TERRY, ORAL RAY
| Name: Oral Ray Terry Rank/Branch: E3/US Army Unit: Date of Birth: 25 January 1945 (Lenzburg IL) Home City of Record: Mascoutah IL Date of Loss: 03 May 1968 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 102535N 1062137E (XS489258) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 4 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: LCraft Refno: 1157 Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing) |
 |
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 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 2017.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: PFC Oral R. Terry was a radio operator/seaman aboard a maintenance
boat. On May 3, 1968, the craft was on a damage control mission on the Ham
Luong River in South Vietnam. On the mission, Terry's job was radio guard.
About 4:45 a.m. a splash was heard by two members on the boat. They did not
investigate. PFC Terry was to have awakened his relief at 5:00 a.m., but his
relief awakened himself at 0700 hours. He did not question why Terry had
failed to awaken him.
Normal activities were carried on the remainder of the day until
mid-afternoon, when the crew noticed that Terry was not present. A search of
the area was conducted without success. Terry was a non-swimmer, and was
last seen wearing a flak jacket and a steel helmet. Because there was no
proof that Terry died, he was classified Missing in Action.
591 American Prisoners of War were released in 1973, but nearly 2500
remained missing, prisoner or unaccounted for. Thousands of reports have
been received by the U.S. Government that indicate hundreds of Americans are
still alive and held captive in Southeast Asia, yet the government seems
unable or unwilling to successfully achieve their release. Policy statements
indicate that "conclusive proof" is not available, but when it is, the
government will act. Detractors state that proof is in hand, but the will to
act does not exist.
Whether Oral R. Terry survived to be captured is not known. Whether he is
among those believed to be still alive today is uncertain. What cannot be
questioned, however, is that America has a moral and legal obligation to
secure the freedom of those who may still be illegally held by the communist
governments of Southeast Asia. It's time we brought our men home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KYjYEAW
Private First Class Oral Ray Terry, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with the 1097th Transportation Company, U.S. Army Support Command. On May 3, 1968, PFC Terry was serving as a crew man aboard the landing craft LCM-8103 on a damage control mission in the vicinity of Grid Coordinates XS 489 258 on the Ham Luong River in South Vietnam. At 0400, PFC Terry assumed the duties of radio operator/guard. Approximately 45 minutes later, two other soldiers aboard the boat heard a splash and thrashing in the water but when a crewmember went to investigate he saw nothing. Later that day, it was discovered that PFC Terry was missing. The crew conducted a thorough search of the surrounding waters as well as the shoreline. Although searches continued for days, PFC Terry's body was not recovered. After the incident, the Army promoted PFC Terry to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG). Today, Staff Sergeant Terry 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 Deferred.
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.
Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.