GUILLET, ANDRE ROLAND

Name: Andre Roland Guillet
Rank/Branch: E3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 17 December 1943
Home City of Record: Waterbury CT
Date of Loss: 18 May 1966
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 171500N 1061000E (XE256083)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: O1E
Refno: 0343

Other Personnel In Incident: Lee D. Harley (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 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 2022.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: Capt Lee D. Harley was the pilot and AM1 Andre Guillet was serving
as observer aboard an O1E aircraft which departed on May 18, 1966 for a
mission over Laos. While in Laos, west of the demilitarized zone and just
south of the famed Ban Karai Pass, the little spotter plane was shot down.
Air Force officials told the families that the plane burst into flames on
impact and the crew could not be recovered.

If this were all there was to the story, critics wonder, why did the Air
Force not declare the two men Killed/Body Not Recovered? A reasonable
assumption is that there exists no certainty that the two men were killed
when their plane went down, and the possibility exists that they could have
successfully bailed out before impact. Regardless, it is strongly suspected
that the Lao or the North Vietnamese know the fates of the crew of the O1E.

Guillet and Harley are two of nearly 600 Americans who were lost in Laos
during American involvement in the Vietnam War. U.S. presence in Laos was in
violation of Laos' neutrality guaranteed at Geneva by agreement of several
nations. But because the Vietnamese (and also the Chinese) were operating in
Laos as well, it was convenient for all parties concerned to "look the other
way." As a consequence, it would not have been appropriate to recognize the
communist government of Laos, the Pathet Lao, in a treaty to end the war -
since we were not at war with Laos - and the American prisoners the Pathet
Lao stated they held were abandoned.

As reports continue mount concerning Americans still missing in Southeast
Asia, many authorities are convinced that hundreds of them are still alive
today. One must wonder, are Guillet and Harley among them? If so, what must
they be thinking of the country they proudly served?

Andre R. Guillet was promoted to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant and Lee
D. Harley to the rank of Major during the period they were maintained
missing.

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TogetherWeServed - SMSgt Andre Roland Guillet

https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd...
Name: Andre Roland Guillet. Rank/Branch: Senior Master Sergeant/US Air Force. 
Unit: 606th Air Commando Squadron Nakhon Phanom Airfield, Thailand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Hope survives  Sunday, May 29, 2016
Remains of lost Waterbury airman may have been found
 WINSTED — She waited for this moment for 18,239 days — just shy of 50 years. 

That is how long her little brother was missing after his plane was shot down on 

a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War. 
 

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Subject: Andre R. Guillet Air Commando, Combat Controller by his sister, Doris Maitland
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:58:14 -0500
From: Kathleen Shemeley <pow.mia.ctfmn@gmail.com>
To: Kathleen Shemeley <pow.mia.ctfmn@gmail.com>

 
 Andre R. Guillet.pdf

 
Hi folks, 

Doris and David Maitland gave us permission to scan the attached  booklet written by
Doris in 2007 about her brother, USAF SMS Andre R. Guillet, who has been missing
in action since 05/18/1966 in  Laos.  You'll meet the young Andre, learn of
his Air Force service, how his family has sought information from
the government,  how they have educated others about our POW/MIAs,
and how the family has kept his memory alive in our hearts.
 
It is a wonderful template for families to use to tell the story of their loved one for family
members, friends, and future generations. 
 
With love and admiration of Andre and his family,
Kathy, Bill, and Kat

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

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTauEAG

SMSGT ANDRE ROLAND GUILLET

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On May 18, 1966, an 0-1F Bird Dog (tail number 57-2877, call sign "Gombey 19") departed Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base on a two-plane visual reconnaissance mission over Laos. Once airborne, "Gombey 19" was called in for a forward air control mission and directed air strikes for approximately two hours. "Gombey19 " was radioing back assessments of air strike damage when its transmission abruptly stopped. The other aircraft on the mission flew to its last known position and saw burning wreckage below. The enemy fire prevented further observation, and the second aircraft returned to base. A search and rescue effort hampered by intense enemy ground fire.

Airman Second Class (A2C) Andre Roland Guillet, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Connecticut, served with the 606th Air Commando Squadron, 1st Air Commando Wing. He was an observer aboard "Gombey 19" when the aircraft was shot down on May 18, 1966, and his remains were not recovered. While carried in a missing in action status, the U.S. Air Force promoted A2C to the rank of Master Sergeant (MSgt). On November 19, 1974, the U.S. Air Force posthumously promoted MSgt Guillet to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt). Today, SMSgt Guillet 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 Active Pursuit.

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.

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