Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1/swsii.zip/swsii/009/N355.ZIP/N355.TXT

Text File | 1990-06-04 | 6KB | 105 lines

NESS, PATRICK LAWRENCE
Remains Returned 10 April 1986

Name: Patrick Lawrence Ness
Rank/Branch: O1/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 142, USS CONSTELLATION (CVA 64)
Date of Birth: 22 November 1941
Home City of Record: Minneapolis MN
Date of Loss: 23 August 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210400N 1060400E (XJ108297)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4B

Other Personnel in Incident: Thomas W. Sitek (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 1990 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The USS CONSTELLATION provided air power to the U.S. effort in Vietnam
early in the war, having participated in strikes against Loc Chao and Hon Gai in
North Vietnam during August 1964. One of the first American POWs of the war, and
certainly one of the most well-known, LTJG Everett Alverez, launched from her
decks and was captured during this series of strikes in 1964. The CONSTELLATION
was large and carried a full range of aircraft. Fighters from her air wing,
CVW-14, earned the carrier the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 1968 during a
particularly intense period of air attacks. VF-96, a premier fighter squadron
awarded the Clifton Trophy two straight years, flew from the CONSTELLATION in
October 1971. During this period, two of her pilots, LT Randall H. Cunningham
and LTJG William "Willie" Driscoll became the first American aces of the Vietnam
War, having shot down five Russian-made MiG enemy aircraft. The CONSTELLATION
remained on station throughout most of the war.

One of the aircraft launched from the decks of the CONSTELLATION was the F4
Phantom. 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.

The contrast between fighter and attack squadrons in Vietnam was not as
striking as in previous wars. Fighter pilots have long held the attention of
aviation enthusiasts and the American public, a fondness dating back to the days
of the dramatic exploits of the Red Baron in World War I. But attack pilots,
except for brief moments of public glory--the Korean War film, "The Bridges at
Toko-Ri," is one notable example--have been relegated to plodding unnoticed in
the aviation trenches to conduct an unglamorized and relatively under-publicized
air-to-mud business.

Vietnam, however, was an air-to-ground war. There were a considerable number of
duels in the skies over North Vietnam and the exploits of MiG killers have been
well documented. But those aerial duels were just a thin slice of the air-war
pie. The bulk of naval air activity consisted of various attack aircraft
dropping bombs and firing rockets and bullets on the fields, factories and
bridges of North Vietnam. While on Dixie Station off the coast of South Vietnam,
aviators turned their attention to forward air control (FAC), close-air support,
long-range strikes and general division tactics. Fighter pilots, not wanting
their talents to go to waste, also flew air-to-mud.

LCDR Thomas W. Sitek was a fighter pilot assigned to Fighter Squadron 142
onboard the USS CONSTELLATION. On August 23, 1967, he and his Radar Intercept
Officer (RIO), Ensign Patrick L. Ness, launched from the carrier on a flak
suppression/strike mission against a rail yard ten miles east of Hanoi.

During their initial approach to the target, several surface-to-air missiles
(SAM) were launched against the strike force. Other aircraft saw Sitek's
aircraft take a direct hit by a SAM, catch fire and fall to the ground. No one
saw any ejections or parachutes. Search and rescue efforts were not feasible
since the location was deep inside enemy territory. The two men were presumed to
have died in the crash of the aircraft.

Sitek was a veteran pilot. Ness, however, was on his first tour of Vietnam.
Married shortly before he shipped out, Ness had joined the Navy in July 1965 and
learned to fly. Before he was shot down on August 23, he had been shot down
twice and rescued. The third time, he was not so lucky.

On April 10, 1986, the Vietnamese "discovered" the remains of Patrick Ness and
returned them to U.S. control. According to Ness' family, the remains of Sitek
were located also, but no public announcement has been made (as of June 1990)
that the remains have been positively identified as being those of Sitek.

The Ness family, aware that misidentifications had been made in the past,
considered carefully their acceptance of the group of human bones offered to
them as the mortal remains of Patrick Ness. Ness was finally buried at Fort
Snelling National Cemetery in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where his family
still resides.

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. These reports are the source of serious distress to many returned
American prisoners. They had a code that no one could honorably return unless
all of the prisoners returned. Not only that code of honor, but the honor of our
country is at stake as long as even one man remains unjustly held. It's time we
brought our men home.