The remains of nine American servicemen previously
unaccounted-for from Southeast Asia are being returned to their
families for burial in the United States.
The remains have been identified as Capt. Howard P. Purcell,
USAF, of Landsdowne, Pa.; 1st Lt. Neil B. McKinney, USAF, of
Muncie, Ind.; Staff Sgt. Raphael Cruz, USAF, of Stockton,
Calif.; Cmdr. George H. Wilkins, USN, of Goldsboro, N.C.; Lt.
Cmdr. Gerald R. Roberts, USN, of San Marcos, Texas; Cmdr. Harry
E. Thomas, USN, of Taft, Calif.; Lt. Col. James W. Widdis, USAF,
of Newark, N.J.; Maj. Robert C. Davis, USAF, of Burlington,
N.J.; and Maj. Robert J. Zukowski, USAF, of Chicago, Ill.
On Sept. 2, 1963, Purcell, McKinney and Cruz were flying
aboard a B-26B aircraft on an air cover mission over Kontum
Province, Vietnam. They were observed by their relief aircraft,
but never returned to Da Nang Air Base. An extensive search and
rescue effort failed to locate the missing aircraft. In 1992,
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) repatriated to the United
States human remains and identification media for all three crew
members. The remains of these three servicemen were identified
individually, and are also part of a group remains
identification. Mitochondrial DNA testing was used to confirm
the three identifications.
On July 11, 1966, Wilkins was launched off the USS
Constellation on an armed reconnaissance mission over North
Vietnam in his A-4C aircraft. He was to drop illumination
flares, then take his aircraft in for a low target identification
pass. His wingman heard a radio report “flares away,” then
observed a trail of fire near the target area. There was no
further radio contact, and search and rescue efforts were
unsuccessful in locating the downed pilot. In 1989, the SRV
repatriated remains believed to be those of a number of U.S.
servicemen lost in Vietnam. Three U.S.-SRV joint investigations
gathered additional information and crash debris which aided in
the identification. Mitochondrial DNA testing was used to
confirm the identification.
After completing a bombing run over North Vietnam on Dec. 2,
1965, Roberts' A-1H aircraft failed to rejoin his formation.
Other aircraft returned to the target area and observed smoking
wreckage of an aircraft which appeared to have crashed in a
vertical dive. Hostile ground threat prevented a ground
inspection in the area of the presumed loss. Joint U.S.-SRV
investigations in 1993 and 1994 obtained information from local
witnesses, aircrew equipment as well as human remains.
Preparing to enter a target area in North Vietnam, Thomas' A-
4C aircraft encountered intense enemy fire on Aug. 13, 1965. The
pilot of another aircraft on the same attack mission observed
Thomas' aircraft roll to the right, then crash with the canopy
still attached. Hostile threats in the area prevented follow-on
inspections of the site. Four joint U.S.-SRV investigations in
1994, 1995 and 1996 recovered aircraft debris, crew-related
materials and human remains.
On March 23, 1969, Widdis and Davis encountered heavy fire
over Laos during a night armed reconnaissance mission in their A-
26 aircraft. Shortly after they made a pass over an anti-
aircraft gun position, an airborne Forward Air Controller on that
mission heard a garbled radio transmission which sounded like,
“We're going in.” He then observed a bright fireball on the
ground followed by a column of smoke. A few minutes later, he
saw a large secondary explosion from the fire. Visual and
electronic search efforts throughout the next day met with
negative results. Joint U.S.-Lao teams in 1994 and 1995 surveyed
and excavated the crash site where they recovered aircraft
wreckage and human remains. The remains of Davis were
individually identified, and remains of both men were included in
a group remains identification. Mitochondrial DNA testing aided
in confirming the identification of Davis.
On a strike mission over Laos on Feb. 11, 1969, Zukowski's F-
105D made a successful strike on the primary target. He was
directed to his next target by an airborne Forward Air
Controller. But as he began his attack run, his aircraft entered
an inverted roll and crashed. Enemy anti-aircraft units were
known to be in the area, but no ground fire was observed. The
FAC saw no parachute nor heard any beeper signals. Three joint
U.S.-Lao teams in 1993 and 1996 recovered aircraft and crew-
related debris, as well as human remains.
The remains of Purcell, McKinney, Cruz, Zukowski, Wilkins
and Thomas are being shipped from the U.S. Army's Central
Identification Laboratory in Hawaii to the Air Force Mortuary,
Travis AFB, Calif. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996. The remains of
Davis and Widdis were shipped earlier this month and those of
Roberts will be shipped at a later date, all at the request of
the families.
The U.S. government welcomes and appreciates the cooperation
of the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the
government of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic which resulted
in the accounting of these servicemen. We hope that such
cooperation will bring increased results in the future.
Achieving the fullest possible accounting for these Americans is
of the highest national priority.
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