OFFICIAL STATUS: MISSING

CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: Capt. Ammon was observed to eject by his wingman. A captured NVA soldier reported seeing an incident resulting in the capture of a pilot which correlated very well with the circumstances of Capt. Ammon's loss. There are no correlated reports of the death of Capt. Ammon since the incident.

REFNO: 0466 20 Apr 76

(C) CASE SUMMARY

1. (U) On 21 September 1966 Capt. Glendon L. Ammon was the pilot of the lead F105D aircraft (#62-4371, call sign WILDCAT 01), in a flight of four on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam, with a specific target of a railroad bridge. The flight was inbound to the target at 3000 feet when, just prior to the pop-up point, Capt. Ammon's aircraft appeared to be hit by anti-aircraft artillery fire. His aircraft yawed violently to the right and the right wing began to disintegrate As the right wing came off, the wingman saw Capt. Ammon's canopy come off and the pilot eject, with his parachute starting to deploy. At that time all members of the flight were taking evasive maneuvers and lost sight of Capt. Ammon. Although a search and rescue effort was requested by the flight, it was not carried out because of the enemy anti-aircraft artillery saturation. (Ref 1)

2. (C) A captured NVA soldier later said that he saw basically the same sequence of events happening except that he observed a fully deployed parachute and saw the pilot land at (GC) XJ 152 465. The aircraft crashed in the estimated vicinity of (GC) XJ 137 462. He did not see the pilot captured, but around noon he saw an American pilot and five guards cross the DAP CAU bridge toward his location. The pilot did not appear to be wounded or mistreated but seemed afraid. With the exception of eye color, all information correlates to Capt. Ammon. (Ref 2)

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

REFERENCES USED

1. RPT (0), 355XSG, AF Form 484 w/statements, 24 Sep 66.

2. RPT (C), Det 6, 6499 SAG, -,-R 1516-0626-69, 5 Jun 69.