DILLENDER, WILLIAM EDWARD
Remains IDd 08/30/2005
Name: William Edward Dillender
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: Company B, 101st Aviation Battalion,
101st Airborne Division
Date of Birth: 06 November 1951 (Waltham MA)
Home City of Record: Naples FL
Date of Loss: 20 March 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 163544N 1962513E (XD515352)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Refno: 1731
Other Personnel in Incident: John J. Chubb; Jack L. Barker; John F. Dugan
(all missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 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 2006.
REMARKS: EXPLODED FIRE NO SEARCH - J
SYNOPSIS: LAM SON 719 was a large offensive operation against NVA
communications lines in Laos. The operation called for ARVN troops to drive
west from Khe Sanh, cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, seize Tchpone and return to
Vietnam. The ARVN would provide and command the ground forces, while U.S.
Army and Air Force would furnish avaition airlift and supporting firepower.
The 101st Airborne Division commanded all U.S. Army aviation units in direct
support of the operation. Most of the first part of the operation, begun
January 30, 1971, was called Operation DEWEY CANYON II, and was conducted by
U.S. ground forces in Vietnam.
The ARVN were halfway on February 11 and positioned for the attack across
the Laotian border. On 8 February, ARVN began to push into Laos. The NVA
reacted fiercely, but the ARVN held its positions supported by U.S.
airstrikes and resupply runs by Army helicopters.
President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered a helicopter assault on Tchepone, and the
abandoned village was seized March 6. Two weeks of hard combat were
necessary for the ARVN task force to fight its way back to Vietnam. Towards
the end of the removal, a helicopter from Company B, 101st Aviation
Battalion was lost.
Flown by Maj. Jack L. Barker, the UH1H (serial #66-16185) was attempting to
land to extract ARVN troops about 20 miles west of Khe Sanh. During the
attempt, the aircraft came under enemy fire and was seen to spin, explode,
and catch fire, then to break up in the air. No signs of survivors were
seen. The crew aboard the aircraft were PCF John J. Chubb, Sgt. William E.
Dillender, and Capt. John F. Dugan. Because of the presence of enemy forces
in the area, no subsequent search could be made for survivors.
Losses were heavy in Lam Son 719. The ARVN lost almost 50% of their force.
U.S. aviation units lost 168 helicopters; another 618 were damaged.
Fifty-five aircrewmen were killed, 178 wounded, and 34 missing in action in
the entire operation, lasting until April 6, 1971.
In all, nearly 600 Americans were lost in Laos, but because we did not
negotiate with the Pathet Lao, no Americans held in Laos were released.
Since that time, over 10,000 reports have been received relating to
Americans prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Although
many authorities are convinced that hundreds remain alive, the U.S. has not
secured the release of a single man.
=======================================

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/11/43292229.shtml?Element_ID=43292229
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Remains of 101st Airborne paratrooper elude author
By LEON ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

Helicopter was shot down in Laotian jungle in 1971
In the fall of 1969, Bill and Ann Dillender said goodbye to their son,
Billy, who quit school to join the Army.
It was their final goodbye.
On March 20, 1971, the 19-year-old private, who spent several years of his
childhood in Cookeville and whose parents live there today, was a crew chief
aboard a UH-1H Huey helicopter that was blown from the sky by a deadly shot
from a North Vietnamese missile. The aircraft was part of what was, at the
time, the largest airborne assault ever attempted. The goal was to close the
Ho Chi Minh Trail, a supply route for the North Vietnamese.
The 101st Airborne Division soldier was declared dead. His body, and the
bodies of other crew members, were eventually consumed by the thick jungle
of Laos.
But the lanky kid with a mischievous smile wasn't forgotten, not by his
parents, nor by the American government.
In 2001, a team of civilian and military anthropologists entered Laos,
hoping to find the remains of Dillender and his crewmates, two officers and
another enlisted man. Accompanying the scientific recovery team was Earl
Swift, a reporter for the Virginian Pilot-Ledger, who has written a book
about the expedition.
His book, Where They Lay, details the excruciatingly demanding work of
reclaiming lost remains after three decades, and is interwoven with
portraits of Dillender and the three other servicemen on that chopper who
died far from home.
Unfortunately for the Dillender family, the final resting place of their son
will probably never be found.
''We were really hoping they would find something. I just need a closing,
especially at times,'' Ann Dillender said.
Pvt. Dillender and his crewmates are but four of about 2,500 American
soldiers whose place of final rest is a jungle in Southeast Asia. In the
1980s the U.S. government began sending teams of scientists to the area to
look for remains. Supervising the work is the Central Identification
Laboratory in Hawaii, one of the largest forensic facilities in the world.
In addition to the physical nature of the work, it's dangerous. Before Swift
left for his dig, seven recovery workers had died in the line of duty. Among
the dangers: vipers, monsoons and land mines.
The work is also expensive, up to $100 million a year, paid for by the
Department of Defense.
But for the families of the lost, the work is invaluable. Recently the
result of such anthropological efforts was in the news when remains believed
to be those of Charlie Dean, late brother of former Vermont governor and
presidential candidate Howard Dean, were located. Charlie Dean went missing
while on a backpacking trip in Laos in 1974.
In Dillender's case, however, the expedition was a crapshoot from the
beginning. ''Imagine mountains drawn by a kid,'' Swift said, describing the
terrain. ''They look like gumdrops, no sloping foothills, just sheer rises.
''It's a place that in many ways is still in the Iron Age,'' said Swift, who
has made three trips to Southeast Asia during his research.
''There's no electricity, no running water, no phone and no modern
amenities. The people there eat what they can grow and what they can kill
with a crossbow. It's a mean existence.''
According to the author, the team spent 25 days trying to find the remains
of those on the same chopper with Dillender. ''It was immensely frustrating.
Everybody wanted to find something,'' he said.
No one more than Ann Dillender in Cookeville.
''Billy was a good son, full of life. He was always up to something, but not
in a bad way, just kind of always looking to liven things up,'' she
recalled.
''When he joined the Army, we thought it would be good for him. I don't know
if he knew what he was getting into.''
The mother said she enjoyed the long talks with Swift, recalling events from
her son's past so that the book could adequately portray him. ''I think it's
a great book. I really enjoyed it,'' she added.
All the events of the war in Iraq have brought back many bitter memories of
times when waiting for news, any news, was unbearable, Dillender said.
Surprisingly, the recent decision of a grandson, son of Billy's younger
brother, has helped her cope. ''He went into the Army. He's got a few more
weeks in training,'' she said. ''He said he did it to honor his uncle.''
Book signing
Earl Swift, author of Where They Lay, will sign copies of his book at
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 4007 Hillsboro Road, at 6 p.m. Monday.
Leon Alligood covers Tennessee for The Tennessean. Contact him at
615-259-8279 or by e-mail at lalligood@tennessean.com.
===================================
National League, Jan 11, 2006
ARMY PERSONNEL ANNOUNCED AS ACCOUNTED FOR: The Defense POW/MIA Office
announced December 19th that as a result of US-Lao cooperation, all four
Americans listed as KIA/BNR March 20, 1971 are now accounted for.  The four
Army helicopter crew members were MAJ Jack L. Barker of GA, CAPT John F.
Dugan of NJ, SP4 William E. Dillender of FL and PFC John J. Chubb of CA.
Recovery date was December 5, 2002, ID date was August 30, 2005, and all
four families recently accepted the results.  To each family, the League
expresses support, with gratitude that they have final answers.  The
accounting for these four Americans brings to 1,808 the number of US
personnel listed by DoD as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War
- 1,382 in Vietnam, 364 in Laos, 55 in Cambodia and 7 in PRC territorial
waters.  Over 90% of the 1,808 were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Laos and
Cambodia then under Vietnamese control.
------------------
NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense

No. 136-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb 14, 2006 Media Contact: (703)697-5131
Public/Industry(703)428-0711

Army MIA Soldiers from Vietnam War Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced
today that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing in action since the
Vietnam War, have been identified.  They will be returned to their families
for burial with full military honors.
They are: Maj. Jack L. Barker of Waycross, Ga.; Capt. John F. Dugan of
Roselle, N.J.; Sgt. William E. Dillender of Naples, Fla.; and Pfc. John J.
Chubb of Gardena, Calif.  All were from the Army's 101st Airborne Division.
Chubb will be buried in Inglewood, Calif., on Feb. 18.  Barker, Dugan and
Dillender will be buried on April 12 in Arlington National Cemetery near
Washington. D.C.
On March 20, 1971, Barker and Dugan were piloting a UH-1H Huey helicopter
with Dillender and Chubb on board.  The aircraft was participating in a
troop extraction mission in the Savannakhet Province of Laos.  As the
helicopter approached the landing zone, it was hit by heavy enemy ground
fire. It exploded in the air and there were no survivors.  Continued enemy
activity in the area prevented any recovery attempts.
A refugee in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, showed an identification tag of Pfc.
Chubb and a medallion to a U.S. interviewer in 1986. The medallion was
reportedly recovered near the same general location from an F-105 crash
site.  However, the location and the aircraft type did not correlate with
the missing aircraft and soldiers.
Between 1988 and 2001, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic teams,
led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted four
investigations and three excavations for these soldiers without positive
results.  An investigation team surveyed three crash sites in 2002 after
interviewing local villagers from the province.  The team recovered a
fragment of human tooth and some crew-related artifacts from one of the
crash sites.
In October and November 2004, another joint investigation team excavated the
crash site and recovered additional human remains and crew-related evidence.
The wreckage was of a UH-1H helicopter, and contained insignia worn by
members of the 101st Airborne Division.
The remains included nine fragments of teeth that the forensic
anthropologists at JPAC were able to match with detailed information from
medical and dental records.
From the Vietnam War, 1,807 Americans are still unaccounted-for with 364 of
those from Laos.  Another 839 have been accounted-for in Southeast Asia with
208 of those from losses in Laos.
==================
16 February, 2006
Family gets relief 35 years after Naples High grad's death
By Amie Parnes
For 30 years, Dan Dillender could assume only the worst.
He could assume that his older brother, Billy, a sergeant in the Vietnam
War, died in the jungles of Laos after his helicopter was pelted with
bullets and then disappeared in an explosion, followed by a fog of smoke.
Now, Dillender doesn't have to assume. He knows.
This week, U.S. Department of Defense officials announced they had
identified the remains of Dillender and three other servicemen who have been
missing in action since that Saturday in March 1971.
For the Dillender family, all that's left of Billy- once a tall,
brown-haired and brown-eyed boy who attended Naples High School - is a
wisdom tooth.
But after spending three decades waiting and wondering, with no definitive
end and few answers, the finding of the tooth in Southeast Asia, brought the
family a sense of relief in recent days.
It's exceptional, said Dillender, a former Naples resident who now lives in
Arizona. What they're going to bury is a handful. It's a tooth. But it's
amazing that they found it.
Born in Waltham, Mass., Billy attended Naples High School, where he took
ROTC training. Enlisting in November 1969, he joined the 101st Airborne at
Fort Bragg, N.C., and graduated from parachute school at Fort Benning, Ga.
Dillender went overseas in July 1970, according to the 1971 Naples Daily
News account of his being listed killed in action.
Military specialists and civilian anthropologists had spent the past 20
years combing through the Laotian jungle where, amid enemy fire, the chopper
shredded after falling to the ground.
With each trip, the anthropologists knew they were zeroing in on the
soldiers' resting place.
Then, in early 2005, there was a breakthrough.
The group discovered a sock. Then, a shoe. And then, scraps of a flight
book.
Finally, on another mission later that year, they unearthed Billy's tooth.
His big brother was always adventurous, Dillender said.
Even though he was known to jump off a cliff and swim across a mile-long
lake, Billy never made a splash at Naples Senior High School back in the
late 1960s, his brother said.
He grew bored with his teenage life in slow-paced, swampy, Naples, where he
worked at a gas station and was known to get in a little bit of trouble,
Dillender said.
I think he was maybe a little out of his element, he said. He wanted to get
away from it. He wanted to straighten himself out. The son of a World War II
Air Force crewman who staunchly believed in God, country, and family, Billy
joined the Army junior ROTC program.
Shortly thereafter, craving something new in life, he enlisted in the army,
before finishing high school. A short time after reporting for duty at Fort
Jackson in the fall of 1969, he was shipped off to Vietnam. His father was
proud, Dillender remembers. His mother was scared.
But both parents knew Billy wasn't the kind of soldier who would sit back.
They knew their son would be in the thick of the war. For the next year, the
letters poured in from Vietnam. And then one day, they stopped.
We didn't get word right away, said Dillender-who was 14 years old at the
time. My parents started to worry. Sometime later, Dillender remembers a
green car rolled up to their home and two men dressed in uniform got out of
the car.
It was devastating, he said.
Still, the most devastating part of the whole thing was the unknown.
For years, no one mentioned the incident, afraid of pricking an unhealed
wound.
It was the hardest for my mother, Dillender said. My mom was holding out for
all possibilities. Since the finding of the tooth, however, Dillender's
mother, Mattie, who resides in Tennessee, talks about it more than ever, he
said.
His big brother Billy is home now, on U.S. soil.
In April, the family will gather at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia
to bury the only tangible link to their son and brother.
Billy deserves a proper burial, Dillender said.
He was a guy who did what he thought was right, what he thought was best for
the people around him, he said.
He had guts.
Staff writer Brigid O"Malley contributed to this report.
c2006 Naples Daily News