OFFICIAL STATUS: MISSING

CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: Major Tatum successfully ejected from his aircraft and was observed to land in some trees. His radio beeper signal was heard after his landing, and his parachute was pulled out of the trees, leading witnesses to believe he may have been captured. There are no reports of his death.

REFNO: 0453 19 Apr 76

(U) CASE SUMMARY

1. On 16 September 1966 Maj. Lawrence B. Tatum was the pilot of the lead AlE aircraft, (#52-132675, call sign HOBO 27), in a flight of two on a combat mission over North Vietnam. Maj. Tatum made two rocket attacks against his target, but on the third pass his aircraft was hit,, causing a fire at the aircraft centerline. The Forward Air Controller (FAC) of the mission radioed Maj. Tatum of the fire and advised him to jettison his belly fuel tank. After the tank was dropped, the fire went out briefly, but then reignited. The FAC then saw Maj. Tatum eject from the burning aircraft and descend with a good parachute to land in a wooded area in the vicinity of grid coordinates XD 961 776, about five meters from a trail, The wingman of the flight did not see any of this sequence of events but did report having heard a beeper signal about two minutes after Maj. Tatum, reportedly was on the ground. The FAC reported that he could not see Maj. Tatum on the ground, but could see his parachute in the trees. He reported that there were many people in the area and that intense ground fire was encountered. A few minutes later the parachute was pulled down from the trees. The FAC stated that he attempted to keep the Vietnamese on the ground away from, that area by firing at them with his M16 rifle. During this time a napalm strike was also put into the area in an effort to keep the enemy away. The FAC reported that Maj. Tatum appeared to have been captured soon after his parachute landing. (Ref 1)

2. During the existence of JCRC, the hostile threat in the area precluded any visits to or ground inspections of the site involved in this case. Maj. Tatum'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. Maj. Tatum is currently carried in the status of Missing.

REFERENCE USED

1. RPT (U), 633CSG (BDPMP) AF Form, 484 w/statements 13 Sep 66.