Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1/swsii.zip/swsii/009/G080.ZIP/G080.TXT

Text File | 1990-04-18 | 5KB | 83 lines

GRIFFIN, RODNEY LYNN

Name: Rodney Lynn Griffin
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: HHC, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor, 25th Infantry Division
Date of Birth: 01 August 1948 (Mexico MO)
Home City of Record: Centralia MO
Date of Loss: 02 May 1970
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 114512N 1060827E (XU243013)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Other Personnel In Incident: Michael Varnado; Robert M. Young; Bunyan D. Price;
Dale W. Richardson (all missing);  Frederick H. Crowson; Daniel F. Maslowski
(returned POWs); - Tommy Karreci (evaded and escaped)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 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.
Date Compiled: 01 January 1990

REMARKS: HELO FOUND, NO TRACE OF SUBJ

SYNOPSIS: On May 2, 1970 a UH1H helicopter from Company B, 229th Aviation
Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division flown by WO1 Michael B. Varnado was hit by
ground fire and forced to land just over the border of South Vietnam near the
city of Memot, Cambodia. The aircraft was transporting members of HHC, 34th
Armor, 25th Infantry Division, SP4 Rodney L. Griffin; SP4 Bunyan D. Price, Jr.;
WO1 Daniel F. Maslowski; Capt. Dale W. Richardson; and Capt. Robert M. Young.
Also aboard were Tommy Karreci, SP4 Frederick H. Crowson, and CW2 Daniel F.
Maslowski, crew members of the aircraft.

The men were part of an attempt to stop North Vietnamese forces from gaining
strongholds in Cambodia. President Nixon announced the request by Cambodia for
American assistance on April 30. Had we not assisted, the North Vietnamese, in
addition to having an effective sanctuary to which they could retreat without
retaliation, would also have South Vietnam completely outflanked.

The crew all survived the crash, and had only 30-40 seconds on the ground to
decide what to do. They all attempted to evade, each in different directions.
Only 18-year-old Karreci managed to make it back to U.S. lines in 2 or 3 days.
Crowson, Maslowski, Varnado and Young went in one direction and were all
captured by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. Price, according to Defense
Department records, was also captured. Griffin and Richardson took off in
another direction and were never seen again.

Crowson and Maslowski were released in 1973 and in their debriefings stated
that WO1 Varnado and Capt. Young had died in captivity, while detained in
Cambodia. The Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam (PRG)
officially acknowledged their deaths, listing Varnado's death as 21 September
1970, and Young's death as 17 November 1972.

According to Dan Maslowski, Bob Young died of illness in Dan's arms in the fall
of 1972. Maslowski saw Varnado about two months after capture. "Vito" had been
shot in the leg and in the side when he was captured, and according to Dan,
"looked like hell". His side wound had healed, but the wound in his leg, in the
kneecap, was badly infected. He could not walk, and told Maslowski that the
Viet Cong had been transporting him in a hammock. The Viet Cong had told
Varnado that he was to be taken to a hospital to have his leg taken care of.
The Vietnamese state that he died two months after Dan saw him in camp (about 4
months after capture).

On August 1, 1989, it was announced that the Vietnamese had "discovered" the
remains of Michael Varnado, returned them to the U.S. His remains were
positively identified, much to the relief of family and surviving comrades, and
Michael Varnado could finally be buried with the honor he deserved. The remains
identification did not contradict that Vietnamese' statement that Varnado died
four months after capture.

The fate of Price is uncertain. Maslowski always believed Price had been
captured, but never saw him in camps he was held in. One report from escaped
ARVN POWs stated that he was captured by the Khmer and because the ethnic
groups normally did not cooperate, the Khmer would not likely have given Price
over to the Vietnamese, who had captured the other four.

Since 1973, nearly 10,000 reports have been given to the U.S. Government
regarding Americans still missing in Southeast Asia. Some, according to U.S.
State Department sources, have withstood the "closest scrutiny" possible, and
cannot be disputed. There is very strong reason to believe that Americans are
still held captive in Southeast Asia today, yet President after President has
failed to would bring them home.