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Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1
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F059.ZIP
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1989-11-11
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FOSTER, MARVIN LEE
Name: Marvin Lee Foster
Rank/Branch: O4/US Army
Unit: Headquarters Company, USARV
Date of Birth: 29 December 1929 (Willow OK)
Home City of Record: Hubbard TX
Date of Loss: 16 March 1969
Country of Loss: South Vietham
Loss Coordinates: 161357N 1074448E (YC936965)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: U21A
Other Personnel In Incident: Raymond E. Bobe; David R. Smith; Charles R.
Barnes; Michael L. Batt (all missing)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: Charles Barnes, co-pilot; David R. Smith, aircraft commander; and
passengers Michael Batt, Marvin L. Foster, and Raymond Bobe were the passengers
aboard a U21A aircraft lost in Tuan Thien Province, South Vietnam. The U21 is a
medium-sized aircraft, built to hold 8 or 10 passengers and crew. It is a
fixed-wing craft, generally used for VIP or commutes rather than surveillance
or combat support missions.
The circumstances surrounding the loss of this crew and passengers are still
completely classified as of 1989, although it is known that contact was lost
with the aircraft, and it is not strongly believed that the enemy knew the
fates of the crew and passengers. The last known location of the aircraft was
about half-way between Hue and Da Nang, South Vietnam.
Batt's photograph was selected as a known prisoner from the JCRC photo album of
those missing, but the U.S. Government states that it is unknown why the source
selected Batt's photo. Returning POWs did not indicate that any of the crew or
passengers had been held with them in their prison system.
When 591 Americans were released from Vietnamese prisons in 1973, high-ranking
military officials were shocked that "hundreds" who were expected to be
released were not.
Examination of intelligence reports suggest that there was more than one prison
"system" in Vietnam. Those prisoners who were released were maintained in the
same systems. If the missing men aboard the U21A were captured and kept in
another system, the POWs who returned would not know it.
Now, nearly 20 years later, men like these are all but forgotten except by
friends, family and fellow veterans. The U.S. "priority" placed on
determining their fates pales in comparison to the results it has achieved.
Since the U21 A was lost, nearly 10,000 reports have been received by the U.S.
relating to Americans still missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities believe
that hundreds remain alive, waiting for their country to come for them. Whether
the men aboard the U21A are among them is not known. What is certain, however,
is that we, as a nation, are guilty of the abandonment of nearly 2500 of our
best and most courageous men. We cannot forget, and must do everything in our
power to bring these men home.