04/US AIR FORCE
Home City of Record: Birmingham Al
Date of Loss 27 February 1968
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 170000N 1070000E (XD951766)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Catagory: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: RF4C
Rwfno: 1063
Other personnel In Incident: Thomas T. Wright
(missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 June 1990 from one or more of the following: Raw data from U. S. Government sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the POW Network 1998
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by the Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a multitide of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and had a long range (900-2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the art electronic conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around.
Palmer's aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. The location is not clear. According to a sheet distributed by the
Arizona POW/MIA families (Palmer's family was at that time residing in Arizona), Palmer and Wright were lost in Laos. According to Defense Department and State Department records, the two went down in Laos. However, coordinates listed by these agencies are located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), some 5 miles southwest of the city of Vinh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. The records of Joint Casualty Resolution Center indicate that the loss occurred in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam.
Palmer and Wright were declared Missing in Action. From the non-specific coordinates given, it is clear that the Air Force does not know the precise loss location. Thus, they are not sure what the Vietnamese know about their fates.
When 591 Americans were released from Vietnam in 1973, Palmer and Wright were not among them. If, as some records indicate, the two were lost in Laos, they join nearly 600 Americans who were lost there. Not one man held in Laos was ever released--or negotiated for.
As for those lost in Vietnam, military officials were dismayed in 1973 that hundreds that were known or suspected to be prisoners were not released. There were over 2500 still missing.
Unlike "MIA'S" from other wars, most of the missing in Southeast Asia could be accounted for, alive or dead. Since the war's end, thousands of reports have been received by the U. S. Government regarding Americans still in captivity in Southeast Asia. There is a large volume of evidence which indicates that hundreds are still being held.
THE U S GOVERNMENT SEEMS UNABLE (OR UNWILLING) TO NEGOTIATE THEIR FREEDOM. FOR AMERICANS, THE "UNFORTUNATE" ABANDONMENT OF MILITARY PERSONNEL IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND THE POLICY THAT ALLOWS IT MUST BE CHANGED BEFORE ANOTHER GENERATION IS LEFT BEHIND IN SOME FARAWAY WAR.
GILBERT S. PALMER, JR AND THOMAS T. WRIGHT WERE BOTH PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF COLONEL DURING THE PERIOD THEY WERE MAINTAINED MISSING.
