| The Incident
On 6 July 1971, US Air Force
1st Lt. Daniel W. Thomas, pilot; and US Army Special Forces Capt.
Donald G. "Butch" Carr, observer; comprised the crew of an Air
Force OV10A Bronco (tail #67-14634), call sign "Nail 48." Capt.
Carr was the Deputy Commander of the Military Assistance Command,
Vietnam/Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) element at
Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. 1st Lt. Thomas and Capt. Carr were
conducting an afternoon Forward Air Control (FAC)/visual
reconnaissance mission over the southern Steel Tiger region of
Laos, which included that portion of Laos that bordered both
South Vietnam and Cambodia.
MACV-SOG, or Military
Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group, was a
joint service high command unconventional warfare task force
engaged in highly classified operations throughout Southeast
Asia. The 5th Special Forces channeled personnel into MACV-SOG
(though it was not a Special Forces group) through Special
Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided their "cover" while
under secret orders to MACV-SOG. These teams performed deep
penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance and interdiction
that were called, depending on the time frame, "Shining Brass" or
"Prairie Fire" missions. In 1971, MACV-SOG's Command and Control
North, Central and South were re-designated as Task Force
Advisory Elements 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
Nail 48 departed Nakhon Phanom
Airfield, Thailand and proceeded to their area of operation,
which encompassed a 10-mile radius of the panhandle of Laos and
contained major arteries of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. When
North Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South
Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos
for sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the
French some years before. This border road was used by the
Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North
Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a
path cut through the jungle covered mountains. US forces used all
assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies
from moving south into the war zone.
1st Lt. Thomas and Capt. Carr
were to orbit at an altitude of 9,000 to 10,000 feet in order to
monitor selected enemy radio frequencies. There was no reason for
them to descend below that altitude because of the type of
mission and the fact the terrain made it extremely dangerous to
do so. The mountains varied in height from 400 to 6,300 feet and
were covered by triple-canopy jungle with many streams running
through them.
20 miles from the target area,
Nail 48 passed Nail 49, the FAC who was just completing his
mission. After arriving back at base, the pilot of Nail 49 spent
some time in the base command center monitoring all activities in
Steel Tiger. His first indication that something was wrong was
when Hillsboro, the airborne command and control center,
contacted the Army Support Facility to see if Nail 48 had checked
in with them.
At 1530 hours, the last radio
transmission from 1st Lt. Thomas was received when he radioed the
appropriate Army Support Facility that they were in the target
area, and were experiencing unfavorable weather conditions. There
was almost a solid undercast of clouds with only some open areas
where the aircrew could see the jungle covered mountains below.
Further, heavy rain restricted visibility under the clouds to
about one-half mile. During that radio contact, there was no
indication Nail 48 was experiencing any difficulty.
Team Hoang Loi, a Vietnamese
led cross-border ground reconnaissance team from MACV-SOG's base
at Kontum, South Vietnam was operating in this same region. The
team had been inserted into the J-9 target area and in the
vicinity of the enemy's Base Area 613. The team was safely
extracted by helicopter at 1630 hours. Upon their return to
Kontum, the team members reported hearing a loud explosion or
impact northeast of their location at 1600 hours. This was also
30 minutes after the last radio contact with Daniel Thomas and
Butch Carr. The ground team was unable to estimate the distance
from them because the thick jungle distorted the
sound.
By 1638 hours, Hillsboro
reported they had had no contact with Nail 48 for approximately
an hour. 1st Lt. Thomas and Capt. Carr were scheduled to depart
the target area at 1700 hours, and at that time, they also were
to check in with the Army Support Facility. Because the airborne
command and control aircraft had the primary responsibility for
all aircraft in its operational area, the Army Support Facility
passed to Hillsboro the operational UHF, VHF and FM radio
frequencies assigned to this flight. Further, a check of other
bases in the area was made on the outside chance 1st Lt. Thomas
diverted to one of them, but none of them had contact with the
missing Bronco.
Nail 48's last known position
was on the west side of a primary road running generally
northwest to southeast. The road crossed into Cambodia
approximately 13 miles south of the tri-border area where Laos,
South Vietnam and Cambodia meet; 14 miles north of the
Lao/Cambodia border and 18 miles west of the Lao/South Vietnam
border, Attopu Province, Laos. It was also 28 miles east of
Attopeu, Laos; and 28 miles west-northwest of Dak Seang, South
Vietnam.
At the time the Bronco was
reported overdue, an extensive aerial search and rescue (SAR)
operation was initiated. An electronic surveillance was conducted
throughout the night. The next morning Nail 49 arrived back in
the target area at first light. The crew concentrated their
search to the high terrain area to the north and north-northeast
of the mission sector. This area was a known 23mm and 37mm
anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) weapons location that guarded a
major route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was also a region that
afforded the enemy ample protection, food and water. In fact,
enemy troops frequently fired at American aircraft with small
arms and light machine guns from this sanctuary. Visual and
electronic searches continued for the next five days, but found
no trace of the Bronco or its crew. At the time formal SAR
efforts were terminated on 11 July, Daniel Thomas and Butch Carr
were listed Missing in Action.
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