| The Incident
On 26 November 1968, then Capt.
Gregg Hartness, pilot; and 1st Lt. Allen S. Sheppard III,
observer; comprised the crew of an O2A (serial #67-214119), call
sign "Covey 265," conducting a pre-dawn visual reconnaissance/FAC
mission against NVA activity in and around the vicinity of
Highways 922, 919 and 92. The mission identifier was "Steel
Tiger." The briefed flight path was from DaNang Airbase to the
target and back to DaNang. Weather conditions were clear sky with
visibility of 15 plus miles and the terrain was steep and hilly
covered in large sections of elephant grass and bamboo
interspersed with heavily forested tall trees.
Covey 265 departed DaNang
Airbase at 0300 hours and proceeded to the target area without
incident. Once on-site, Capt. Hartness established radio contact
with the airborne battlefield command and control center (ABCCC),
and was immediately directed to initiate their
mission.
At 0413 hours, the first
indication of trouble was a heavy jolting thud in the rear of the
aircraft at which time the Skymaster broke to the left in a
descending attitude. Capt. Hartness successfully leveled the
aircraft's wings. At the same time, 1st Lt. Sheppard looked
across the cockpit and observed that the fire warning light was
on. Shortly thereafter, a second thud occurred followed by a loss
of aircraft control. According to Allen Sheppard, Gregg Hartness
ordered, "Bailout!" and was "pushing on me as I started out (of
the Skymaster). I contacted the rocket pod, which I pushed off
from. I was at approximately 6,000 feet MSL."
He continued, "During my
freefall, I saw the aircraft in an inverted attitude going
straight down. After my chute opened, I did not see the aircraft
or its impact. During my descent, I noted the time to be 0415
local. I then called 'Mayday' on the survival radio, then
listened for any acknowledgement of my radio call and for Capt.
Hartness' beeper. I heard no beeper and was not able to contact
anyone on the radio. After landing, I again attempted to contact
Capt. Hartness or anyone. I heard nothing."
1st Lt. Sheppard continued,
"Throughout the rest of the night I heard sporadic small arms
fire. (After first light) I transmitted the E&E (escape and
evasion) code letter for the month and Crown 1 (the control
aircraft directing all aspects of the SAR operation) responded."
At approximately 0700 hours, I apprised the ABCCC of the
situation and Crown 1 immediately called in the rescue aircraft.
Shortly thereafter the SAR force, which included Jolly Green 32
and 34, arrived in the loss area.
SAR personnel rapidly
pinpointed Allen Sheppard with his assistance through voice
communication in vectoring them to his location. Because of the
heavy jungle growth on the steep hillside where 1st Lt. Sheppard
was hidden, his recovery operation was both tricky and dangerous.
At roughly 0830 hours, Jolly Green 34 successfully affected his
rescue.
Smoke was seen rising from the
trees approximately 200 meters from Allen Sheppard's recovery
point. As Jolly Green 32 continued to search for Capt. Hartness,
it hovered over the smoldering wreckage. The SAR aircrew noted
the cockpit area was completely burned out and there was no sign
of Gregg Hartness in or around the crash site. During the search
operation, no emergency radio beeper or voice contact could be
established with the downed pilot. Because of the intense hostile
environment in which the loss was located, the search effort was
terminated shortly after rescuing Allen Sheppard. At that time
Gregg Hartness was declared Missing in Action.
In 1992, a National Security
Agency (NSA) correlation study of all communist radio intercepts
pertaining to missing Americans, which was presented to the
Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs in a classified
format, was finally declassified and made public. According to
this document, at least 1 North Vietnamese radio message was
intercepted and correlated to this incident. The NSA synopsis
states: " 'On 27 November 1968, one L-19 propeller driven US
aircraft was downed by rifle fire in Muong Phon District,
Savannakhet (Province), Laos. Two crewmen, including one
American, were killed and the equipment in the aircraft seized.'
Probably (the enemy) misidentified the O-2A for an
L-19."
Capt. Gregg Hartness was among
nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos. Many of these men
were known to be alive on the ground. The Lao admitted holding
"tens of tens" of American Prisoners of War, but these men were
never negotiated for either by direct negotiation between our
countries or the Paris Peace Accords since Laos was not a party
to that agreement.
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