GAUNTT, WILLIAM AARON

Name: William Aaron Gauntt
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Mt. Pleasant TX
Date of Loss: 13 August 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 165835N 1965910E (YD135778)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: RF4C
Other Personnel in Incident: Francis W. Townsend (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1990 with the assistance of
one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 730327 RELEASED BY PRG

SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a
multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and
had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The
F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and high altitudes.
The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art electronics conversions,
which improved radar intercept and computer bombing capabilities enormously.
Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around.

Capt. William A. Gauntt was the pilot and 1Lt. Francis W. Townsend his systems
officer on the reconnaissance version of the Phantom, the RF4. On August 13,
1972, Gauntt and Townsend were sent on a mission which would take them to the
area of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). As they were over the DMZ, about 10 miles
southwest of Vinh Linh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam, the RF4 was shot
down.

Military officials at the time were uncertain as to the fate of Gauntt and
Townsend. However, on March 27, 1973, William A. Gauntt was among 591 Americans
released from POW camps in Vietnam. Francis W. Townsend was not. Officials at
the time were heartened to learn that Gauntt had been captured and released, but
horrified that hundreds of others who had been thought to be captured were not.

Evidently Gauntt gave the U.S. information that Townsend had also been captured,
for in 1973, Townsend was classified as a Prisoner of War. The Defense
Intelligence Agency further expanded this classification to include an enemy
knowledge ranking of 2. Category 2 indicates "suspect knowledge" and includes
personnel who may have been involved in loss incidents with individuals reported
in Category 1 (confirmed knowledge), or who were lost in areas or under
conditions that they may reasonably be expected to be known by the enemy; who
were connected with an incident which was discussed but not identified by names
in enemy news media; or identified (by elimination, but not 100% positively)
through analysis of all-source intelligence. The fact that Townsend was never
classified Category 1 indicates that the information relating to his possible
capture was probably not conclusive.

Since American involvement in Southeast Asia ended, nearly 10,000 reports
relating to Americans missing, prisoner or otherwise unaccounted for in
Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government. Many officials who
have examined this largely classified information have reluctantly concluded
that many Americans are still alive in captivity today.

Whether Francis W. Townsend survived to be captured, was executed, or is among
those thought to be still alive is unknown. What is certain, however, is that as
long as there is even one American held against his will, we owe him our very
best efforts to bring him to freedom.


Francis W. Townsend graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970.