A Tribute to a True Patriot - David Hugh Holmes

When you were a kid,

Who was your hero?

Heroes come

and heroes go.

But heroes should never be forgotten.

We should never forget the price that generations of American fathers, uncles, brothers, and sons paid for our freedom.

We should never disgrace the honor of the brave men who paid the ultimate price to defend our country, and our way of life. Men who know the true meaning of honor and duty. Men who are true patriots; true heroes. Men who were willing to, and did, risk all for their country.

Still, we have forgotten thousands who never came home.

TRIBUTE TO A

TRUE PATRIOT

Name: David Hugh Holmes

Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force

Date of Birth: March 26, 1938

Home City of Record: Belmont, MA

Loss Date: March 15, 1966

Country of Loss: Laos

Loss Coordinates: 164548N 1060821E (XD214536)

Status (in 1973): Missing in Action

Category: 2

Acft/Vehicle/Ground: O1E Cessna

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.

Other Personnel in Incident: John Michel Nash; Glenn McElroy (both missing on OV-1)

SYNOPSIS: Captain David Holmes was flying FAC (Forward Air Control) on an O1E "Bird Dog" aircraft in Laos on March 15, 1966. His radio call sign was "Hound Dog 54" on this "Tiger Hound" operation. Holmes was flying over a large concentration of NVA troops maintaining a truck park along the Ho Chi Minh Trail when his plane was struck by anti-aircraft fire from at least one of the six gun emplacements and crashed into the foliage on the east side of the Se Nam Kok River valley about 300 meters from the village of Ban Keng Khan Kao.

Another O1E, call sign "Hound Dog 50" was dispatched immediately and observed Holmes, apparently unconscious, sitting in the cockpit of his Mohawk flown by Michel Nash and Glen McElroy, enter the line of enemy fire on the west side of the valley. The OV-1 was shot down with Nash and McElroy aboard.

Because of the plane losses and the discovery of the troops and gun emplacements, F-4's (call sign Oxwood 95) and A1E Skyraiders were called in and the ensuing battle raged for four to five hours that afternoon in the operational area known as "ECHO".

On March 16, a search and rescue team flew to the crash site of David Holmes' O1E and found the plane empty. Their report states that he was either removed from the plane of left under his own power. URC-10 emergency radio signals were heard four times in the next six days, but it was thought that the signals were initiated by the enemy as a voice contact was never made. Holmes, Nash, and McElroy all had URC-10 radios.

Just over twenty years from the day the two aircraft went down, U.S. teams had the opportunity to examine and excavate the crash site of Nash and McElroy's OV1A. There was no shred of evidence that anyone died in the aircraft. No human remains or bone fragments were found.

In 1973, 591 Americans were released from prisons in Vietnam. Holmes, Nash, and McElroy were not among them, nor were nearly 2,500 other Americans who went missing in Southeast Asia. Of this 2,500, nearly 600 are missing in Laos. No prisoners held in Laos were released in 1973, nor has there ever been any agreement reached which would free them.

Were there not thousands of reports indicating hundreds of Americans are still held captive in Southeast Asia, America might be able to close this chapter of the Vietnam war. But if there is even ONE American prisoner, we cannot forget. We must bring them home.

Note: The 20th Aviation Detachment existed until December 1966, at which time it was reassigned as the 131st Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion (Combat Support). The 131st Aviation Company had been assigned to I Corps Aviation Battalion since June 1966, when it arrived in Vietnam. In August 1967, the 131st Aviation Company was reassigned to the 212th Aviation Battalion where it remained until July 1971, whereupon it transferred out of Vietnam.

There were a large number of pilots lost from this unit, including Thaddeus E. Williams and James P. Schimberg (January 9, 1966); John M. Nash and Glenn D. McElroy (March 15, 1966); James W. Gates and John W. Lafayette (April 6, 1966); Robert G. Nopp and Marshall Kipina (July 14, 1966); Jimmy M. Brasher and Robert E. Pittman (September 28, 1966); James M. Johnstone and James L. Whited (November 19, 1966); Larry F. Lucas (December 20, 1966); and Jack W. Brunson and Clinton A. Musil (May 31, 1971). Missing OV1 aircraft crew from the 20th/131st represent well over half of those lost on OV1 aircraft during the war.

U.S. Army records list both Nopp and Kipina as part of the "131st Aviation Company, 14th Aviation Battalion", yet according to "Order of Battle" by Shelby Stanton, a widley recognized military source, this company was never assifned to the 14th Aviation Battalion. The 131st was known as "Nighthawks", and was a surveillance aircraft company.