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Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1
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009
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1990-04-18
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KARDELL, DAVID ALLEN
Remains Returned 890731
Name: David Allen Kardell
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 154, USS CORAL SEA (CVA43)
Date of Birth: 12 June 1939
Home City of Record: Sonoma CA
Date of Loss: 09 May 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 194158N 1052658E (WG471781)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F8D
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
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: 15 March 1990
REMARKS: NO PULLOUT - NO PARA/BEEP - J
SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of Tonkin
reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North Vietnam during
Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively by the Navy and
Marine air wings and represented half or more of the carrier fighters in the
Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The aircraft was credited
with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.
The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were the C,
D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie carried only
Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions as CAP (Combat
Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a heavier reinforced
wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were used to attack ground
targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo version launched with less
fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and frequently arrived back at ship
low on fuel.
The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar fighters.
Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or destroyed by
enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader pilots were
recovered; 47 were not. Fourteen of these pilots were captured and released. The
other thirty-three remained missing at the end of the war.The breakdown of those
not recovered is as follows:
A/C Total Number Number MIA/Released by Year
Model Lost MIA/RELSD 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
F8E 28 18/10 4/3 5/3 6/3 4/0 --- --- --- ---
F8C 7 4/3 --- 1/0 3/3 --- --- --- --- ---
F8D 6 5/1 5/1 --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
F8J 4 4/0 --- --- --- --- --- 1/0 1/0 1/1
F8H 2 2/0 --- --- --- 1/0 1/0 --- --- ---
Lt. David A. Kardell was the pilot of an F8D Crusader assigned to Fighter
Squadron 154 on board the USS CORAL SEA. On May 9, 1965 Kardell and Lt. Jack
Terhune were providing fighter protection for a flight of attack aircraft on a
road reconnaissance mission in North Vietnam. The target area was just inside
Thanh Hoa Province, about 10 miles southwest of Co Dinh near the Nghe An
Province border. Toward the end of the flight, the attack planes spotted a
military vehicle which they did not want to attack with bombs because it was too
near a populated area. The leader of the attack planes called for assistance in
destroying the vehicle. Lieutenant Kardell initiated a strafing attack against
the target, with Lieutenant Terhune following. His attack was right on target,
but instead of pulling out at a safe altitude, his plane was observed to
continue its dive until it impacted with the ground and exploded. It is not
known whether his plane was hit by ground fire or some other malfunction
developed during the dive. There was no radio transmission indicating that he
was experiencing trouble, nor did the pilots on the scene receive any answer to
their transmission telling Lieutenant Kardell to pull up. Lieutenant Terhune,
his wingman, witnessed the entire dive and was certain that Lieutenant Kardell
had not ejected. He searched the area thoroughly for a parachute or other signs
of survival, with negative results.
Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing,
prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.
Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified
information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive
today. Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous
circumstances, and were prepared to be wounded, killed, or captured. It
probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country
they proudly served.
On July 31, 1989, the Vietnamese returned the remains of Capt. David Kardell.
For over 20 years, they had denied knowledge of his fate, even though his
aircraft went down in an area relatively teeming with enemy movement. His family
can at last be assured that he was dead, and not among the many Americans
thought to be still alive in Southeast Asia. For many other families, however,
the wait continues.