| The Incident
On 17 May 1966, then SP4 Donald
T. Deere was a Special Forces Advisor attached to Detachment
A-331. The Mobile Strike Force that he was advising was
conducting a search and destroy mission to locate and engage
communist forces who were operating in the region. The area of
contact was located less than a mile east of the South
Vietnamese/Cambodian border, and was laced with numerous trails
and footpaths that connected the small villages and hamlets that
were scattered throughout the sector. It was also located
approximately 10 miles southwest of Loc Ninh, 37 miles
north-northeast of Tay Ninh and 66 miles north-northwest of
Saigon, Binh Long Province, South Vietnam.
As the Mobile Strike Force
moved through the dense double and triple canopy jungle, it made
contact with an estimated battalion-size enemy force. During the
ensuing firefight, SP4 Deere was struck by enemy fire and fell to
the ground in a slightly open area. Other members of the patrol
attempted to reach his position. As they neared his position,
they thought they saw Donald Deere's body hit a second time by
enemy ground fire.
The intense enemy presence made
the situation untenable forcing the remainder of the Strike Force
to pull back without SP4 Deere. Air strikes were called in to
suppress the communists before they overran the Strike Force. The
close air support was directed onto known enemy positions
including the location where Donald Deere was last
seen.
After the air strike was
lifted, the patrol reentered the area to search for SP4 Deere,
but could find no trace of him in or around the area of the
battle site. At the time the initial search was terminated,
Donald Deere was listed Missing in Action. Because of the heavy
and continuous enemy presence throughout the region, no
additional search and rescue/recovery (SAR) operation was
possible.
Shortly thereafter, the US Army
convened a Board of Inquiry to evaluate the facts and
circumstances surrounding this case. The Board determined that
Donald Deere was probably killed either by enemy ground fire or
by the subsequent air strikes. Further, the Board determined that
his remains were not recoverable and directed that his status be
changed from Missing in Action to Killed in Action/Body Not
Recovered.
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