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| .............Robert Miller �� Profile �� Synopsis �� Additional Info �� Awards ......Other POW/MIAs �� List of Others .........................Links �� OJC �� The OJC Ring |
| Name: Robert Lester Miller Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy Unit: n/a Date of Birth: 11 August 1938 Home City of Record: Salinas CA Date of Loss: 07 March 1967 Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over Water Loss Coordinates: 193000N 1064900E (XG906570) Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 5 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F8E Refno: 0609 Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing) |
| Synopsis: |
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| The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot reported shot down on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam. The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF models were equipped for photo reconnaissance. The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war. Lt. Robert L. Miller was the pilot of an F8E conducting a combat mission over North Vietnam on March 7, 1967. At a point about 65 miles east of the city of Thanh Hoa, Miller's aircraft crashed in the Gulf of Tonkin. It is surmised, since his loss is listed as hostile, that Miller's aircraft had been hit by enemy fire and was headed out to open sea to facilitate rescue. There was little hope that Miller survived the crashof his aircraft and he was listed Killed/Body Not Recovered. Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive today. Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and were prepared to be wounded, killed, or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they proudly served. |
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