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Aircraft and crew lost on an morning mission over the DMZ aboard a JU-21A (#67-18062). Details: On March 4, 1971 Capt. Michael W. Marker, pilot of a JU21-A twin engine turbo prop (serial number 67-18065, call sign Vanguard 216) departed Phu Bai, Republic of Vietnam on an early morning combat support mission in the vicinity of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Crew:
Capt. Michael W. Marker, pilot
WO1 Harold L. Algaard, co-pilot
SP5 Rodney D. Osborne, technical observer
SP5 Richard J. Hentz, crewman
SP6 John T. Strawn, crewman
The pilot and crew were assigned to the 138th Aviation Company, 224th Aviation Battalion, 509th RR (Radio Research) Group, a cover designation for their real unit in USASA."Radio Research" was actually a secret cover designation for certain units operating under the direction of the U.S. Army Security Agency Group, Vietnam. All missions of this agency were highly classified. The 224th Aviation Battalion was referred to as an aviation battalion in Vietnam for security reasons only. The JU-21A aircrew's actual unit designation was 138th ASA Company, 224th ASA Battalion (Aviation), U.S. Army Security Agency Group, Vietnam.
Two hours into the mission, at 0840 hours, radio and radar communication was lost. When the aircraft failed to return from the mission at the appointed time, search efforts were initiated and continued for 2 days over a 300 mile area, but proved negative.
A reliable source indicated that an aerial detonation in the vicinity of the DMZ occurred on March 4, 1971 at the same flight altitude and pattern flown by Vanguard 216. Hostile threat in thearea precluded any visits to the suspected area of the crash. No trace was ever found of the aircraft or the crew. Source: http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/a/a355.htm
WO1 Algaard was married.A family memorial stone is in the King-Landstad Cemetery, Fosston, Minnesota.
