Sunday, July 12, 2009

Adopt a POW/MIA


Name: John Dewey Killen III
Rank/Branch: E3/USMC
Unit: A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
Date of Birth: 23 August 1948
Home City of Record: Des Moines IA
Date of Loss: 30 June 1967
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 161349N 1074301E (YC896956)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Other Personnel In Incident: John House; Michael Judd; Merlin Allen; Glyn
Runnels (all still missing)

SYNOPSIS: Capt. John A. House was the pilot of an CH46A helicopter carrying
personnel assigned to Company A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine
Division near the city of Phu Bai, South Vietnam on June 30, 1967.

Among the passengers onboard the aircraft were members of Company A, LCpl.
Merlin R. Allen, LCpl. John D. Killen, and Cpl. Glyn L. Runnels. Also
onboard was the company's hospital corpsman, Petty Officer Third Class
Michael B. Judd.

The aircraft was hit by small arms fire, exploded and crashed. Although some
of the personnel aboard survived, House, Allen, Judd, and Killen were never
found, nor were remains recovered that could be identified as theirs. The
four men were listed as killed in action, body not recovered.

Nearly 2500 Americans did not return from Southeast Asia at the end of the
war. Some, like the pilot and passengers of the CH46, are probably dead and
will never come home. Since the end of the war, however, thousands of
refugee reports have been received that indicate hundreds of Americans are
still alive, held captive.

It is a matter of pride in the Marine Corps that one's comrades are never
left on the field of battle to fall into the hands of the enemy. One can
imagine that these men, had they survived, would willingly go one more
mission for the return of those who still await rescue. Although some of the
personnel aboard survived, House was never found, nor were remains recovered
that could be identified as his. He was listed as killed in action, body not
recovered.

If you are interested in adopting a POW/MIA go to this site: http://ojc.org/

10 comments:

Baron's Life said...

Steph,
I'm so very touched that you have posted this... I have so many Vietnam Vet friends and their stories are sometimes horrific..in as much as the way they were treated when they returned home was ...shall we say...less than equitable. These VETS were hurt bad and are still hurting and I know a few of them personally... God Bless you always for this.

Ann said...

this is awesome, Steph. I'm so glad you did this, and that you posted it, as well.

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Kudos girl! Good for you for doing this.

Edvous said...

Just saw this and want to say thanks a whole bunch for posting, as a Viet vet this means a lot. Again, thanks

B.B. said...

Steph....you, my friend, simply ROCK! Thank you for always sharing information like this with us. I admire you and your relentless patriotism.

Unknown said...

You Steph are inspiring. You walk the talk lady.

Baron's Life said...

Only two people have ever effectively given their lives for you.

Jesus Christ and The American G.I.

One died for your sins, the other died to give you freedom.

Lady R (Di) said...

You lead by example! Thank you for posting this. Sometimes, people are at a loss as to what to do to help. You just showed 'em!

mq01 said...

thanks Stephanie, i'm going to look into this

Anonymous said...

I would like to thank you for posting this. This man was my uncle. Although I never had the honor of meeting him, I wasn't born until 75 I have heard all sorts of stories about him. I also have a photo of him taken in 1966 right before he left for Vietnam of him in his uniform if you would like. Email me at thetownsleys@yahoo.com and I will send you his photo to post.
Michael Townsley

My mother was his sister.