Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the Air Force, Washington, October 16, 1961 page 1. Sanitized copy. National Archives KOREAN Conflict Casualty File (KCCF) 1950-1954.
MIAs in Incident; Vanwey, William Horace; Pincus, Herbert; Nye, Glenn Carlyle; Bell, William John
03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" -- is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been
held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War
but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27,
1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department
of Defense.
The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the
"sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the
archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were
repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese
radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and
all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still
lists them as "unaccounted for".
Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The
Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background.
Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA
Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United
States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published
information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
William Vanwey is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is noted as having died "while missing" by the National Archive.
03/13/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
Mid afternoon on October 7, 1952, a B-26 Invader (tail number 44-35407A, call sign "Pacify 71") with a crew of four took off from Pusan West Air Base. Pacify 71 was the lead aircraft in flight of six B-26s. The briefed mission was daylight bombing operation near the village of Singye. About 30 seconds before the "bombs away," the invader was hit by flak creating a hole in the left wing and a fire behind the engine. After salvoing its payload, the aircraft veered to the left and descended into mountainous terrain. The aircraft crashed northwest of Ichon, North Korea, exploding on impact. Although no parachutes were observed, witnesses temporally lost sight of the aircraft as it was leaving the formation. All four members of the aircraft’s crew remain unaccounted for.
Airman Second Class William Horace Vanwey, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Oklahoma, was a member of the 34th Bombardment Squadron, 17th Bombardment Wing. He was the gunner aboard "Pacify 71" when it went down, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered following the incident. Today, A2C Vanwey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.