OFFICIAL STATUS: MISSING

CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: After being hit, Capt. Kwortnik was seen ejecting from his aircraft t with a good parachute. A Hanoi newspaper article reported the downing of a U.S. aircraft on the same day and in the same general area, with the subsequent capture of the pilot. There are no correlated reports of Capt. Kwortnki's possible death since the incident.

REFNO: 0413 14 Apr 76

(U) CASE SUMMARY

1. On 1 August 1966 Capt. John C. Kwortnik was the pilot of an F-104 aircraft "56-0928, call sign DAGGER 02), as number two in a flight of four aircraft on an escort mission over North Vietnam. Upon entering North Vietnam one of the aircraft advised that a missile had been launched and for the flight to take evasive action. Capt. Kwortnik's aircraft was struck by a missile. The missile did not explode, however there was a burst of flames from the aircraft's midsection. The pilot ejected in the vicinity of grid coordinates (GC) WK 456 197 and a good parachute was observed, but due to the evasive action taken by the rest of the flight, no further observation was possible and no beeper signals were heard. No search and rescue operations were conducted due to the location and the high enemy threat in the area. (Ref 1)

2. On 19 August 1966 a Hanoi newspaper article related the capture of a downed American pilot on 1 August 1966 in the same general area of this incident. This could correlate to Capt. Kwortnik. (Ref 2)

3. During the existence of JCRC, the hostile threat in the area precluded any visits to or ground inspections of the sites involved in this case. This individual's name and identifying data were turned over to the Four-Party Joint Military Team with a request for any information available. No response was forthcoming. Capt. Kwortnik is currently carried in the status of Missing.

REFERENCES USED

1. RPT (U), 630 Cmbt Spt Gp, AF Form 484 w/attachments, 6 Aug 66.