Northland POW/MIA & KIA Wall

POW MIA List and Bio’s

NVVA Memorial

 

SKARMAN, ORVAL HARRY Name: Orval Harry Skarman Rank/Branch: Sergeant/USMC Unit: Date of Birth: 11 March 1947 Home City of Record: Duluth, Mn. Loss Date: 15 January 1968 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 164902N 1065235E Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 4 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Others in Incident: None missing REMARKS: NO RETURN FROM R&R SYNOPSIS: Orval Skarman was a Marine stationed in northern South Vietnam near the demilitarized zone (DMZ). To the west, at the Sann, his fellow Marines were battling what was to become one of the most publicized battles of the war. The battle for the city of Hue was one Skarman would not be around for. Skarman was due to return from R & R and did not. What happens to him was never discovered. He just disappeared. The Marines did not doubt his honor; they knew something had happened to Skarman that prevented his return. Perhaps he was captured or killed. He was classified Missing in Action. Like nearly 2500 other Americans, his fate remains unresolved. Since the end of American involvement in Southeast Asia, nearly 6000 reports relating to Americans have been received. Nearly 1000 of these reports are eyewitness reports. Many concern American prisoners who were compelling case that Americans are still held against their will by an enemy many of us have forgotten. Whether Skarman was killed or taken captive is unknown. But, as ling as there is even one man alive, held captive in Southeast Asia, we must consider that Skarman MAY be alive. We must insist that every effort is made to bring him home.

 

RYDER, JOHN LESLIE Name: John Leslie Ryder Rank/Branch: 02/US Air Force Unit: Date of Birth: 05 July 1946 Home City of Record: Chisholm MA Date of Loss: 09 June 1970 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 1043419N 1074243E (YB785205) Status ( in 1973): Missing in Action Catergory: 4 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OIF Other Personnel in Incident: Barry W Hilbrich (missing) REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: Air Force 1Lt. John L. Ryder was the pilot of an O1F spotter aircraft on which Special Forces Operations Officer Capt. Barry W. Hilbrich was serving as observer. The two departed Pleiku Airbase on a visual reconnaissance mission on June 9, 1970 south of Ben Het in South Vietnam with an ultimate destination of Camp Dak Saeng. The aircraft was located just north of Pleiku and was in radio contact with the tactical air control center. Their next scheduled radio contact was at 1327 hours, but no further communication was established. Ryder and Hilbrich were reported missing. No Immediate visual search could be initiated because of incliment weather, and an electronic search conducted produced no trace of the aircraft of the crew. During the period of June 10-19 an extensive search was carried out extending from Pleiku north to the I Corps boundary and west of the Cambodian border, with no sightings of either aircraft or its two officers. The two were officially classified Missing In Action. It cannot be determined whether the enemy knew their fates. It was thought by the families of most of the men missing that even though they got no word of their loved one, there every chance thay had been captured. When the war ended in 1973, and 591 Americans were released in Operation Homecoming, military experts expressed their dismay that "some hundreds" of POW'S did not come home with them. Many families were devastated. John Ryder's mother went to see the Vietnamese in England in 1976. While they were very cordial to her, she says, "they repeated over and over again, they will give out no information on the missing men until the U.S.A. has rebuilt Vietnam." Reconstruction aid promised by Nixon and Kissinger to Vietnam in 1973 has not been appropriated by Congress, and no aid has been given. Since 1973, the Vietnamese continue to link the issue of aid to that of the American POW'S, although the U.S. continues to insist it is a separate humanitarian issue. Tragically, thousands of reports continue to flow in regarding the Americans still prisoner, missing or unaccounted for. Some of them specifically refer to an American by name and location, yet no solution for bringing these men home has been foune. Those of us who remember that talks between nations can be tied up indefinitely over the shape of the negotiating table wonder how long our captive servicemen will be able to endure. (1Lt. John L. Ryder graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1968).

 

SETTERQUIST, FRANCIS LESLIE NAME: Francis Leslie Setterquist Rank/Branch: 02/US Air Force Unit: 14th Tactical Recon Squadron, Udorn AFB, Thailand Date of Birth: 05 October 1941 Home City of Record: Cloquet, MN Date of Loss: 23 August 1968 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 175400N 1054900E (VE256146) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 4 Acft/Vehicle/Ground RF4C Other Personnel In Incident: Charles L. Bergevin (missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1990 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. REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: On August 23, 1968, aircraft commander, 1Lt. Francis L. Setterquist, and his navigator, 1Lt. Charles Bergiven, were assigned a low altitude night reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. Their aircraft was the reconnaissance version of the F4 Phantom - the RF4C. The target area was about 50 miles northwest of Dong Hoi in Quang Binh Province. Clearance to proceed with the mission was granted and radio-radar contact broken at approximately 8:30 p.m. No undue concern was felt until 10:59 p.m. when the aircraft was due back at Udorn and the fuel exhaustion point was reached and Setterquist's aircraft did not return to base. A later North Vietnamese news release stated that a RF4 had been shot down, but there was no mention of the two man crew. Assuming Bergevin and Setterquist were able to successfully eject and parachute safely to the ground, it is doubtfulthey would be able to evade capture due to the large concentration of enemy forces in their flight area. While loss coordinates maintained by the Air Force and Department of Defense indicate that Bergevin and Setteerquist were downed in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) records show a loss area of Thailand. No explanation is given for this discrepancy. In 1973, 591 lucky American prisoners were released from North Vietnam. Bergevin and Setterquist were not among them. Since that time, the U.S. has received nearly 10,000 reports of Americans still missing in Southeast Asia, and many authorities are convinced that hundreds of them are still alive. The U.S. has not been able to find a way to free any who may still be alive, or to obtain information of a significant number of other Americans who may have perished. Francis L. Setterquist graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, in 1966.

 

LINDSTROM, RONNIE GEORGE NAME: Ronnie George Lindstrom Rank/Branch: 02/US Air Force Unit: 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ubon AB, Thailand. Date of Birth: 14 June 1944 Home City of Record: Duluth, Mn. Date of Loss: 02 January 1970 Country of Loss: Laos Loss Coordinates: 163400N 1062700E (XD548329) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground F4D Other Personnel in Incident: John T. West (missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1990 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. REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a multitude of functions including figher-bomber and interceptor, photo and electrocic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and had a ling range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). 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. Capt. John T. West and 1Lt. Ronnie G. Linstrom were co-pilots of a F4D Phantom which departed as second aircraft in a flight of two from Ubon Airfield on January 2, 1970 on a operational mission over Laos. As the aircraft were near the Sepone River in Savannakhet Province, about 10 miles from the border of South Vietnam, West and Lindstrom's aircraft was seen to crash. The flight leader saw the aircraft descend and saw the wreckage on the ground, but observed no parachutes. No emergency radio beeper signals were heard to indicate that West and Lindstrom safely ejected from the aircraft. West and Linstrom became two of nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos during the Vietnam War. Although Pathet Lao leaders stressed that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, they stated that those captured in Laos would be released in Laos, hoping to gain a seat at the negotiating table in Pariss where the U.S. and Vietnam were negotiating an end to the war. The U.S. did not include Laos in the Paris Peace Accords, and no American held in Laos was ever released. In America's haste to leave Southeast Asia, it abandoned some of its finest men. Since the end of the war, thousands of reports have received indicating that hundreds of Americans are still held captive. In seeming disregard for Americans either held or having been murdered by the Pathet Lao, by 1989 the U.S. and the Lao had devised a working plan to provide Laos with humanitarian and economic aid leading toward ultimate full diplomatic and trade relations while Laos allows the excavation of military crash sites at sporadic intervals. In America's haste to return to Southeast Asia, we are again abandoning our men.

 

ZEMPEL, RONALD LEE NAME: Ronald Lee Zempel Rank/Branch: E3/US Navy Unit: Helicopter Support Squadron 1, De- tachment Lima, USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA 31) Date of Birth: 17 December 1944 (Township, MN) Home City of Record: Grand Rapids MI Date of Loss: South Vietnam/Over Water Loss Coordinates: 171708N 1074109E (YE855130) Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 5 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH2B Other Personnel in Incident: Edward N. Letchworth; Bernard J. Sause; Litchfield P. Huie (all missing). Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 April 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: BLOWN OFF CV - SANK - NORECV - J SYNOPSIS: The USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA 31) saw early Vietnam war action. A World War II Essex-class carrier, she was on station participating in combat action against the Communists as early as August 1964. Her aircraft carried the first Walleye missiles when they were introduced in 1967. In November 1970, the BON HOMME RICHARD completed its sixth combat deployment and was scheduled for decommissioning by mid-1971. Lt.Litchfield P. Huie was a pilot assigned to Helicopter Support Squadron 1. Detachment LIMA onboard the aircraft carrier USS BON HOMME RICHARD in 1967. On February 27 of that year, Huie launched from the aircraft carrier with his crew: LTJG Edward N. Letchworth, Airman Ronald L. Zempel, and Airman LBernard J. Sause,Jr. Airman Zempel was a aircrew survival equipmentman, and it is assumed that this crew normally conducted pilot rescue operations. As the UH2B flown by Huie was launched from the carrier, it lifted tail high, flipped and partially recovered just prior to striking the water. Upon striking the water the hepicopter broke apart on impact. A search helicopter was immediately over the scene and was later aided by two Navy destroyers. The search was terminated with negative results. Huie, Zempel, Sause and Letchworth were declared Killed/Body Not Recovered. They are listed among the missing because no bodies were found to return home. Their accident is listed as no-combat related. Since the war ended in Vietnam, refugees have flooded the world, bringing with them stories of American soldiers still held prisoner in their homeland. Many authorities now believe that hundreds were left behind as living hostages. The UH2B crew did not survive the accident on February, 1967.

Their families have accepted that they are dead. They no longer expect them to come home someday. But hundreds of families wait expectantly and in the special agony only uncertainty can bring. Hundreds of men wait in caves, cages and prison. How much longer will we allow the abandonment of our best men? It's time we brought them home.

( Remains Recovered ) CARLOCK, RALPH L.Name: Ralph L. CarlockRank/Branch: USAF, O4Unit: Date of Birth: 01 September 32Home City of Record: Des Plaines, IL Date of Loss: 04 March 67Country of Loss: LaosLoss Coordinates: 192859N 1035958E Status (in 1973): Missing in ActionCategory: 2Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F-105D Other Personnel In Incident: Source: Compiled by THE P.O.W. NETWORK 02 February 93 from the following published sources - POW/MIA's -- Report of the Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs United States Senate -- January 13, 1993. "The Senate Select Committee staff has prepared case summaries for the priority cases that the Administration is now investigating. These provide the facts about each case, describe the circumstances under which the individual was lost, and detail the information learned since the date of loss. Information in the case summaries is limited to information from casualty files, does not include any judgments by Committee staff, and attempts to relate essential facts. The Committee acknowledges that POW/MIAs' primary next-of- kin know their family members' cases in more comprehensive detail than summarized here and recognizes the limitations that the report format imposes on these summaries."On March 4, 1967, Major Carlock departed Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in an F-105D on an armed reconnaissance mission over Laos. While attacking a truck, the flight leader saw Major Carlock's aircraft hit by enemy fire in the lower center of the fuselage and began to burn. The flight leader radioed Major Carlock to bail out but did not receive a response. The aircraft crashed in the area of Nong Het, Xieng Khouang Province, just inside Laos from Nghe An Province, North Vietnam, and with no evidence Major Carlock had parachuted from the aircraft prior to the crash. Forty minutes later there was a weak beeper from the vicinity of the crash site but it was believed to be a result of fire at the crash site and was not pilot activated. Major Carlock was declared missing in action. On March 5, 1967, the pro-communist Patriotic Neutralist radio station news service reported its forces in Long Met District, Vientiane Province, had shot down a U.S. F-105 aircraft and captured the pilot. U.S. intelligence concluded at the time that this report may have been partially derived from the loss of Major Carlock's aircraft which crashed in Xieng Khouang Province and not in Vientiane Province and the report was not believed to represent a truthful statement that the pilot had been captured. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on the precise fate of Major Carlock. After Operation Homecoming Major Carlock was declared dead/body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death. In June 1986, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center received information from a source who described the crash of an aircraft similar to an F-105 in Xieng Khouang Province which had occurred in either 1971 of 1972. Two airmen reportedly died in the crash. In September 1988, JCRC received another report from another source describing a wartime F-105 crash near Nong Het. The pilot reportedly bailed out at low altitude and died when he hit the ground. The body was buried by local villagers accompanied by Vietnamese advisory personnel. These reports were placed in Major Carlock's file due to the correlation to his loss location and the possibility they may have correlated to his loss incident. In October 1990, JCRC received another report from another source describing the October 1967 shoot down of a U.S. aircraft near Nong Het. The pilot bailed out and the source was told the pilot was captured by North Vietnamese Army forces. Due to a number of U.S. aircraft losses in the area of this reported shoot down, some of which involved unaccounted for airmen, no specific correlation could be made to a particular missing airman and the report was placed in the files of airmen unaccounted for in the None Het area.

Name                           City/State Pnl/Lne   

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KIA

Scott Douglas Baldwin          Duluth, MN    23W/041

John Lawrence III Banks        Duluth, MN    06E/059

Lee Bjarne Buan                Duluth, MN    20E/055

Ronald John Coleman            Duluth, MN    02W/091

Bruce Alvin Couillard          Duluth, MN    45E/038              

James Leo Dieryck              Duluth, MN    02E/063                  

David A Disrud                 Duluth, MN    42W/068              

Dale Francis Gagne             Duluth, MN    23E/058              

Robert Alan Haney              Duluth, MN    18W/011        

William Dennis Hanssen         Duluth, MN    59E/021            

William John Haupert           Duluth, MN    54W/036              

Stephen Thomas Hennessy        Duluth, MN    08W/100                    

Gary William Hoglund           Duluth, MN    20E/016                  

Michael Ray James              Duluth, MN    14W/026                  

Rodney Alan Jannetta           Duluth, MN    21W/008                  

Bruce Mark Johnson             Duluth, MN    08E/072              

Gregory Scott Karger           Duluth, MN    05W/059          

Dodd Clifton Keller            Duluth, MN    04E/130            

John Alan Kuefner              Duluth, MN    19W/040                    

Jay Leslie Lieberman           Duluth, MN    53E/003                

Ronnie George Lindstrom        Duluth, MN    15W/119                  

Roger Lee Maki                 Duluth, MN    05W/129                

Larry Frank Markus             Duluth, MN    20E/119            

Ronald James Matel             Duluth, MN    22W/009

Michael Edward McKeever        Duluth, MN    40E/075

James Michael Norman           Duluth, MN    30W/079            

Glen Everett Oak               Duluth, MN    23E/088            

Dennis Wayne Pawlowicz         Duluth, MN    18E/063          

Dennis Irwin Pedersen          Duluth, MN    61E/001                

Jack Walter Peterson           Duluth, MN    22E/055          

Dale Harold Ranthum            Duluth, MN    36W/053              

Lee Milton Rowell              Duluth, MN    41E/002          

William David Schmitz          Duluth, MN    32E/081

Orval Harry Skarman            Duluth, MN    34E/056

Robert William Sorensen        Duluth, MN    33E/042            

Raymond John Stevens           Duluth, MN    41W/037

Derris Lee Uutela              Duluth, MN    60W/023          

Richard Jerome Vedder          Duluth, MN    16E/103

Norman Wayne Vincent           Duluth, MN    13E/112            

Joe Allen Wittkop              Duluth, MN    48E/022          

Bradford Dwain Wright          Duluth, MN    42W/034

Robert Leroy Anders          Grand Rapids,MN 33W/036                      

Ronald Monte Fraser          Grand Rapids,MN 44W/056

Herbert R Anderson             Virginia, MN  34E/057              

Gust Callivas                  Virginia, MN  03E/106

Rickie Norman Gunderson        Virginia, MN  32W/059        

John Carl Zager                Virginia, MN  06W/006                      

Lawrence Herbert Golberg       Cloquet, MN   09E/112

Allen Isaac Johnson            Cloquet, MN   02E/029

Francis Lesli Setterquist      Cloquet, MN   47W/054                

Gust J Sharlow                 Cloquet, MN   14E/018

Earl Merrill Deneen            Int.Falls,MN  26W/061

Ricard Thomas Bunnis           Int.Falls,MN 23E/069

Anton Jr Proszek               Int.Falls,MN  18E/104              

Steven Owen Schultz            Int.Falls,MN  09E/063

Jerry Allen Longtine           Int.Falls,MN  68W/005          

John Marvin Stenberg           Int.Falls,MN  24W/113          

James William Jr Nichols       Int.Falls,MN  41E/042              

Richard Joseph White           Int.Falls,MN  19W/110          

Woodrow Johnsen Jr Ewald       Int.Falls,MN  18W/068                  

Barney Kaatz                   Int.Falls,MN  01E/008

Roger William Larcher          Eveleth MN    33E/038            

Daniel Thomas O'Laughlin       Eveleth MN    25E/034          

Kenneth Leroy Bauer            Hibbing MN    04E/080                

Vernon Leroy Leino             Hibbing MN    20E/062          

Charles Lee Maxie              Hibbing MN    10E/020                

James Arne Niemi               Hibbing MN    14W/113

Kerry Lamont Taylor            Hibbing MN    14W/056

Jack Michael Zaitz             Hibbing MN    38W/063

Craig Stanley Muhich           Aurora MN     57W/020

Joseph Robert Nehl             Hoyt Lakes MN 08W/060                      

Dale Frank Olmstead            Hoyt Lakes MN 17W/103

Timothy George Robinson        Hoyt Lakes MN 51E/001                      

Richard Albert Burgess         Tower MN      13W/026                

Nicholas C Stefanich           Tower MN      07W/026                

James Victor Backlund          Britt, MN     42E/013                

Raymond Lee Jarvi              Embarrass, MN 29E/059                

Thomas Carl Kolstad            Parkville, MN 11E/098

John Leslie Ryder              Chisholm, MN  09W/035                  

Thomas Robert Serrano        Kelly Lake, MN  12E/091                

Bruce Carlyle Anderson         Birchdale, MN 20W/004          

Melvin Wallace Anderson      Little Fork, MN 12E/131            

Lawrence Joseph Bronczyk       Gilbert, MN   58E/031                      

William Sylvester De Boer      Ray, MN       35W/007              

Douglas Thomas Manka           Ray, MN       01W/091

Larry Dean McKenzie            Mizpah, MN    23W/056                    

Jim Edward Oestriech           Cromwell, MN  17E/068                

Robert Lee Goad                Carlton, MN   33W/001

William George Saarela         Carlton, MN   01W/064

Merrel Gerald Sarvela        Moose Lake, MN 43W/066            

Kenneth Glen Westerberg        Barnum, MN    03W/049              

Richard Robert Antonovich      Calumet, MN   56W/021                      

Norris Lee Brenden           Deer River, MN 37E/032                  

Lauren Dale Huerd              Bovey, MN     50E/005              

Patrick Leo Kortesmaki       Silver Bay, MN 48W/027                      

Dennis Carol Smith           Deer River, MN 32E/097          

Michael Arthur Smoger      Two Harbors, MN  69E/002            

Merlin Raye Allen              Bayfield, WI  22E/086

James William Hessing          Bayfield, WI  10W/085                    

Melvin Willard Gunderson       Cable, WI     19E/071            

Peter Paul Polak               Cable, WI     32W/072

Raymond Thomas Heyne           Mason, WI     58E/009

Robert Axel Jr Jardine         Port Wing, WI 12W/021                

Richard Arne Koski             Pengilly, MN  43E/057              

William Joseph Anderson        Superior, WI  37E/032            

David Lenox Banks              Superior, WI  26W/017        

John Michael Bozinski          Superior, WI  19W/043

Franklin D DeFenbaugh          Superior, WI  06W/090

Roy L Edelstein                Superior, WI  48W/012            

Robert Dale Erickson           Superior, WI  14E/021                

Ronald Duane Golden            Superior, WI  47W/007                

James John Gunderson           Superior, WI  16W/080                      

Victor Bert Meyers             Superior, WI  49W/036                    

William Anthony Patterson      Superior, WI  58W/016          

Donald Jon Severson            Superior, WI  08W/044                

John Charles Shellum           Superior, WI  26W/004                

Howard Dale Strouse            Superior, WI  11E/054

Dennis Russel Gustafson        Wentworth, WI 26W/111                    

Keith Brian Janke              Ashland, WI   23W/009                

Jacob Francis Stepan           Missoula, MT  16E/055                      

James Maynard Jensen           Denver, CO    44E/059                      

Steven Glenn Abbott            Mpls., MN     58E/029              

Philip Lawrence Jewell         Mpls., MN     16W/106                      

Francis David Leo Johnson      Mpls., Mn     51W/041                

Michael John Ulicsni           Mpls., MN     2E/014

Steven Carl Seeman             New Ulm, MN   10W/029

Duwayne Soulier                Milwaukee, WI 19E/008        

James John Shereck             Bagley, MN    04W/022                        

Ernest Nick Kroll              Portland, OR  26E/079            

Ralph Laurence Carlock       Des Plaines,IL  16E/016                    

Roger Alan Lakin               Derby, KS     12W/043            

Ronald Lee Zempel          Grand Rapids, MI 15E/111                      

Thomas Lewis Becker        Janesville, WI   39W/025                    

Monte Thomas Sloan             St Cloud, MN  13E/030                      

Verne De Witt III Johnson      Ogden, UT     28E/082            

Ronald Allen Grenier          Brill, WI 50W/050