It's that time again; time to meet a very special Hero who has been chosen as IWT's Hero of the Month.

So ladies and gents, please meet Joseph, nominated by his mother, Diane:




As he left that day, running to catch the bus with his comrades, he turned and smiled and waved at his brother and I as if to say, "It's OK Mom, I will be safe." It was a proud but sad day for me. Words cannot express the love I have for him. Joe has been in the Marines for 9 years. He has and always will make his family and friends proud. May God put a blanket of protection around him as he strives and continues to do his duties as a Marine. Continue to stand tall and proud, my son. Semper Fi, OORAH - Love, Mom"


Joseph, Keep Your Helmet On - Take care, and stay safe - we are all proud of you.

Diane, please let me know if there's anything I or Soldiers' Angels can do for you.

Our Hero of the month has a care package on the way, courtesy of Patti and Soldiers' Angels. Diane has also asked that I submit his name, so he'll soon have his own Angel to send ongoing mail and packages.


To find out how you can nominate your Hero for IWT's Hero of the month, click the link at the top of this page.

Labels: Hero of the Month, Soldiers' Angels, Supporting the troops

Several weeks ago, I told you I was involved in a very special project to honor fallen heroes. It's finally time to unveil the details, and to tell you your help is needed to make this project happen.

One of my current adoptees with Soldiers' Angels is one with whom I share a common hobby - motorcycling. Sketch is a Harley guy - I've got a Kawasaki. In talking about our love of motorcycles, we also came to discuss a dream Sketch had - building a custom bike. He told me he wanted to use the bike in some way to pay tribute to fallen heroes...to make sure that the sacrifices of those who have fallen are not forgotten.

We rolled it around for a while, and with the help of Soldiers' Angels, the Fallen Soldiers' Bike is now a dream that has a chance to become reality.

We're starting with a Flyin' Hawaiian chopper by Denvers' Choppers, and customizing it with graphics and other items to make it a unique rolling tribute to those who have given their all. Sketch will be displaying the bike at as many motorcycle shows as he can get to. Though he's deployed now, and working long hours, Sketch is still spending as much free time as he's able to planning the bike. I'm helping to coordinate some things from here.

And the project has the support of one very special lady - Gunnar's Mom, Debey. It was right around the anniversary of Gunnar's death that Sketch and I first started getting the project blog up and running. I sent a link to Debey, who also happens to live not that far away from a motorcycle mecca - Sturgis. Debey loved the idea right away, and has also contributed to the bike's construction.

It's a costly project. The total estimated cost is somewhere around $45,000, give or take. Some of that depends on what custom elements are included, and how complicated the graphics get. We do know one graphic that will be there:

The Soldiers' Angels logo.

Sketch is an artist, and is working on other graphics for the bike - if you've got some ideas, please feel free to send them to me, and I'll forward them.

You can find the project blog at http://fallensoldierbike.blogspot.com. Visit, and you'll see a little more about what the bike means to Sketch, and to me. We'll be posting updates and pictures as the build progresses.

We can use all the help we can get to move this project along. There's the possibility of some media coverage once construction is in motion, but we need the funds to make it happen. If you would like to help be a part of this project, Sketch is going to maintain a list of donors which will be on display with the bike. Please consider donating in memory of a fallen Hero you know, or just in honor of all of those who have fallen in defense of our country. You can donate through PayPal at the project blog, or make checks payable to Soldiers' Angels, and send to:



Make sure to note "Fallen Soldiers' Bike" in the memo section of your check.

Donations to Soldiers' Angels are tax deductible.

Bloggers - please help to get the word out - link, trackback, or swipe this post!

Labels: Soldiers' Angels, Supporting the troops, tributes

Airmen tackle increased operations tempo
Jet engine technicians, Staff Sgt. Shaun Bennet (left) and Senior Airman Maurice Williams, inspect a B-1B Lancer's internal compressor blades during an engine borescope inspection. This inspection is accomplished every 100 engine operating hours. The Airmen are assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron's 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. David Miller) Story

Labels: 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 379th Expeditinary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, aircraft, B-1B Lancer, photos, USAF

Soldiers' Angel Shelle sends these photos to show how North Dakota welcomes its heroes home:


The NDARNG A/188th ADA arrived home today---- here are some photos from Bismarck-

HEY-- how cool that my hometown hero hankies got mentioned in this stoy (below)-- I think we have started something really cool---

I designed HomeTown Hero Hankies with the SA logo-- it was such a HUGE hit!!!! the families tied them around their arms.

see below.


ND Governor John Hoeven gets into the groove with a Home town hero hanky-- he is standing here with Joyce Mehrer (mom of fallen hero Curtis Mehrer) and Shiela Richter (Mom of fallen hero Tavis Van Zoest)


Here Is an overhead of the Gov talking to the familes... (my daughter beka is in the left corne-- black SA shirt and arm band- glasses)


Sam Floberg is in uniform-- and standing with the families as well- see the arm bands on many ( I gave out 500 of them)

My girls and our friends.......

Joyce- and CW4 Shelly Sizer from the NDANG family program- Sheila and Harriet Goodiron (mom of fallen heo Nathan Goodiron) standing on the 2nd deck above the SA banner.


Gov Hoeven was in his shirt and tie-- so I went and got him a HOOAH tee shirt to blend in......... here he is with Sam Floberg


Sheila, Harriet and Joyce- mothers of fallen heroes of NDARNG A/ 1-188th ADA SECFOR

SPC Dockter getting a teary hug from my baby Emma

Here Emma is hugging SGT Justina Bilby

My Emma, Bilby and my Beka

Here is an overhead of the crowd patiently waiting for the soldiers to come thru the door at the every top towards the back


It was an amazing welcome home----

*************************************

Welcome Home, Job Well Done, and HOOAH to the A/188th ADA!

And way to go, Shelle and everyone who made that day special for these Heroes.

You can find the article about the homecoming here.

Labels: Soldiers' Angels, Supporting the troops, Welcome Home

ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 27, 2007) - Aviation Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Dalix Mondestin prepares to relay a message to flight deck control as an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 37, and an EA-6B Prowler assigned to Tactical Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 are lowered to the hangar bay on board Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman is underway conducting Tailored Ship's Training Availability (TSTA). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kristopher Wilson

Labels: aircraft, EA-6B, F/A-18C, Hornet, photos, Prowler, ships, Strike Fighter Squadron 37, Tactical Electronic Attack Squadron 130, US Navy, USS Harry S. Truman

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a "dating service" of any type. Please do not send suggestive or otherwise inappropriate cards or pictures. I will be reading and screening every Card received to ensure that the above guidelines are adhered to (please DO NOT seal the envelope)! Any card deemed inappropriate will not be sent! Remember: This is strictly to let the troops know that we love them, we are proud of them and that we HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN them!

**IMPORTANT NOTE 2: This card drive is an individual effort and not done in conjunction with or on behalf of any organizations or groups

Labels: Operation: Thanks for Freedom, Supporting the troops

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bomb Kills at Least 13 at Iraqi Police Station
Iraq war fund delay could extend tours: Bush aide
Truck bomb in Iraq's Kirkuk kills 12, wounds 137
Truck bomb kills 13 in northern Iraq
Six U.S. Troops Killed in Baghdad
Operations Net 22 Suspects

Operation Enduring Freedom
Al Qaeda Releases Video of an Alleged Attack on U.S. Forces in Afghanistan
Taliban deploy thousands of suicide bombers: commander

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Israel Invites Arab Leaders to Peace Summit
Somalis bury dead during lull in battles
Palestinian journalists strike over abducted reporter
Israeli army authorized to act inside Gaza border

Welcome Home!!
New Hartford man returns from Iraq (Welcome Home to a local Hero!!)

Fallen Heroes
Soldier Dies of Noncombat Cause

Supporting Our Heroes
Disabled Vets Expect Miracles at Sports Clinic

Other Military News
Last WWI Navy Vet Dies

Worldwide Wackos
Iran Claims All 15 Captive British Troops Confessed
VIDEO: Hardliners Throw Stones at British Embassy in Tehran (Deja vu, anyone? Of course, this one is much smaller than that one - under 200 people)
Iranian TV Shows Purported Video Clips of 2 Captured British Soldiers
Iran's tough stance shows hardline power
Iranian radio reports 'positive changes'
Iran Digs in for Lengthy Standoff
Documents from 1992 coup show Chavez's path - Video

Politics / Government
Tommy Thompson Announces 2008 Run
Senators Debate Impact of Bush Veto on Iraq
U.S., South Korea Strike Free Trade Deal
NEWS IN PICTURES: Protests in South Korea
Hillary Raises $26 Million in 3 Months
Bush ex-strategist says loses faith in president
Clinton, Edwards top fundraising records
Fundraising just part of '08 picture

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
3 Wounded in Shooting at Nickelodeon Awards After-Party
Cops Arrest Mexican Taxi Drivers for Showing Porn Flicks in Cabs
Grandparents Sued for Raising Girl in Retirement Community
Authorities Capture Lone Woman on FBI's Most Wanted List
Brother of South Carolina Football Player Charged With Killing Woman
Pet owners likely to get little in suits
Search continues after Atlanta shootings
28 arrested in Fla. online sex sting
Pa. Amish students open new schoolhouse

Adventures in Political Correctness
U.K. Schools Won't Teach Kids About Holocaust, Crusades

U.N. News
Five AU soldiers killed in Darfur: spokesman

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Web video shows Mexico man's beheading
Tribune accepts buyout offer from Zell
Google fools: Web service through toilet

Science / Medicine / Technology
Pneumococcal vaccine beyond expectations: study
Drug testing youth poses difficulties: study
Researchers find genetic links to prostate cancer
Urgent need to reach HIV-infected children: doctors
Wii are the champions?
Pregnant moms' weight affects toddlers

Mother Nature
Tsunami Washes Away Villages
Sharks Bite Surfer, 9-Year-Old on Nearby Florida Islands
Global warming could bring hunger, melt Himalayas
Seafood poisoning rises with warming

Oddities
Green light for visits to red-light district

Other News of Note
Arson Eyed in Blaze at Synagogue
Two Missing Minnesota Brothers Found Dead in Lake Near Home
Study: Airline Quality Takes Nosedive
Milestone in Drive to Beatify Pope John Paul II
Democracy in Nigeria: godfathers, guns and graft
Sri Lanka says rebel blast on bus kills 15
Katrina fraud stretches far beyond Gulf

Fox News
Will iTunes Finally Carry Beatles Tracks?
Rutgers Advances to Women's Title Game
Donald Trump Keeps Hair by Winning Billionaire Wrestling Match With Vince McMahon
Hollywood’s Hottest Accessory: The Big Coffee Cup
Tarantino Double Bill: Good Gory Times

Reuters: Top News
Mortgage woes seen holding US growth "below trend"
Child fatal injury rate down, but race gap up
Homes slump,mortgage turmoil slowing Calif. economy
LG.Philips aims to make 11 mln modules by '11 Poland
Seeds of Turkish nationalism sown at school
tops with kids at awards show
HBO casts vote for 2000 polls thriller "Recount"
Markets:Oil below $66 but downside seen limited
Dollar steady as investors await U.S. data
S.Korea auto shares rally on new U.S. trade pact
Japan stocks turn lower on tankan; oil eases
Gold extends gains on Iran, hovers below $670
KKR to buy First Data in deal valued at $29 bln
Google interested in DoubleClick purchase: report
Starwood Hotels ousts chief executive
Qualcomm CEO hopes to avoid "Armageddon" with Nokia
AT&T, America Movil seek Telecom Italia deal
Apple/EMI in deal, but Beatles not included: source

AP World News
EMI to allow Apple to sell songs online
Mets spoil Cards' big night with 6-1 win
It's No. 1 vs. No. 1 for national title
Rutgers reaches 1st national title game
L.A. airport opening rebuilt runway
Obituaries in the news

Military.com
Poll: Getting the Brit Sailors Back
Blog: Helping Sgt. Duncan
Op-ed: Operation Anabasis
Def Tech: New Eyes for Gators
Podcast: Reconstructing Iraq
Advisors: Leaving War Behind
To Be an Army Green Beret

CENTCOM: News Releases
POLISH GENERAL ASSUMES DEPUTY COMMANDER POST AT CJTF-82

USJFCOM
USJFCOM gears up for Noble Resolve - podcast
Personnel recovery capability continues process of fielding to the warfighter - podcast

DefenseLink
Iraqis, Coalition Work Together to Secure Tal Afar - Story
Hicks Case Good Start for Military Commissions - Story
Australian Detainee Sentenced to Nine Months
Military Commissions
Giambastiani Lauds Slovenia for Deployments - Story
Giambastiani: More Help Needed in Afghanistan
Vice Chairman Cites Slovakia’s Importance
Bush Vows Troops Will Get Best Medical Care - Story
System Failed at Walter Reed, Care Remained Top Notch

More Headline News
Petraeus Condemns al Qaeda's ‘Barbaric’ Acts
U.S., Japan to Increase Military Cooperation
Six Countries Removed From Imminent Danger Pay List

Military News
Last Surviving Female World War I Veteran Dies
U.S. Marines Thank Lebanese Military for Efforts
Commentary: Take Time to Thank Unsung Heroes

War on Terror
Baghdad Surge Gets Results
Detainees Deny Allegations
Official Cites Baghdad Progress

America Supports You
Group Exhibits Dedication - Story
Warriors’ Wives Get Help
First Lady, Military Leaders Praise USO for Troop Support
Photos: USO Honors Servicemembers

Transformation
Soldiers Test New Vehicles - Story
TV Show Features "FutureWeapons"
Air Force to Develop New Engine
Army Tests Parachute System

Face of Defense
Female Soldiers Make History - Story
Marine Strives to Excel
Soldier Follows Family Tradition
Chief Reflects on Career, History

DefendAmerica
ON THE GROUND
Black Jack Performs Medical Mission in Baghdad - Story
Students Graduate from NATO Staff Course - Story
Female Aviators Pilot into Strong Career - Story
Postal Specialists Deal With Limited Space - Story

IN IRAQ
Joint Police Force Works Toward Secure Iraq
Lancer Troops Work to Make Streets Safer
Prime Power Team Lights Up Anaconda

IN AFGHANISTAN
Team Rebuilds Afghanistan One School at a Time
Combat Engineers Turn Dwellings into Homes

IN DJIBOUTI
Security Company Stands Watch in Djibouti
Forecasts, Updates Assist in Naval Planning
Well-drilling Team Helps Save Girl’s Arm, Life

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Today in History
0999 - Gerbert of Aurillac elected as 1st French Pope
1416 - Alfonso V succeeds his father as king of Aragón
1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain
1550 - Jews are expelled from Genoa, Italy
1559 - England/France sign 1st Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambrésis
1590 - States-General appoints earl Mauritius, viceroy of Utrecht
1595 - Cornelis de Houtman's ships depart to Asia through Cape of Good Hope
1645 - Robert Devereux resigns as parliament supreme commander
1745 - Austria & Bavaria sign peace
1792 - Congress establishes Philadelphia mint; US authorizes $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & $2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, ½ dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime
1827 - Joseph Dixon begins manufacturing lead pencils
1845 - H. L. Fizeau & J. Leon Foucault take 1st photo of Sun
1860 - 1st Italian Parliament met at Turin
1863 - Bread revolt in Richmond, VA
1864 - Skirmish at Crump's Hill (Piney Woods), Louisiana; Skirmish at Spoonville/Antoine, AR
1865 - CSA President Jefferson Davis flees Confederate capital of Richmond, VA; General A P Hill is killed by a Federal picket; Lee's line is broken at Petersberg; Battle of Fort Blakely AL & Selma, AL; Battle of Petersburg, VA (Fort Gregg, Sutherland's Station)
1866 - President Andrew Johnson ends war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee & Virginia
1870 - Victoria Woodhull is 1st woman to be nominated for US President
1872 - George B. Brayton patents gasoline powered engine
1877 - 1st Easter egg roll held on White House lawn
1883 - Battle at Bamako - French assault on Fabous
1884 - London prison for debtors closed
1902 - 1st motion picture theater opens (Los Angeles CA)
1905 - Cairo-Capetown railway opens
1908 - Mills Committee declares baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday
1912 - Titanic undergoes sea trials under its own power; Sun Yet Sen forms Guomindang-Party in China
1916 - German troops overtake Bois de Caillette
1917 - President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany; Jeannette Rankin becomes 1st woman member of US House of Representatives
1921 - Professor Albert Einstein lectures in NYC on his new theory of relativity
1926 - Riots between Muslims & Hindus in Calcutta
1930 - 1st New York-Bermuda airplane flight lands in Bermuda
1931 - Teenage girl strikes out Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game in Chattanooga, TN
1932 - Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for kidnapped son
1935 - Sir Watson-Watt patents RADAR
1941 - German occupier disallows Dutch scouting association; USS Hornet with Jimmy Doolittle's B-25 departs from San Francisco
1944 - CPI-leader Palmiro Togliatti returns to Italy; Soviet Army marches into pro-German Romania
1945 - 1st US units reach east coast of Okinawa
1953 - Raab forms his 1st government in Austria
1954 - Plans to build Disneyland 1st announced
1958 - National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA; Wind speed reaches 450 kph in tornado in Wichita Falls, TX (record); Antillean Brewery (Amstel beer) opens
1960 - Cuba buys oil from USSR
1963 - Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km); USSR launches Luna 4; missed Moon by 8,500 km
1964 - USSR launches Zond 1 to Venus; no data returned; Military coup in Brazil by General Castello Branco, President Goulart ousted
1966 Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes 1st spacecraft to orbit Moon
1968 - Chad creates Union of Central African States
1970 - Meghalaya becomes autonomous state within India's Assam state; Qatar gains independence from Britain
1972 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin visits Cairo, Egypt
1973 - CBS radio begins on hour news 24 hours a day; ITT pleads guilty to asking CIA to affect Chilean presidential election
1974 - Arganat Committee publishes report concerning Yom Kippur War
1976 - Cambodia's Khieu Sampan succeeds prince Sihanouk as premier; Portuguese constitution assumed
1978 - TV show "Dallas" premieres on CBS (as a 5 week mini-series); Velcro was 1st put on the market
1979 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin visits Cairo Egypt/meets President Sadat
1981 - Belgium's 4th government of Martens resigns; Heavy battle between Christian militia & Syrian army in East Lebanon
1982 - Several thousand Argentine troops seize disputed Falkland (Malvinas) Islands
1986 - 4 US passengers killed by bomb at TWA counter Athens Airport Greece
1987 - IBM introduces PS/2 & OS/2
1992 - John Gotti found guilty in death of Paul Castallanos; Space Shuttle STS-45 (Atlantis 11) lands; Edith Cresson, France's 1st female premier, resigns
1993 - 1st test flight of Fokker 70 (Amsterdam); Venezuelan DC-10 crashes at Margarita, killing 10

Birthdays
0742 - Charlemagne, 1st Holy Roman emperor (800-14)
1618 - Francesco M. Grimaldi, mathematician/physicist (light defraction)
1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, author of 150 fairy tales
1806 - Giacomo Antonelli, Italian cardinal/Assistant Secretary of State for Pius IX
1814 - Henry Lewis "Old Rock" Benning,Confederate Brigadier General
1826 - Philip Dale Roddey, Confederate Brigadier General
1833 - Thomas Howard Ruger, Union Brevet Major General
1862 - Nicholas Murray Butler, Columbia University president/pacifist (Nobel 1931)
1894 - Rudolph P. Cleveringa, Dutch anti-nazi lawyer; Walter Mittelholzer, Swiss aviation pioneer (Swiss Air)
1922 - Nikolaj G. Bassov, Russian atomic physicist (laser, Nobel 1964)
1929 - Frans H.J.J. Andriessen, Dutch MP (KVP/CDA)
1934 - Christopher France, British permanent secretary (Department of Health); Sir Peter Middleton British permanent secretary (Treasury)
1937 - Paul E. Kanjorski (Representative-PA)
1939 - Marvin P. Gaye, Jr., singer (Sexual Healing)
1942 - Graham Bright, private secretary to British PM
1948 - Joan [Carol] D[ennison] Vinge, sci-fi author (2 Hugos, Dune)

Passings
1118 - Boudouin I of Bologne/Edessa, 1st crusader/king of Jerusalem
1416 - Ferdinand I the Justified, king of Aragon/Sicily, dies at 52
1502 - Arthur English, crown prince/husband of Catharina of Aragón
1657 - Ferdinand III, King of Hungarian/Bohemia/German Emperor, dies at 48
1831 - Charles Felix, blind King of Sardina (1821-31), dies at 74
1865 - Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill, Confederate General, killed in action at 39
1872 - Samuel F. B. Morse, developer of electric telegraph, dies at 80
1910 - Boyd Alexander, English explorer (Niger to the Nile), murdered at 37
1928 - Theodore Richards, US chemist (atomic weight, Nobel 1914)
1941 - Paul Teleki premier of Hungary
1956 - Albert de Bassompierre, Belgiuman ambassador to Tokyo, dies at 82
1974 - Georges Pompidou, French President, dies in Paris at 62
1995 - Hannes Alfven, physicist (Nobel prize), dies at 86
1997 - Tomoyuki Tanaka, producer (Godzilla), dies of a stroke at 86

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Evans, James J., USN (KS); A1H shot down - remains recovered October, 1971 - ID'd April, 1977

1966
Doughty, Daniel J., USAF (WI); RF101 shot down - released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1967
Dramesi, John A., USAF (NJ); released by DRV March, 1973 - After release, became chief war planner for US Air Forces in Europe, later commanded a Strategic Air Command F-111 wing - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1999

1969
Powers, Lowell S., US Army (AZ); CH47 forced to land due to mechanical problems, subsequently exploded, presumed Killed, body not recovered

1972
The following personnel reported MIA after the shoot-down of an EB66 and the subsequent shoot-down of SAR craft:

From the EB66 (USAF):
Bolte, Wayne L., (OK); pilot

Gatwood, Robin F., Jr., (NC); crew

Giannangeli, Anthony R., (PA); crew

Levis, Charles A., (TX); crew

Serex, Henry M., (LA); crew

From a UH1H (US Army):
Astorga, Jose M., (CAZ); gunner - left crash site, was captured - subsequently observed the helicopter explode with the others inside - released by PRG (injured) March, 1973 - alive as of 1996

Frink, John W. (NM); co-pilot - remains returned April, 1994

Kulland, Byron K. (ND); pilot - remains ID'd April, 1994

Paschall, Ronald P. (WA); crew chief - remains ID'd April, 1994

Labels: Headlines, History