home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1
/
swsii.zip
/
swsii
/
009
/
W386.ZIP
/
W386
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1990-09-15
|
3KB
|
62 lines
WHITT, JAMES EDWARD
Name: James Edward Whitt
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Unit: 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 01 February 1934
Home City of Record: Penfield IL
Date of Loss: 23 March 1972
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 160958N 1064659E (XC818886)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Other Personnel in Incident: James T. Jackson (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 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 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.
Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around.
Maj. James E. Whitt was the pilot and Capt. James T. Jackson the
bombardier/navigator on an F4D attached to the 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron at
Ubon Airfield, Thailand. On March 23, 1972, the two were assigned an operational
mission that would take them over Savannakhet Province, Laos.
Other pilots in the flight observed Whitt's aircraft crash in an inverted
position upon egress from the target, about 25 miles southeast of the city of
Muong Nong. Both men were briefly classified Missing in Action, during which
time Jackson was promoted to the rank of Major. On March 24, however, it was
determined that both men had died in the incident, based on the receipt of
unspecified evidence of death received by the Department of the Air Force.
Jackson and Whitt are listed among the missing because their remains were never
recovered. They are among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos. Many
of these 600 are known to have been alive on the ground following their shoot
downs. Although the Pathet Lao publicly stated on several occasions that they
held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, not one American held in Laos has
ever been released.
Laos did not participate in the Paris Peace accords ending American involvement
in the war in 1973, and no treaty has ever been signed that would free the
Americans held in Laos. Over 10,000 reports relating to Americans prisoner,
missing, or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.
since the end of the war, convincing many authorities that hundreds are still
alive. It's time we brought our men home.