The Cessna O1E "Bird Dog"
was used extensively in the early years of the Vietnam war as a Forward Air
Controller (FAC) because it could provide low, close visual reconnaissance and
target marking which enabled armed aircraft or ground troops to close in on the
enemy. The communists feared the O1E because they knew that opening fire on it
would expose their location and invite attack by fighters controlled by the
slowly circling Bird Dog. The enemy became bold, however, when they felt their
position was compromised and attacked the little aircraft with a vengeance in
order to lessen the accuracy of an impending strike.
On 4 March 1966, then Major Stuart M.
Andrews, pilot, and 1st Lt. John F. Conlon III, observer-in-training, comprised
the crew of an O1E aircraft that departed Qui Nhon Airfield at 1520 hours. 1st
Lt. Conlon was a fighter pilot on temporary duty to Major Andrews' unit to learn
the method of operation and procedures of becoming a Forward Air Controller.
At 1540 hours they made radio contact
with the Special Forces Camp in the area and were directed to investigate
campfires that had been reported in the vicinity of the camp. During that last
radio transmission, there was no indication of enemy activity observed or
problems with the aircraft. The Bird Dog was operating over heavily forested
mountains approximately 1 mile west of Van Canh, 11 miles northwest of Binh
Thanh, 17 miles west of the coastline, and 17 miles southwest of Qui Nhon
Airfield. There was a single-track railroad line and a primary road running side
by side that were paralleled by a river, and all three running generally in a
north-south direction, located approximately 2 miles east of the Bird Dog’s
last known position.
When the Bird Dog failed to return to
base, a ramp check of other airstrips in the region were queried to see if they
had been forced to divert to one of them. Shortly thereafter search and rescue (SAR)
efforts were initiated. During the search, no trace of either the downed
aircraft or its crew could be located in the dense jungle-covered mountains in
which they vanished. At the time the formal search was terminated Stuart Andrews
and John Conlon were immediately listed Missing in Action.
If Stuart Andrews and John Conlon died
in the loss of their aircraft, each man has a right to have his remains returned
to his family, friends and country. However, if they survived the loss, they
could well have been captured by communist forces known to be operating in that
region; and their fate, like that of other Americans who remain unaccounted for
in Southeast Asia, could be quite different.
Since the end of the Vietnam War well
over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for
have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE
American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
American military men in Vietnam were
called upon to fly and fight in many dangerous circumstances, and they were
prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them
that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
Incidental Information
