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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.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase VII Campaign (1970-71)
From Month/Year
July / 1970
To Month/Year
June / 1971
Description This campaign was from 1 Jul 1970 to 30 June 1971. Fighting continued in Cambodia during early February before and after South Vietnam began its U.S.-aided drive in Laos, Lam Son 719, the most significant operation during this campaign.
Lam Son 719 was conducted out of I Corps by Vietnamese troops with US fire and air support. Their object was to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and to destroy enemy bases at Techepone, Laos. The operation consisted of four phases. In Phases I, called Operation DEWEY CANYON II, the 1st Brigade, US 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) occupied the Khe Sanh area and cleared Route No. 9 up to the Laotian border. In the meantime, the US 101st Airborne Division conducted diversionary operations in the A Shau Valley. The US 45th Engineer Group had the mission of repairing Route No. 9 up to the Laotian border. This lasted from 30 January to 7 February 1971. During Phase II US forces continued to provide fire support, helilift, and tactical and strategic air support for ARVN units. This phase was 8 February to March 1971. Phase III ran from March to 16 March 1971; Phase IV was the withdrawal phase.
Faced with mounting losses, Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Lam, the commander of the invasion forces, decided to cut short the operation and ordered a withdrawal.
Lam Son 719, though it was less than a signal success, forestalled a Communist offensive in the spring of 1971. Enemy units and replacements enroute south were diverted to the scene of the action.