PETERSON, Mark A., 1LT, USAF

OFFICIAL STATUS: MORRIS - MISSING

PETERSON - MISSING

CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: Both crewmen ejected and were observed to land near each other. After a brief period Lt. Peterson stated that be was going to be captured. There are indications that one of the two crewmen (probably Capt. Morris), was killed in the incident.

REFNO: 1981 21 Apr. 76

(C) CASE SUMMARY

1. (U) At 1735 hours on 27 January 1973 lLt Mark A. Peterson, pilot, and Capt. George W. Morris, Jr., co-pilot, were crewmen of an OV10 aircraft, (#68-3806, call sign NAIL 89), controlling a search and rescue mission for the crewmen of an F4 aircraft which had been downed at 1715 hours near the Cua Viet River in South Vietnam. Crewmen of the other aircraft in the area saw the Peterson-Morris aircraft hit by an SA-7 missile and observed both officers eject. They saw two good parachutes, which landed near each other, and heard two good beeper signals. After a brief period they heard Lt. Peterson state: "This is NAIL 89'er. I'm going to be captured.! I'm going to be captured!" He was asked to repeat this transmission and did so. There was no further contact with him and contact was never established with Capt. Morris. The last known location was in the vicinity of grid coordinates YD 328 655. (Ref 1)

2. (C) One member of the F4 crew was captured. He was released during Operation Homecoming and reported he saw the OV10 hit and the crewmen eject. As they were coming down in their parachutes, an estimated 30 North Vietnamese troops opened fire on them with AK-47 rifle fire. He believed they were both killed. Also, the North Vietnamese in Hanoi made a great production of him being the last US POW of the war. (Ref 2)

3. (U) A South Vietnamese source reported that on 30 January 1973 he observed an OV10 plane shot down. He later observed a US P0W being escorted by five North Vietnamese personnel. He heard this POW was to be taken to the Trieu Phong District Unit and that a second US pilot was killed in action at the crash site. (Ref 3)

4. (C) A North Vietnamese source reported hearing from a local guerrilla member of the Go Hai Village Unit that an OV10 aircraft had been shot down by a single missile (type unknown) of an anti-aircraft unit in the Cua Viet area. The US pilot ejected but his parachute did not open and he was killed instantly on impact in a ricefield. In the meantime, the plane crashed about two kilometers southeast of the site where the pilot landed. The source did not visit the site and could not provide a description of the pilot's remains. (Ref 4)

5. (C) A South Vietnamese soldier who escaped from Communist detention reported observing an OV10 hit by anti-aircraft ground fire about three kilometers from his location. The pilots ejected from the aircraft. The wind blew both parachutes in a northeast direction. A little later a group of five guerrillas escorted a US POW to the source's location. An escort told the source the POW was being taken to the security section of the Trieu Phong District Unit. A few days after this incident the source heard from a friend that one of the OV10 pilots had been killed and buried in the center of a ricefield. (Ref 5)

6. (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. These individuals' names 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. Morris and lLt Peterson are carried in the status of Missing.

REFERENCES USED

1. RPT (FOUO), 56CSG, AF Form 484 w/statements, Feb 73.

2. MSG (C) 13AF JHPC 27190OZ Mar 73.

3. RPT (U), USDAO IIR 6 918 5878 74.7 11 May 74.

4. RPT (C), USDAO IIR 6 918 6811 74 28 -Aug 74.

5. RPT (C), USDAO IIR 6 91-8 6'055 74, 9 Aug 74.

ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUALS

1. George W. MORRIS Jr. 1981-1-01

2. Mark A. Peterson 1981-1-02