MACV-SOG MIA/KIA Chronological List

1965

29 Apr 65, Charles Ervin Shelton, Cpt 0-3, Owensville, Ky, USAF, Op 20 & 32, Flying photo recon over Plain of Jars Laos crashed, captured by Pathet Lao, MIA (Cpt Shelton had parachuted safely, hid, used emergency radio procedures to make radio contact aircraft, during the rescue attempt, the weather became adverse as he was being forced from the area by enemy forces hunting him. After several days, he continued to make radio contact until captured by the Pathet Lao)

27 Jun 65-Carl Jackson, Cpt, US Air Force, Pilot, C-123, First Flight, Operation Crimson Tide-KIA, On 13 Oct 66, Charles R. Vessel, SFC E-7 and Fedrick H. Lewis, SFC E-7, USASF, and forty Nungs Commandos of FOB-2, Kontum, Operation Crimson Tide-KIA during the attempted recovery of a Prisoner of War. This mission is credited as being the first to attempt to recover an American POW (USAF Captain Carl E. Jackson), being held by the Viet Cong at one of their R&R center located at Soc Trang. A SOG size company element was formed and commanded by Captain Frank Jaks, a Czechoslovakia by birth, and tasked with the rescue mission. Vessel and Lewis were part of the 3^rd Platoon. Their helicopters landed them directly in front of two heavily armed Viet Cong Battalions and the 306 NVA regiment with an estimated 1,000 soldiers. The entire 3^rd Platoon was annihilated.

10 Jul 65- William Horner, SSG E-6, USASF, MACVSOG, Ops 34, Agent Drop-KIA

18 Oct 65, Larry Alan Thorne, Cpt 0-3, Norwalk, Conn; USASF, Shining Brass, FOB#1, Kham Duc, Crashed outside of Da Nang aboard Vietnamese CH-34, MIA long with the Vietnamese Pilot, Co-pilot, and Door Gunner all whom were KIA. Cpt Thorne became missing after inserting the first MACV-SOG mission from Kham Duc into Laos. (Cpt Thorne was involved in the insertion of the 1st Shining Brass Recon Mission ran by Charles "Slate" Petry, Jim "Halo" Smith, and William "Willie" Card. Cpt Thorne was a passenger when the aircraft crashed) (See the story by Al Friend, A Walk in the Indian Camp in the Tales from SOG section). [Thorne is featured on page 35-37, SOG, A Photo History of the Secret Wars by John Plaster].

18 Oct 65; Harley B Piles, Maj 04 and Windfield W. Sisson, Cpt, 0-3, USMC, SOG Liaison Officer, 0-1 Bird Dog, FAC, OP 34-Da Nang Air Base,-MIA (Maj Pile was tasked to orbit the 1^st Shining Brass Recon Mission ran by Charles "Slate" Petry, Jim "Halo" Smith, and William "Willie" Card [see Al Friend’s story A Walk in Indian Country, Tales From SOG], to keep a watch on the weather and alert fighter aircraft if the team got into trouble. The aircraft crashed in bad weather as they were returning to Da Nang)

28 Oct 65; Robert J Fay, Commander, LTC 0-5, CO of US Naval Advisory Det, Ban Dao Son Tra (Monkey Mountain), Op 3 1-Maritime Studies Branch; (Fatally wounded by mortar round while inspecting compound perimeter (LTC Fay was the commander of SOG Ops 31 and was the first Navy "frogman" killed in Vietnam).