GREGORY LEE ANDERSON

Det. 9 601st Photo Flt, Udorn RTAFB

Air Force - SSGT - E5 - Regular
Age: 22
Date of Birth: Aug 27, 1947
From: WHEATON, IL
Religion: PRESBYTERIAN
Marital Status: Single
Length of service:
His tour began on: Jan 28, 1970
Casualty was on: Jan 28, 1970
Place: In NORTH VIETNAM
Action: Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - NONCREW AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND. Body was not recovered
Wall: Panel 14W - Line 73

ANDERSON, GREGORY LEE

Name: Gregory Lee Anderson
Rank/Branch: E4/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 27 August 1947
Home City of Record: Wheaton IL
Date of Loss: 28 January 1970
Country of Loss:
North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 180200N 1053300E (WF582048)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: HH53B
Refno: 1552

Other Personnel in Incident: Leonard C. Leeser; William D. Pruett; William C. Shinn;
William C. Sutton (missing); Holly G. Bell (remains returned). On F105G aircraft:
Richard J. Mallon; Robert J. Panek (remains returned)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1991 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK.

REMARKS: MIG HIT - EXPLODE - SHRT BEEPR - J

SYNOPSIS: On January 28, 1970, Capt. Richard J. Mallon, pilot; and Capt. Robert J.
Panek, electronics warfare officer, were sent as escort to a reconnaissance aircraft
on a mission in North Vietnam. Their F105 aircraft was a G model, which was an
adaptation of the F105F used in the Wild Weasel program.

The F105F Wild Weasel featured radar homing and warning gear. Upon pinpointing the
radar at a missile site, the Wild Weasel attacked with Shrike missiles that homed in
on radar emissions. The F105F was a stretch-limo F105, with a longer fusilage to allow
for a second crewman. As modified for the G, the F105 launched Standard ARM rather
than the shorter range Shrike. During the period of 1965-1972, the F105 performed on
many diversified missions in Southeast Asia, including SAM attack, bombing, and as in
the case of the mission of Mallon and Panek, armed escort/diversion.

Mallon and Panek's aircraft was shot down during the mission, and they both
successfully ejected and landed safely in an enemy controlled area about 20 miles
northeast of the Mu Gia Pass on the mountainous border of North Vietnam and Laos.

A helicopter was immediately dispatched to pick up the two downed airmen. When the
aircraft was about 50 miles northwest of the location of the F105 crash,it was hit by
a MIG and exploded. The helicopter was flown by pilot Major Holly G. Bell, and carried
crewmen Capt. Leonard C. Leeser, SMSgt. William D. Pruett; SSgt. William C. Shinn;
MSgt. William C. Sutton; and passenger Sgt. Gregory L. Anderson. A short beeper signal
was heard from the helicopter, indicating that at least one person aboard may have
exited the aircraft. All six aboard were listed as Killed/Body Not Recovered. It was
thought that in the cases of Bell and Anderson that the enemy would not likely have
knowledge of their fates, but that the Vietnamese could probably account for the other
four men. (A determination that was probably made from the relative crew positions and
their proximity to the area of the MIG hit and the likelihood of their having escaped
obliteration by the explosion.)

Mallon and Panek, meanwhile, were in an area heavily infiltrated with the enemy, and
it was known that there were enemy troops in the vicinity. It was thought very probable
that the two were captured or killed by the enemy, but never known for certain, as they
did not appear in the Hanoi prison system to be held with those American POWs who were
released. The Vietnamese denied any knowledge of any of the eight men missing that day.

Some time later, family members were told by a squadron mate that his information was
that Panek and Mallon had both ejected safely. Mallon had landed on a road near the
Mu Gia Pass and was captured almost immediately. Panek landed in nearby trees and his
parachute was seen 30 minutes later, being pulled from the trees. Both men were seen
in a clearing within the hour, being surrounded, stripped to their shorts, and holding
their hands in the air. Neither Mallon nor Panek were ever classified Prisoner of War,
however, but were maintained in Missing in Action Status.

In December 1988, the Vietnamese returned a number of remains they stated were those
of American servicemen to U.S. control. The remains of Mallon, Panek, and the
helicopter pilot, Holly G. Bell were subsequently positively identified by the U.S.
Casualty Identification Laboratory in Hawaii (CILHI).

For the Panek, Mallon and Bell families, the long wait is over. They are no longer
haunted by a never-ceasing flow of reports concerning Americans alive in Southeast
Asia. For the other families, however, life goes on in agonizing suspense. And for the
hundreds of Americans said to be alive in Southeast Asia, the days pass in imprisonment
and abandonment.

Richard J. Mallon was buried in Willamette National Cemetery.

GREGORY LEE ANDERSON

Notes from The Virtual Wall: http://www.virtualwall.org/da/AndersonGL01a.htm
On 28 January 1970 an F-105G "Wild Weasel" aircraft of the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron, tail number 63-8329 and call sign SEABIRD 02, was shot down within North Vietnam. There are different stories with respect to why it was there:

Hobson's "Vietnam Air Losses" and the POW Network say the aircraft was part of a SAM supression flight protecting an RF-4C photo-recon aircraft, but
The Task Force Omega (TFO) site claims the Wild Weasel aircraft were on a dedicated SAM "hunt and destroy" mission.

In either case, the flight came under attack from the NVA air defenses and responded in kind. Hobson says SEABIRD 02 "was hit by AAA and burst into flames" while pulling off after a strike run, while TFO claims SEABIRD 02 "was struck by an air-to-air missile from a MiG-21". The POW Network is noncommittal, saying simply that SEABIRD 02 was shot down. Regardless of the exact cause, SEABIRD 02's two crewmen were forced to eject in the vicinity of the Mu Gia Pass.

Although other US aircrews spotted two good parachutes and heard two emergency beeper signals, they could not establish voice communications with the downed crewmen. Search and Rescue efforts were initiated at once, with HH-53B JOLLY GREEN rescue helicopters and supporting aircraft dispatched from Udorn and Nakon Phanom airfields in Thailand. The HH-53s were placed in a holding position about 20 miles northwest of the crash site while other aircraft attempted to locate Mallon and Panek.

Two MiG-21s, reportedly from the NVAF's 921st Flight Regiment, made a single pass at the holding area and were able to hit one of the HH-53s (serial # 66-14434, call sign JOLLY GREEN 71) with an air-to-air missile (the NVAF pilot reportedly was Vu Ngoc Dinh, a North Vietnamese ace with 6 kills). JOLLY GREEN 71 exploded and disintegrated in flight, involving its six crewmen in an apparently unsurvivable crash.

All eight men initially were classed as "Missing in Action":

F-105G 63-8329, 354th TFS:
Capt Richard J. Mallon, Portland, OR, pilot
Capt Robert J. Panek, Chicago, IL, EWO.

HH-53B 66-14434, 40th ARRS:
Major Holly G. Bell, Beaumont, TX, pilot;
Capt Leonard C. Leeser, Floral Park, NY, copilot;
SMSgt William D. Pruett, Bluefield, VA, pararescueman;
MSgt William C. Sutton, Goldsboro, NC, pararescueman;
SSgt William C. Shinn, Woodland, CA, flight engineer; and
SSgt Gregory L. Anderson, Wheaton, IL, 601st Photo Sqdn photographer

The Air Force convened a Board of Inquiry to consider the facts and circumstances surrounding the loss of JOLLY GREEN 71; in April 1970 the Board concluded that the crash was not survivable and the status of the six crewmen was changed to Killed in Action/Body not Recovered.

There are conflicting reports with respect to the SEABIRD 02 crew. Official reports indicate that neither the aircraft wreckage or the two crewmen were located, but the POW Network site includes an unofficial report attributed to another member of the 354th TFS that "both men were seen in a clearing within the hour, being surrounded [by enemy troops], stripped to their shorts, and holding their hands in the air." However, in 1992 National Security Agency radio intercepts were declassified; those intercepts included North Vietnamese radio messages to the effect that neither Mallon nor Panek survived the shootdown. In any case Mallon and Panek were not reported as captured by the North Vietnamese and the POWs released in 1973 had no knowledge of them. The Secretary of the Air Force approved Presumptive Findings of Death for the two men, Mallon on 23 September 1975 and Panek on 6 July 1978.

On 15 December 1988 a number of human remains were repatriated. Of these, 33 were ultimately identified, including the remains of Captain Richard Mallon (announced 18 Apr 1989), Captain Robert Panke (04 May 1989), and Major Holly Bell (01 Jun 1989). As of 02 Oct 2005 the remains of the other five men from JOLLY GREEN 71 have not been recovered.

Compiled from several sources, including
the POW Network
Task Force Omega
and VHPA/USAF records.

The point-of-contact for this memorial is a comrade,
Ronald House
MSgt, USAF (Retired)
rdhouse@surry.net
01 Oct 2005