ANDERSON, DENIS LEON

Remain Identified 12/20/02
DoD date - remains returned  7/10/01, ID'd 5/20/03

Name:Denis Leon Anderson
Rank/Branch:O2/US Navy
Unit:Observation Squadron 67
Date of Birth:24 October 1942
Home City of Record:Hope KS
Date of Loss:11 January 1968
Country of Loss:Laos
Loss Coordinates:171800N 1055258E (WE938123)
Status (in 1973):Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category:3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:OP2E
Refno: 0982

Other Personnel In Incident:Arthur Buck; Richard Mancini; Delbert Olson;
Michael Roberts; Gale Siow; Phillip Stevens; Donald Thoresen, Kenneth Widon
(all missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1990 with the assistance of
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 2020.

REMARKS: CRASH CNFM - WE 938123 - NO SERCH -J

SYNOPSIS: The Lockheed P2 "Neptune" was originally designed for submarine
searching, using magnetic detection gear or accoustic buoys. Besides flying
maritime reconnaissance, the aircraft served as an experimental night attack
craft in the attempt to interdict the movement of enemy truck convoys.
Another model, the OP2E, dropped electronic sensors to detect truck
movements along the supply route through Laos known as the "Ho Chi Minh
Trail".

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was used by the North Vietnamese for transporting
weapons, supplies and troops. Hundreds of American pilots were shot down
trying to stop this communist traffic to South Vietnam. Fortunately, search
and rescue teams in Vietnam were extremely successful and the recovery rate
was high.

Still there were nearly 600 who were not rescued. Many of them went down
along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the passes through the border mountains
between Laos and Vietnam. Many were alive on the ground and in radio contact
with search and rescue and other planes; some were known to have been
captured. Hanoi's communist allies in Laos, the Pathet Lao, publicly spoke
of American prisoners they held, but when peace agreements were negotiated,
Laos was not included, and not a single American was released that had been
held in Laos.

Delbert Olson was the pilot of an OP2E electronic observation aircraft
assigned to Observation Squadron 67 at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. On January
11, 1968, he and a crew of eight, including Denis Anderson, were dispatched
on an armed reconnaissance mission over Laos. The aircraft lost radio and
radar contact at 9:57 a.m. When the plane failed to return within a
reasonable time, an extensive visual, electronic and photographic search was
conducted in the area of the aircraft's last known position.

On January 23, a USAF A1 located a suspected crash site. On January 25th an
O2 from the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron photographed the site. Using
the photographs for photo interpretation, and in conjunction with visual air
reconnaissance of the site, it was determined that the wreckage was that of
Commander Olson's aircraft. The aircraft crashed on the northern side of a
sheer cliff, 150 feet below the 4583 foot summit line, about 15 kilometers
northeast of Ban Nalouangnua, Khammouane Province, Laos. It was decided that
all indications were that there were no survivors and most probably no
identifiable remains. Because of the heavy jungle canopy, irregular terrain
and the close proximity of enemy forces, no ground team was inserted to
inspect the crash site for remains. There was no indication as to the exact
cause of the crash.

All members of the crew were placed in an initial casualty status of Missing
In Action. On February 23, 1968, the crew was placed in a casualty status of
Presumed Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.

The crew of the OP2E lost on January 11, 1968 are among nearly 600 Americans
lost in Laos. Because Laos was not a party to the agreements ending the war,
no Americans held by Laos were ever released. Since the war ended, nearly
10,000 reports have convinced many experts that hundreds of Americans are
still being held captive in Southeast Asia. While the crew of the OP2E may
not be among them, one can imagine them proudly flying one more mission to
bring home the evidence needed to bring them to freedom.

======================
03/2002

CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii (NNS) -- On a January morning in 1968, a Navy
commander, three lieutenants junior grade, four petty officers second class
and a petty officer third class climbed aboard their OP-2E Neptune aircraft
and prepared for take-off. They would not live to see the sunset that day.

The nine Sailors were members of Observation Squadron (VO) 67, a squadron
that operated secretly out of an airbase in Thailand during the Vietnam War.
Their mission was to pepper the jungles of Laos with tiny sensors so
sensitive they could be used to detect slight movements, or listen in on
conversations. The sensors would be used to collect intelligence.

That January morning, three planes left the airstrip in Thailand with the
same mission, but only two safely returned to the airfield. It was reported
by another pilot that the last words of third aircraft's mission commander
were simply, "I'm going down through this hole in the clouds."

What happened next is still a mystery. Whether they came under enemy fire or
had a piece of navigation equipment malfunction is anyone's guess. What is
known is that their plane went down on the side of a cloud-covered mountain
in Laos, nearly a mile above the jungle floor, and for more than 30 years
they lay untouched -- until now.

Thirty-four years later, Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Class (AW)
Nicholas Williams and Chief Hospital Corpsman (FMF) Paula Africa are
searching for their fallen shipmates. The two are strapped in and nearly
dangling at times from the side of a mountain, only 100 feet from the
summit. They systematically search through grids on a 35-degree mud and
rock-filled slope.

"This is an outstanding mission," Williams said as he passes buckets of dirt
and chunks of aircraft wreckage to Africa. Williams is permanently assigned
to Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment, Naval Air Station Whidbey
Island, Wash., and volunteered to work as a life support technician
augmentee with Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA) based in Hawaii.

The Bagley, Wis., native said he gladly volunteered, but wasn't sure if he
could join the recovery teams that search for missing-in-action (MIA) 10
times each year in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. "My senior chief could only
pick two of us to go out on this mission," the 16-year Navy veteran recalls,
"and I was lucky enough to be selected."

The mountain was initially deemed too dangerous to attempt to excavate in
1996 when an investigation team located the crash site; but with the help of
Army mountaineers, they decided it could be done. Last year, the crash site
was excavated for the very first time; remains were repatriated and are in
the identification process. This time around, it is fresh dirt, undisturbed
remains and new pieces of the puzzle.

Williams and Africa are no strangers to the POW/MIA search-and-recovery
efforts in Southeast Asia.

"I've done one mission in Vietnam and this is my second in Laos," said
Africa. The Keuka Park, N.Y., native confesses, this mission is the most
rewarding yet. "This is my third mission overall, but its the first time
we've found remains at a site that I've been at. It's just so exciting
because you know it may bring closure to a family that's been waiting for
answers for a very long time," the chief said while taking a break from the
bucket line.

Africa is assigned as a team medic at the U.S. Army Central Identification
Laboratory in Hawaii. The lab works very closely with JTF-FA and is
responsible for positively identifying remains, either through dental
records or coordinating mitochondrial DNA testing, if the bone fragment is
large enough for the DNA-testing process.

While the team lives in a makeshift base camp on the mountain and hikes
roughly 45 minutes up to the excavation site every day, their spirits remain
high. It's the second time this site has been excavated, and this trip alone
has been a huge success.

Some of the possible remains they've found are piece of a mandible with
teeth still attached, several individual teeth, other pieces of osseous
material and the largest piece, possibly a tibia. Teeth are considered the
most sought after, because according to the anthropologists, they provide
the best chance of making a positive identification.

Some of the most powerful material to hold and touch are items from their
era. Some of the things the team recovered during this trip include wrist
watches, a .38 caliber pistol, General Motors car keys, a 35mm camera,
coins, a charred and slightly mangled pewter second class crow from a
Sailors utility cover and dog tags.

To the Sailors working on the mountain, this particular site carries a lot
of meaning and emotions. "Every mission is important," the chief insists,
"but this mission -- searching for Sailors -- it's definitely extra special
to me."

Today, there are still 399 Sailors and 242 Marines who haven't come home
from the war in Southeast Asia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000tTBB5EAO