SKINNER, OWEN GEORGE

Name: Owen George Skinner
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Unit: 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Airport, Thailand
Date of Birth: 18 November 1933
Home City of Record: Lima OH
Date of Loss: 12 December 1970
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 163900N 1061900E (XD410417)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: O2A
Refno: 1683

Other Personnel In Incident: Thomas A. Duckett (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 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 2022.

Update 12/04/2005:

Pete was in AvCad nav school with me at Harlingen '55, later flew in
F101B backseat with me in 445 FIS Wurtsmith '63-'66, was my
across-the-street neighbor - Pete was a nav, always a nav - that makes
Thos Allan Ducket the pilot in this loss -

A S Warinner Col AF 54-80
AvCad 55-17c   Pilot class 59D

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: 1Lt. Thomas A. Duckett and Maj. Owen G. Skinner comprised
the crew of an O2A spotter aircraft which departed NKP Airport on December
12, 1970 on a Forward Air Control (FAC) mission over Laos. (NOTE: While
Defense Department records indicate that Duckett was the observer, and
Skinner the pilot, U.S. Air Force records indicate that Duckett was the
pilot. The military occupational specialties (MOS) of both men are
classified, and it cannot be determined which was the pilot and which was
the observer.)

The Cessna O2 was a stopgap replacement aircraft for the O1 until the North
American OV10 arrived in Vietnam. The Air Force operated 346 of the aircraft.
The A model flown by Duckett and Skinner served the function of marking targets
with marking rockets. It was a small, poorly armored aircraft which normally
flew unarmed.

While the aircraft was over Savannakhet Province, Laos, about 6 miles east
southeast of the city of Sepone, it was shot down. After the aircraft crashed,
radio contact was made with 1Lt. Duckett. The limited information available
publicly does not reveal whether Skinner also survived the crash of the
aircraft, nor does it indicate that any efforts were made to recover the crew.
Family members report, however, that the following day, search aircraft located
the aircraft intact on the ground in a small clearing. There was no sign of fire
damage to the aircraft, and parachutes were seen in the area of the crash. For
the following two days electronic emergency radio beepers were head, but could
never be pinpointed as they were shifting frequently. Hostile ground fire and
activity prevented a ground search. Both men were declared Missing in Action.

Perhaps because the war in Laos was "secret", little information was available
to the families of Skinner and Duckett regarding their crash and fates. Most of
the information was classified and unavailable to them. Like many POW/MIA
families, they resorted to filing numerous requests of Government agencies
through the Freedom of Information Act. One such classified report received by
the Duckett family described an American prisoner fitting Duckett's description
who was identified in Laos in February 1974.

Like Duckett and Skinner, many Americans downed in Laos were known to be alive
after the crash of their aircraft, or when they were last seen on the ground. In
all, there are nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos. Even though the Pathet Lao
stated they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, they maintained that,
after the war, they would be released only from Laos.

The U.S. Government, in negotiating the end of American involvement in the
second Indochina War, did not negotiate with the communist Pathet Lao, a
governmental faction they did not officially recognize. As a result, not one of
the nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos was ever released.

Intelligence and refugee reports from the region continue to mount that there
are still Americans in captivity in Southeast Asia. Americans who fought for
their country. Americans who should be home. If there is only ONE remaining, we
owe him our very best efforts to bring him home.

Thomas A. Duckett was promoted to the rank of Major and Owen G. Skinner to the
rank of Colonel during the period they were maintained Missing in Action.

------------------------------------------------
                                                [ssrep7.txt 02/09/93]

                   SMITH 324 COMPELLING CASES

Laos                     Owen G. Skinner
                      Thomas Allen Duckett
                             (1683)

On December 12, 1970, Skinner and Duckett departed Thailand in an
0-2 to provide forward air control support to a B-57 aircraft
engaged in an air strike on trucks in an area nine kilometers
southeast of Tchepone in Savannakhet Province, Laos.  The aircraft
did not return from its mission and its wreckage was located in the
target area and approximately 500 meters south of Route 9.  Both
airmen were declared missing.

The crew of the B-57G was also downed during this mission but the
crewmen were rescued.  The crew of the B-57G reported it had
sustained a mid-air collision with an 0-2.  An Air Force inquiry
found case 1683 to have been a hostile loss due to it being a high
threat area and nothing substantive in the B-57G crew statements to
confirm that a mid-air collision had occurred even though the B-57G
crash side was near the O-2 crash site.

A search and rescue aircraft located the O-2 wreckage on December
13 and observed a parachute hanging from a tree near the crash
site.  An emergency beeper was also heard in the area on December
14.  The area was characterized as full of hostile ground forces.
The rescue aircraft made radio contact with someone but was unable
to determine who or where. 

Returning U.S. POWs were unable to confirm the crew survived into
captivity.  After Operation Homecoming, they were declared
dead/body not recovered.

In September 1989 the area of the 0-2 crash site was surveyed by
the Joint Casualty Resolution Center and there was no evidence of
the wreckage of the aircraft.  The area was described as a well
established farming community.

--------

The Lima (Ohio) Area MIA-POW

The two principals of the Lima Area MIA-POW, Jack and Wilma
Laeufer, are cousins of USAF Col. Owen G. Skinner, an American
pilot missing in Laos since 1970.  The Laeufer's sell POW/MIA items
by mail in order to raise public awareness of the POW/MIA issue and
do not solicit public donations. From 1984 to 1991, the Laeufers
also have donated $107,300 to 24 other non-profit organizations who
devote their efforts full-time to the return of missing American
servicemen.

The Laeufers also have been involved with planting "freedom trees,"
building and displaying simulated POW cages, conducting candlelight
vigils, participating in Christmas tree festivals and many other
POW/MIA related activities.  In October, 1992, the Laeufers
attended the dedication of the Australian Vietnam Forces National
Memorial in Canberra, Australia at their own expense.

------------------------------------

Couple commits to missing cousin, other Vietnam POW-MIAs
By Heather Rutz
 
The Lima News, Ohio
Published: July 9, 2012
 
COLUMBUS GROVE, Ohio — From time to time, someone asks Jack and Wilma Laeufeer if their 41-year effort with the Lima Area POW-MIA has been a waste of time, because they've never determined what happened to their cousin, Owen G. “Pete” Skinner, a Navy pilot who went missing in Laos on Dec. 12, 1970.

It's a ridiculous question, really. Through the efforts of loved ones who wouldn't let the public or U.S. government forget, 919 Vietnam veterans of the reportedly 2,583 American prisoners listed as missing or killed in action/body not recovered have been accounted for.

The Laeufers, who are both 79, have a better question to ask: Who will carry the POW-MIA flag now that they no longer can? After forming the chapter in 1973 and raising $250,000 for the cause through merchandise sales, the couple are dissolving the group this year. It's a painful decision, because they are afraid the answer is no one....
 
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: FW: Sad news re: Jack
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2020 09:38:24 -0400
From: moehog@verizon.net
 

Jackie “Jack” Wayne Laeufer, 87, passed away June 19, 2020 at his residence.

 

From: Grits

Hello Family & Friends:

Sad news re: "Jack ".

On Fri. 6/19/20 I woke up to find that Jack passed away in his sleep.

He had slowed down a lot recently but was still thinking of new projects to do. We were just three months away from our 64th wedding anniversary. It has been almost eight years since we dissolved our 501c3 POW-MIA organization "due to "old age "at 79!" (which sounds young now)

He had been to a lot of doctors since he had open heart 4 bypass surgery and left hip replacement in 2011, both knees replaced in 2015, a cancerous tumor removed from his liver in 2016, a stent put in the LAD artery in 2019, and a defibrillator implanted in Feb. 2020.  Recently we were contacted to reschedule more doctor visits, now that part of his life is over.  

Since you are the recipient of this email, you are valued as a special family member/special friend.

You can visit chiles-lamanfh.com to view his obituary


Stay well, Wilma

02/22/2012

Local Media Honors Long Time POW/MIA Activists and Alliance Supporters – As you know long time activists Jack and Wilma Laeufer are retiring once they sell out their inventory.  The story that follows, published July 9, 2012 by Heather Rutz, is from the Lima News.

[Begin Article]  From time to time, someone asks Jack and Wilma Laeufer if their 41-year effort with the Lima Area POW-MIA has been a waste of time, because they've never determined what happened to their cousin, Owen G. “Pete” Skinner, a Navy pilot who went missing in Laos on Dec. 12, 1970.  It's a ridiculous question, really.  Through the efforts of loved ones who wouldn't let the public or U.S. government forget, 919 Vietnam veterans of the reportedly 2,583 American prisoners listed as missing or killed in action/body not recovered have been accounted for.

The Laeufers, who are both 79, have a better question to ask: Who will carry the POW-MIA flag now that they no longer can?  After forming the chapter in 1973 and raising $250,000 for the cause through merchandise sales, the couple are dissolving the group this year.  It's a painful decision, because they are afraid the answer is no one.

The 41-year commitment is not just for their cousin, although he is remembered everywhere in the house: a collage with grandchildren and the family cat includes a photo of Skinner's name on The Wall in Washington, D.C.  “It's been about not wanting these families to feel like they were going through this alone,” Wilma Laeufer said.  Jack Laeufer adds, “Their sons are our sons.”

Skinner was 37, married with two daughters, ages 10 and 13, when he decided to volunteer for the war in 1970. Jack and Wilma Laeufer are both related to him. Wilma Laeufer's mother and Skinner's mother were first cousins. Skinner and Jack Laeufer are also first cousins. Skinner is six months older than Jack Laeufer, which means that if Skinner is still alive, he's nearly 80 years old.

The Laeufers both still wear the same stainless steel bracelets they put on their wrists shortly before that Christmas in 1970, and they've sold 30,000 bracelets with Skinner's name. Jack Laeufer engraved many of them himself. They kept 50 cents from each bracelet for their work; the rest of the profit has gone to the Ohio POW-MIA chapter and the National League of POW/MIA Families, which does the work of accounting for the missing.

A naval instructor, Skinner believed that after sending so many young men to Vietnam, he should serve as well. Skinner was a navigator in a Bird Dog plane, which flew ahead of jets and identified targets. The Laeufers believe the plane experienced mechanical problems, but have scant information about what happened. They've received anecdotal information that if he survived the plane's failure, he may have been taken to Moscow for information about how to defend against U.S. air power.

The Laeufers tell story after story about the families they've met, places they've traveled, memorials they've experienced, parades in which they've walked, school presentations they've given.  The relationships and believing they are making a difference with public awareness have sustained them.

Fifty-five years ago, after Jack Laeufer returned home from serving with the Army in the Korean War, Jack and Wilma married.  A year later, they moved into a home they designed themselves not far from where they grew up, just north of Lincoln Highway.  They're still in the home, and the surrounding acres Jack Laeufer used to farm are now cash rented.  He also retired from BP in 1990, and they raised two boys while running the POW-MIA organization.  It became an IRS-recognized nonprofit in 1984, but they've been tracking expenses since June 13, 1974.

Wilma Laeufer pulls out a 3-inch thick three-ring binder of expenses and orders handwritten in her efficient cursive on ledger papers in reverse chronological order.  She flips from the 2012 pages at the front to the back of the book.  On that date, she recorded her first expense, $1.61 for “office supplies.”  By April 1975, they were “in the black,” she said, and have been since then.  The federal government, Jack Laeufer said, could learn a thing or two about budgeting and accounting from his wife.

I have 9 cents unaccounted for,” Wilma Laeufer said.  “It bothers me.”  The words hang in the air at the Laeufers' kitchen table.  “Unaccounted for” is the same language used to describe the missing in action.  It's not the amount of money she is upset about, but the idea that she can't find it.

The Laeufers have never solicited donations.  All the money they donate is from profits of sold merchandise: POW stickers and decals; United States, POW and military flags; mud flaps and flagpoles.  Earlier this spring, they announced plans to dissolve the chapter and began depleting the inventory.

The phone rings and a man from a Fraternal Order of Eagles chapter in Wapakoneta is calling.  He needs another 50 of a certain size of flag.  That leaves 54 left, Wilma Laeufer counts.  The phone rings a little bit later; this caller will be by to pick up a flag he wants.  It's continuing like this, Jack Laeufer said, as people scoop up what they can, especially of the flags that are made in the United States of U.S.-made materials.

As longtime suppliers to community and veterans groups, the Laeufers feel as if they're letting folks like this down by closing up shop.  They wish they could sell a bit on the side, but the IRS doesn't look too kindly on that sort of thing, they've been told.  But Wilma Laeufer thinks she'll end up doing something, a new chapter not yet written.  Jack Laeufer's not so sure they'll ever really be able to give up.  “You know, they'll be closing Wilma's casket, and she'll hold up her arm, saying, ‘I've got one more order.” [End Article]

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2022 5:15 PM
Subject: Passing of my older son Mark

 
Dear Friends,

Four months ago on Nov 16, 2021, I received word that our older son, Mark, had died suddenly
of coronary heart disease.  Keith and I and many others attended his funeral on Nov 20th,
south of Indianapolis.  I was so sad that I was unable to send out my usual Christmas cards.
I did not want to relate my sadness to you during the Christmas holiday season.

I really miss calling and talking to Mark almost every other day, trying to bolster up each other’s
spirits in what was easily an hour conversation over the phone.  I was so glad that in 2021,
two weeks in the Spring, we flew to Cocoa Beach, FL - just relaxed and locally went to Flea
Markets (his favorite thing to do) and went for a week in August (his birthday) at a timeshare
in Fairfield Glads, TN - we cooked together and visited some friends, and yes, another Flea
Market.  I treasure that time spent with him - We had given him and Donna a week in 2018 and
2019 in Cocoa Beach, FL before she died in October 2019.

In October 2021, one of his sons remarried and we all enjoyed that day in southern Ohio, and
had many photos taken of the wedding, seeing my other grandsons and their families, plus
photos of the four generations, etc.  Who knew it would be the last time I would see him?

His obit:  https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jonesfamilymortuary.com%2Fmemorials%2F
donald-laeufer%2F4785327&data=04%7C01%7C%7Ca16df8ad98b14f2e618e08da07ab4095%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7
C1%7C0%7C637830729347500514%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiL
CJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=X16%2B7mHXJgexloI4KdYFOjy96JFA8Le0w0vgd9PsvZA%3D&reserved=0


Keith, our younger son, comes over often and has helped me so much.  Sorry it took me this
long to email you, but I am not moving all that fast anymore; however, I really feel the need to
help the families that are displaced in Ukraine - they need our help so badly, everyone in the
U.S. should help in some way in whatever way they can.            Love, Wilma

 

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

02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZRWEA4

COL OWEN GEORGE SKINNER

Return to Service Member Profiles

On December 12, 1970, an O-2A Skymaster (tail number 67-21428, call sign "Nail 84") with two crew members departed Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, on a nighttime visual reconnaissance mission over central Laos. The aircraft failed to return to base, and was declared missing when its fuel supply would have been exhausted, approximately three hours after the crew's last radio contact with the airborne command and control center. A search was initiated the following morning and the crash site was located, along with one parachute on the ground nearby, and rescue beeper signals were detected. However, the two missing crew members could not be located, and enemy presence in the area prevented ground search operations.

Major Owen George Skinner, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Ohio, served with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron and was the navigator aboard this aircraft at the time of its loss. He remains unaccounted for. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Major Skinner to the rank of Colonel (Col). Today, Colonel Skinner 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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