In early 1985, resistance forces surfaced information, which indicated that SGT Mercer had survived the crash and was currently held prisoner. Parents of another crewmember, Mark G. Danielson, discovered a photograph of an unidentified POW printed about 6 months after the crash, in their local newspaper that they were CONVINCED was Mark. It was several years, however, before the U.S. Government allowed the Danielsons to view the film from which the photo was taken. When they viewed the film, their certainty diminished.
The hope that some of the twelve missing from the AC130A gunship has not diminished, however. Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government, including over 1,000 first-hand live sighting reports.
Families who might be able to lay their anguish and uncertainty to rest are taunted by these reports, wondering if their loved one is still alive, abandoned and alone. Since a large portion of the information is classified, it is impossible for the families to come to their own conclusions as to the accuracy of the reports.
The fate of the twelve missing men from the gunship lost on June 18, 1972 is unknown. What is certain is that the governments of Southeast Asia possess far more knowledge than they have admitted to date. A large percentage of the nearly 2500 missing Americans CAN be accounted for. There can be no question that if even one American remains alive in captivity today, we have a moral and legal obligation to do everything possible to bring him home.
10/21
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Air Force officials announced Friday they have identified the remains of 13 servicemen killed during the Vietnam War, including 12 who were on the same aircraft when it was shot down over Vietnam's A Shau Valley in 1972.
Tech. Sgt. Patrick McKenna, an Air Force spokesman, said the remains of the crew were repatriated in 1993 and then identified by military pathologists.
The remains of Cmdr. Robert Hessom, a Navy pilot from Bloomsburg, Pa. were found earlier this year. The Air Force said Hessom was flying his A-1H aircraft over the Ha Tinh Province in March 1966 when he was shot down by ground fire.
Hessom's wingman witnessed the crash and reported there was no sign of a parachute. However, because of heavy ground fighting in the area, Hessom's remains were not immediately recovered.
The discovery of the remains of the crew of an AC-130A aircraft brought back the ironies of war.
The aircraft was on an armed reconnaissance mission in the war's final days when its No. 3 engine suffered a direct hit by a surface-to-air missile. A second explosion rocked the plane moments later, throwing three crewmen free of the craft as it plummeted to the earth.
Those three men survived and were rescused the following day.
Three members of the crew were identified individually. They were Maj. Gerald F. Ayers, Newcastle, Del.; Capt. Mark Danielson, Aurora, Colo.; and Senior Master Sgt. Jacob Mercer, Jacksonville, Fla.
Among the nine other members of the crew who were identified only as a group were two Northern California men -- Tech. Sgt. Donald Klinke, West Sacramento, Calif., and Tech. Sgt. Richard Nyhof, Fremont, Calif. A third, Staff Sgt. Stanley Lehrke, was from San Diego.
The others were: Tech. Sgt. Richard Cole, Uniondale, N.Y.; Capt. Paul Gilbert, Plainview, Tex.; Maj. Robert Harrison, Massapequa Park, N.Y.; Staff Sgt. Leon Hunt, Pleasure Ridge Park, Ky.; Tech. Sgt. Larry J. Newman, North Platte, Neb.; and Capt. Robert A. Wilson, Detroit.
All the servicemen had previously been unaccounted for in Indochina. Their remains will be returned to their families in ceremonies later this month.
U.S. MIA remains identified in Vietnam
Question: Can you tell us about T/SGT Richard M Cole and what type of a person he was?
Answer: Richard was a friendly, happy-go-lucky guy but kind of on the quiet side. He loved flying and the Air Force and planned to retire in Thailand. He was a very loyal friend and very well liked by all. I don't think he ever made an enemy.... He was older than most crewmembers (32 at the time he was shot down) and was affectionately called "old man" by the younger guys.
He had a great sense of humor, loved children and often volunteered to baby-sit for fellow crewmember's families. Richard loved Mexican and Thai food and put together and collected model airplanes as a hobby.
Question: How did you personally get involved in the POW/MIA issue?
Answer: My interest began of course, when Richard was shot down in 1972. But, at that time there was not much organized action regarding POW/MIAs. I read everything I could get my hands on through the years and talked to as many folks as I could find who also had an interest. Once Richard's parents had passed on in the 80's, I had no way of getting further information about him.
I can recall signing petitions many years ago when I was living at McGuire AFB in New Jersey, but did not actually get involved until several years ago when I got a computer and got on-line. I then discovered OPERATION JUST CAUSE and after talking to Gunny Fallon several times became active in OJC.
I also had made contact with Chuck and Mary at POWNET, and was able to get information about Richard that I had not seen before through their efforts. They also put me in touch with many others who were so helpful to me in locating more information about Richard and putting me in touch with others like Lynn O'Shay at the Family Alliance, who also helped with information and put me in touch with another of Richard's crew member's family. I have come to feel as though the entire group of individuals and organizations involved in POW/MIA issues are all a part of a large extended family.
Question: In reading the bio/incident information on Richard the second line caught my interest immediately. "One of nine men identified as a Group." Can you explain this to us as the identification was made from two teeth and a handful of bone fragments, which were not DNA tested?
Answer: Actually, the identification was made in two groups.... the teeth were identified as part of a group of three of the crew members, and the bone fragments were identified as a group of the remaining nine crewmembers. As far as I and most of the other family members are concerned, this identification was made solely to close out the cases as there was no DNA testing done at that time, and the government has refused to exhume and test the remains since MT-DNA testing became available. Their determination was based solely on one dog tag and one ID card of crewmembers found in the same general area as the bone fragments.
As we have learned from past MIS-identifications, these bone fragments could be animal, Asian or bones from only one person. There is absolutely no reason or evidence to lead anyone to believe that they were the remains of even one crew member, let alone nine in one group or three in another.
The government refusal to exhume and test these bone fragments is based on their claim that the bones would be used up in the testing process, as they are so small. I for one, would not care if it could conclusively prove to be even one of those crew members because that would at least give closure to one family!
Question: What has the government done to explain the change of the site of loss from Laos to South Vietnam?
Answer: LOL! Their claim is that it was a logistical error when the original coordinates were sent out in the first message. Of course we all know that it WAS the correct coordinates but at that time they were not able to admit that we were in Laos! It was an obvious cover-up and you can bet somebody's head rolled over that first message.
Question: Can you tell us about the conversation you had with the former National Security Agency Analyst, Jerry Mooney?
Answer: I had quite a long conversation with Jerry regarding his report that Richard's crew were possible candidates for a group execution of ten near Khe Sahn a few weeks after Richard's aircraft was shot down. He hastened to assure me that he had been pressed to come up with possibilities as to who COULD have been within that group of ten if it did include Americans. Logistically, only Richard's crew and one other crew would have been likely and then only remotely. It had not been determined even if Americans were within the group of ten at that time.
Jerry went on to tell me that he personally believed that there were three from Richard's crew taken captive as claimed by the VC, and that he had personally tracked two for several hours. One crewmember's beeper was tracked for hours, and the three rescued crewmembers saw at least one other parachutist in the darkness.
Question: Do you know of anything that is new and going on in regards to Richard or the crew's incident?
Answer: Well, as you know, once they close out the cases they consider it closed.... but recently declassified reports did show that the execution of ten that we were speaking of WAS Americans, but no names were speculated upon. This has given me new food for thought.
In addition, I have been in contact with many other personnel who flew similar missions as well as rescue. Several have told me that it was usual practice for the 'Sandies' to go in and napalm the wreckage because of secret fire control systems for the guns on the gunship. This was information that our government would not have wanted to fall into the hands of the enemy, and this of course, is very thought provoking information.
Question: What can we do to help bring Richard, the crew and all the POW/MIA(s) back home?
Answer: As you are aware, time is the greatest enemy with this issue. If we have any surviving POW/MIAs, they would not be healthy to start with and time grows ever shorter for them. We must keep and reinforce our pressure on the government to get answers from the Vietnamese and Laotian governments, TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
I also believe it is imperative that we instigate heavy pressure regarding these ongoing group burials with no positive identification. This must be stopped before they close out all remaining cases with no REAL evidence of death. I believe that this is worse for the families and loved ones than if nothing at all were happening with their cases.
To Bev,
Thank you so much for your time, effort and your patience in waiting constantly for me all month to find time to get this article started, worked on and finished. You are truly a special lady and I appreciate so much the time you put into this article. You are so easy to work with and did such a fantastic job that I did not do much except type the words "question and answers" a lot of times. Thanks for making this article easy and your outstanding cooperation. I wish I had the means to get for you the answers you need. All I can say is we just keep on keeping on until we finally get them.
MG
