| The Incident
On 8 May 1969, Major William J.
Brashear, pilot, and then 1st Lt. Henry G. Mundt II, co-pilot,
comprised the crew of an F4C that departed Cam Ranh Bay Airbase,
South Vietnam as the #2 aircraft in a flight of 4. The flight was
to conduct a road seeding mission. These missions were to deliver
motion sensor devices, mines, etc., by air in order to either
detect or destroy enemy movement through an area. Their intended
flight path took them from their base, to a tanker refueling,
direct to target, then direct back to base. Their target was a
section of road, Highway 165, at the communist's Chavane
Airfield, Saravane Province, Laos.
This area of southeastern Laos
also contained major arteries of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail,
including Highway 165. 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.
At 0951 hours, Boxer flight
arrived in their target area and initiated the attack. Major
Brashear and 1st Lt. Mundt, call sign "Boxer 31," was seen to
roll in and complete their pass on the target. No radio contact
was made by the crew of Boxer 31 upon recovery as they pulled off
target. The Phantom sustained battle damage from enemy ground
fire, but the crew was able to reach an altitude of about 7500
feet before William Brashear and Henry Mundt were seen to eject.
One of the parachutes opened normally; however, the second
appeared to the other flight members to be a streamer and was
seen to land on the ground approximately one and a half minutes
before the other one.
Search and recovery (SAR)
aircraft were immediately on the scene, but because of heavy
enemy ground fire, they were forced to retire from the area. One
emergency beeper was heard and voice contact was established with
the SAR helicopter crew. The downed crewman was able to report he
sustained burns and injured his leg, but the transmission stopped
before he could identify himself. However, one of the rescue
personnel identified the voice he heard over the radio as being
that of Major Brashear. At 1445 hours the search was terminated
without establishing further contact with either crewman. At that
time William Brashear and Henry Mundt were immediately listed
Missing in Action.
In 1972, a rallier who was
assigned to a Communist unit identified as Infiltration Group
QL3030 reported seeing an injured American Major on 19 May 1969
at the Como Liaison Station (CLS) #63, Binh Tran 36, Group 559 in
Attopeu Province, Laos. The Major was in the custody of medical
personnel from Hospital 65.
That night an entertainment
group from PAVN General Political Directorate performed for the
CLS 63 with approximately 1000 people, including the American, in
attendance. According to our government: "While US records cannot
confirm this as being Major Brashear, date, rank and location are
consistent with his case." There was no information provided
about the fate of the second crewman.
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