OFFICIAL STATUS: MISSING

CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: Maj. Hauer was seen to eject with a good parachute. Flight members heard a good beeper signal. Two North Vietnamese sources reported the capture of a pilot in the area of Maj. Hauer's loss. There is no evidence to indicate. Maj. Hauer's death.

REFNO: 0914 20 Apr 76

CASE SUMMARY

1. (U) On 18 November 1967 Maj. Leslie J. Hauer departed Korat RTAFB at 0625 hours local in the lead F105D (#62-4283), in a flight of four aircraft on a strike mission over North Vietnam. In the vicinity of grid coordinates (GC) WJ 656 626 while enroute to the target area, Maj. Hauer's aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). Four seconds after being hit, Maj. Hauer was seen to eject from his aircraft and in a good parachute. A beeper signal was heard by the other members of the flight while his parachute was still in the air, however, the flight lost sight of the parachute when it descended into undercast and the beeper signals ceased. No search effort was made due to the location. (Ref 1)

2. (C) A North Vietnamese rallier reported in December 1970 that in a morning in late August 1967 he had seen a burning U.S.- aircraft and had seen the pilot bail out in the vicinity of (GC) WJ 633 653. Later that same day in Vinh Yen City, North Vietnam, (vicinity of (GC) WJ 620 560), he saw a U.S. POW from that crashed aircraft. A soldier guarding the U.S. POW stated he was being taken to Hanoi. (Ref 2)

3. (C) An NVA POW stated in August 1972 that in July 1967, vicinity of (GC) WJ 660 850, he saw an F105 shot down and had seen its pilot in captivity. He gave a description of the pilot that closely matches Maj. Hauer. The source stated that the pilot was held in the area of the crash site until nightfall and then was driven away in a truck to an undisclosed location. (Ref 3)

4. (U) 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 Four-Party Joint Military Team with a request for any information available. No response was forthcoming. Maj. Hauer is currently carried in the status of Missing.

REFERENCES USED

1. RPT (U), 388CSG AF Form 484 w/attachments, undated.

2. RPT (c), FQ 1021st USAF FAS, 18 Dec 70.

3. RPT (C), U.S. Element, CIMIC, USMACV, IR 6-029-0292-72 16 Aug 72.