KIBBEY, RICHARD ABBOT
Remains Identified, announced 08/22/18 by family
| Name: Richard Abbot Kibbey Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force Unit: Date of Birth: 02 June 1934 Home City of Record: Delmar NY Date of Loss: 06 February 1967 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 174600N 1054800E (WE847643) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: HH3E Refno: 0591 Other Personnel in Incident: Donald J. Hall; Patrick H. Wood; Lucius L. Heiskell (all missing) |
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Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 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 in 2020.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 6, 1967, Capt. Lucius L. Heiskell was a pilot and was
flying an O1F aircraft on a visual reconnaissance mission with another O1F
when his aircraft was struck by enemy fire forcing him to bail out. His
parachute was followed to the ground and voice contact with him indicated
that immediate rescue was not feasible due to enemy troops in the area.
Beeper signals continued and later an HH3E helicopter flown by Maj. Patrick
H. Wood was dispatched to recover Heiskell. He was at this time located near
the border of Laos and North Vietnam about 5 miles from the Mu Gia Pass.
Wood's crew that day included Capt. Richard A. Kibbey and SSgt. Donald J.
Hall.
Heiskell was hoisted aboard, but as the helicopter was departing the area,
it was hit by ground fire causing it to explode and crash. The helicopter
pararescueman survived and was treated for burns. The remainder of the crew,
Hall, Kibbey and Wood, as well as Heiskell, were not located.
When 591 Americans were released in 1973, the crew of the HH3E was not among
them. They were numbered with nearly 3000 Americans who remained missing,
prisoner, or unaccounted for at the end of the war.
Since American involvement in Vietnam ended in 1975, over 10,000 reports
relating to Americans missing, prisoner, or otherwise unaccounted for in
Indochina have been received by the U.S. Government. Many officials, having
examined this largely classified information, have reluctantly concluded
that many Americans are still alive today, held captive by our long-ago
enemy.
Whether Kibbey and the crew of the HH3E survived the crash of their aircraft
to be captured is not known. It is not known if they might be among those
thought to be still alive today. What is certain, however, is that as long
as even one American remains alive, held against his will, we owe him our
very best efforts to bring him to freedom.
Richard A. Kibbey was promoted to the rank of Colonel during the period he
was maintained Missing in Action.
--------------------------------
From: "Steve Whitton"
Hi,
Thanks
for your good work.
Attached is my research
Steve Whitton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://www.loc.gov/item/powmia/pw072806/
North Vietnam, pre-1975: TENTATIVE IDENTIFICATION OF MAJOR RICHARD A. KIBBEY, MIA
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Airman's dog tags returned 50 years
after he was shot down
ORLANDO, Fla. — Air Force Col. Richard A.
Kibbey's dog tags have been returned to his
family some 50 years after his helicopter was
shot down over ...
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Florida man discovers POW/MIA
bracelet contained name of airman whose dog tags reunited
with ...
11/22/17
Sons receive recovered Dog Tags of father 50
years after he was lost and declared missing in
action while flying a rescue mission in Vietnam.
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From: Duus, Kristen L SFC USARMY DPAA EC (US) <kristen.l.duus.mil@mail.mil>
Dear Sir/Ma'am,
Air Force Col. Richard A Kibbey, killed in the Vietnam War, was accounted for on August 6.
On Feb. 6, 1967, Kibbey was a member of Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, when he, along with three other service members, were crew members of an HH-3E helicopter on a rescue and recovery mission over North Vietnam. After rescuing the pilot of a downed aircraft, Kibbey's helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire, resulting in an internal explosion and crash. Kibbey was subsequently reported missing in action. His status was later amended to deceased.
DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam for their partnership in this mission, as well as National Leagues of Families for their stalwart persistence in accounting for missing service personnel.
Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.
Kibbey's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For more information about DPAA, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call 703-699-1420/1169.
Kibbey's personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTbdEAG
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From:
Duus, Kristen L SFC USARMY DPAA EC (USA) <kristen.l.duus.mil@mail.mil>
Dear Editor,
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Air Force Col. Richard A. Kibbey, 32, of Delmar, New York, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for on Aug. 6, 2018.
On Feb. 6, 1967, Kibbey was a member of Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, when he, along with three other service members, were crew members of an HH-3E helicopter on a rescue and recovery mission over North Vietnam. After rescuing the pilot of a downed aircraft, Kibbey's helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire, resulting in an internal explosion and crash. Kibbey was subsequently reported missing in action. His status was later amended to deceased.
In March 2017, a Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) team excavated a crash site associated with Kibbey's loss, near Bai Dinh Hamlet, Dan Hoa Village, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, and recovered possible osseous remains and material evidence. On March 31, 2017, a Joint Forensic Review team examined the possible remains in Da Nang and recommended them for repatriation to the United States. The remains were sent to DPAA in April 2017. A VNOSMP team continued excavation of the site between February and April 2018, recovering additional remains. These remains were sent to DPAA on April 16, 2018 and consolidated with the remains received in 2017.
To identify Kibbey's remains, DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, dental analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence.
The support from the government and people of Vietnam, and Stony Beach, was vital to the success of this recovery.
Today there are 1,592 American servicemen and civilians who are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Kibbey's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, known as the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For funeral details and family contact information, contact the Air Force Casualty Office at (800) 561-5501.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.
Kibbey's personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTbdEAG
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SFC Kristen Duus Chief of External Communications Public Affairs NCOIC- D.C. Directorate Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 2300 Defense Pentagon Washington, D.C 20301-2300 (703) 699-1420
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Delmar Vietnam veteran will be interred at Arlington National |
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01/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTbdEAG
On August 6, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
identified the remains of Colonel Richard Abbott Kibbey, missing
from the Vietnam War.
Colonel Kibbey, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New York,
served with the 38th Air Rescue Squadron. On February 6, 1967,
he was the copilot of an HH-3E Jolly Green Giant (serial number
65-12779) on a search and rescue mission to recover the pilot of
an aircraft downed over North Vietnam. During the mission, the
Jolly Green Giant was hit by enemy ground fire and crashed, and
Colonel Kibbey was killed in the incident. Due to the hostile
presence in the area, Col Kibbey's remains were not recovered
after the crash. Efforts to locate the crash site immediately
following the war were unsuccessful. In 2017, a joint U.S./
Vietnamese investigative team excavated a crash site near Dan
Hoa Village and recovered a set of remains that were eventually
identified as those of Col Kibbey.
Colonel Kibbey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at
the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.
