O'HARA, ROBERT CHARLES "CHUCK"
Remains ID announced 11/06/02
Name: Robert Charles "Chuck" O'Hara
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: 282nd Aviation Company, 212th Aviation Battalion, 16th Aviation Group,
1st Aviation Brigade
Date of Birth: 18 May 1949 (Cedar Rapids IA)
Home City of Record: Lost Nation IA
Date of Loss: 06 February 1969
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 162750N 1070238E (YD82212)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Other Personnel In Incident: Charles I. Stanley; Ronald D. Briggs; David E.
Padgett; Eugene F. Christiansen; Donald E. Parsons (all missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 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 20200.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 6, 1969, CW2 Charles I. Stanley, pilot; 1Lt. David E.
Padgett, aircraft commander; SP5 Robert C. O'Hara, crew chief; PFC Eugene F.
Christiansen, door gunner; LtCol. Donald E. Parsons, 1Lt. Ronald D. Briggs,
and Maj. Vu Vanh Phao, ARVN, all passengers, were aboard a UH1H (serial
#67-17499) on a resupply mission in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.
While in route from Landing Zone Vandergrift to LZ Tornado, 1Lt. Padget
contacted the LZ Tornado radio operator at about 1100 hours and stated that
due to poor weather conditions and poor visibility, the flight was returning
to LZ Vandergrift.
At that time, the radio operator at LZ Tornado could hear the helicopter
northeast of his location, which sounded as if it were heading in a
northerly direction. When the aircraft failed to return to LZ Vandergrift, a
coordinated search and rescue operation was initiated and continued for
seven consecutive days, finding nothing.
However, on the morning of February 7, Crown, an airborne control aircraft,
reported receiving radio beeper signals several times from the general
vicinity of where Lt. Padgett's aircraft was last reported. The beeper
signals were estimated to emanate from that general direction. The source of
the signals was never determined.
The area in which the aircraft was estimated to go down has been dubbed
"Antenna Valley" and is located west of Cam Lo and on the backside of Camp
Carrol. The area was occupied by NVA regulars, and was never cleared.
On-site search was not possible at that time.
On September 4, 1969, an ARVN source reported that in August he had seen LTC
Parsons, Maj. Phao, LT Briggs, and four other unidentified American POWs in
a hospital in Laos. The U.S. Army determined that the four unidentified
Americans could possibly be Christiansen, Stanley, Padgett and O'Hara.
On July 5, 1972, an NVA rallier reported seeing two caucasian POWs in the
vicinity of a T-35 commo-liaison station on the 499th infiltration corridor
in Laos. The two POWs were being taken to North Vietnam. This information
was tentatively correlated to LT Padgett and PCF Christiansen.
In September 1970, LTC Parson's wife and friends identified him in a North
Vietnamese film of a protestant service in a POW environment. CW2 Stanley's
mother made a tentative identification of her son in the same film.
In December 1979, an alleged "gun-runner", Sean O'Toolis reported that he
had the fingerprints of Robert O'Hara, and that O'Hara was at that time
being held south of Hanoi near Bong Song. O'Toolis' information was
summarily dismissed by the U.S. Government and he was thoroughly
discredited, thus it is not clear how much credence can be given to his
information.
The reports relating to the crew of the UH1H that went down on February 6,
1969 are typical of the over 10,000 reports received by the U.S. Government
relating to Americans prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast
Asia. After reviewing "several million documents" and conducting "over
250,000 interviews" the USG has been unable to state categorically that
Americans are still alive.
Many authorities, however, including a former Director of Defense
Intelligence Agency, have reluctantly concluded that there are many
Americans still held against their will in Southeast Asia.
Families who receive these reports are especially tortured. With no means to
prove or disprove them, the tormen is indescribable. When they turn to their
government, they are usually met with the "mindset to debunk" described by
one high official in Congressional hearings. When they approach Vietnam,
they are told the person they seek is unknown to them. Yet the reports
continue to flow in, month after month, year after year. And year after
year, families wait.
And year after year, American servicemen wait -- wondering if their country
will ever bring them home.
==========================================================
[r1372.97]
PROJECT X
SUMMARY SELECTION RATIONALE
NAMES: BRIGGS, Ronald D., lLT, USA
CHRISTIANSEN, Eugene F., PFC, USA
O'HARA, Robert C.,, SP5, USA
PARSONS, Donald E., LTC, USA
PADGETT,, David E., lLT, USA
STANLEY, Charles I., CW2, USA
OFFICIAL STATUS: BRIGGS: DEAD, BODY NOT RECOVERED
CHRISTIANSEN: MISSING
O'HARA: MISSING
PARSONS: DEAD, BODY NOT RECOVERED
PADGETT: MISSING
STANLEY: MISSING
CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED
RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: All of these individuals were lost in one
helicopter incident. There are two correlated intelligence reports
describing four of them, and two of the individuals were identified by
family and friends in a North Vietnamese film. There have been no
confirmations of death on any of these men since the incident date.
REFNO: 1372 20 Apr 76
(U) CASE SUMMARY
1. On 6 February 1969 CW2 Charles I. Stanley, pilot, 1Lt. David E. Padgett,
aircraft commander, LTC Donald E. Parsons, lLT Ronald D. Briggs, and Maj.
Vu Vann Phao (ARVN), passengers, SP5 Robert C. O'Hara, crewchief, and PFC
Eugene F. Christiansen, gunner, were aboard a UH1H helicopter, (
#67-17499), on a resupply mission in South Vietnam. At about 1100 hours,
while enroute from Landing Zone ((LZ) Vandgrift to LZ Tornado, 1LT. Padgett
contacted the LZ Tornado radio operator, and stated that due to poor
weather conditions and Door visibility the flight was returning to LZ
Vandgrift. At that time the radio operator at LZ Torando could hear the
helicopter northeast of his location, which sounded as though it was
heading- in a northerly direction. When the aircraft failed to return to LZ
Vandgrift a coordinated search and rescue operation was initiated and
continued for a period of seven consecutive days, finding nothing. However,
on the morning, of 7 February, R-Crown, (an airborne control aircraft),
reported receiving radio beeper signals several times from the -general
vicinity of where lLT Padgett's aircraft was last reported. The beeper
signals were estimated to eminate from a point-- near grid coordinates (GC)
YD 170 300. (The incident coordinates are listed in JCRC files as YD 182
212). (Ref 1 & 3)
2. On 4 September 1969 an ARVN source reported that in August he had seen
LTC Parsons, Maj. Phao, LT. Briggs, and four other unidentified American
POW's at a hospital in Laos. (The four unidentified POW's possibly were PFC
Christiansen, CW2 Stanley, 1LT. Padgett and SP5 O'Hara). (Ref 2)
3. On 5 July 1972 an NVA rallier reported seeing two Caucasian POW's in the
vicinity of a T-35 Commo-Liaison station on the 599th Infiltration Corridor
in Laos (UTM coordinates unknown). The two POW's were being taker to North
Vietnam. (Information in this report possibly correlates -To LT. Padgett
and PFC Christiansen). (Ref 3)
4. LTC Parsons' spouse and friends identified him in a North Vietnamese
film of a Protestant Service in September 1970. CW2 Stanley's mother made a
tentative identification of her son in the same film. (Ref 3)
5. During the existence of JCRC, the limited information available
precluded any efforts toward the resolution of this case. These
individuals' names and identifying data were turned over to the Four-Party
Joint Military Team with a request for any information available. No
response was forthcoming. lLT Briggs and LTC Parsons are currently carried
in the presumptive status of Dead, Body Not Recovered. CW2 Stanley, lLT
Padgett, PFC Christiansen and SP5 O'Hara are currently carried in the
status of Missing.
REFERENCES USED
1. RPT (U), HQ USARV W w/inclosures, 7 Apr 69.
2. RPT- (U), HQ 3rd Army (Information from Mrs Patrick A. Parsons) 15 Sep
70.
3. RPT (U), MIA SEA.- Page 16, 31 Mar 73.
ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUALS
1. Ronald D. Briggs 1372-0-01
2. Eugene F. Christiansen 1372-0-02
3. Robert C. O'Hara 1372-0-03
4. Donald E. Parsons 1372-0-04
5. David E. Padgett 1372-0-05
6. Charles I. Stanley 1372-0-06
* National Alliance of Families Home Page
==================
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense
No. 571-02
(703) 697-5131(media)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2002
(703) 428-0711(public/industry)
VIETNAM MIAS IDENTIFIED
The remains of three U.S. soldiers previously unaccounted for from the war
in Vietnam have been identified and will be buried as a group at Arlington
National Cemetery on Friday, Nov. 8.
They are Capt. Ronald D. Briggs, Philadelphia, Sgt. 1st Class Robert
C. O'Hara, Lost Nation, Iowa; and Maj. David E. Padgett, Washington, Ind.
On Feb. 6, 1969, Padgett and O'Hara were crewmembers on a UH-1H Huey
helicopter, flying Briggs and three other soldiers on an emergency resupply
mission in South Vietnam. While enroute from a landing zone in the Quang
Tri province, the crew radioed that the flight was returning due to poor
weather conditions and reduced visibility. When the flight did not return,
a search and rescue mission was initiated, but was unsuccessful in locating
the missing aircraft.
In December 1993, a joint U.S. and Vietnam investigation team, led by the
Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, interviewed several local informants in
Quang Tri province. One claimed to possess the remains of a missing
serviceman. Two months later, the remains were repatriated to U.S.
officials and submitted to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory
Hawaii (CILHI) for analysis.
On July 16, 1995, another joint U.S. and Vietnam team interviewed a
witness who gave information about a helicopter crash site in the Huong Hoa
District. After investigating the site, the team recovered aircraft debris,
personal artifacts, and human remains that corresponded to the missing
aircraft and its crewmembers. This additional evidence was also transported
to CILHI.
From July 1996 to October 1996, additional remains, personal artifacts, and
aircraft debris were recovered from the crash site. Some of the remains
were submitted by CILHI to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory
for mitochondrial DNA analysis. By analyzing dental records and comparing
the DNA of skeletal fragments found at the crash site to that of maternal
family members, CILHI scientists were able to make identifications of the
missing servicemen. The remains of three others from the same incident were
previously identified.
====================
News: Local / Quad-City Iowa Times
Last Updated: 11:39 pm, Wednesday, November 6th, 2002
Lost Nation MIA honored 33 years after fatal crash
By Thomas Geyer
On Feb. 6, 1969, the helicopter in which Army Sgt. Robert Charles "Chuck"
O'Hara, of Lost Nation, was flying with six other soldiers crashed in bad
weather in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.....
Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000qGXUbEA
On October 12, 2000, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA)
identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Robert Charles
O'Hara, missing from the Vietnam War.
Sergeant First Class O'Hara entered the U.S. Army from Iowa and
was a member of the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company, 212nd
Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade.
On February 6, 1969, he was the crew chief aboard a UH-1H
Iroquois (tail number 67-17499, call sign "Black Cat 28") on a
resupply mission to Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Bad
weather caused the aircraft to turn back and at some point it
crashed, killing SFC O'Hara. Search and rescue efforts failed to
locate the crash site, and SFC O'Hara's remains could not be
recovered at the time. Between 1990 and 1995, U.S. investigators
interviewed witnesses and reviewed artifacts that eventually led
to the crash site in Quang Tri Province. In 1995 and 1996,
investigators revisited the crash site and recovered human
remains and personal artifacts, and were eventually able to
identify SFC O'Hara from these remains.
Sergeant First Class O'Hara is memorialized in 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.