RECOLLECTIONS
By:  Michael Olson
281st AHC Crew Chief, 1969

            November 1969. As President Nixon announced plans to the nation of withdrawing U.S. ground combat forces from South Vietnam, John Ware and I were making plans of our own.  John and I were crew chiefs on Hueys in an assault helicopter company assigned to a Delta Project with the Special Forces.  For several months we had rotated between month long field operations in I and II Corps and the 5th Special Forces Headquarters in Nha Trang. 

            John was the top crew chief of the second platoon, which I was assigned to when I joined the unit. He soon became my mentor and taught me not only the technical part of helicopter combat but also helped condition my reaction time.  While living in tents on our field operations John devised a quasi hot potato game, but instead of a potato we would ignite the end of a tracer bullet and toss it to each other.  This small burning hot piece of lead kept our reflexes finely tuned and was always accompanied by immense laughter and an occasional scream. 

            Like all combat units each of us in the second platoon was part of a team that depended on one another. We depended on each other's combat skills while in flight and camaraderie skills on the ground.  John was a real buddy whom we all looked up to.  He and I became fast friends.

281^st FLIGHT CREW BUDDIES
MICHAEL OLSON AND JOHN WARE, 1969

Our company had three platoons, two "hole ship" platoons and one gun ship platoon.  A "hole ship" would fly into a landing zone to drop off and extract our reconnaissance teams while two gun ships, equipped with mini guns, 2.75” rockets and M60 machine guns would fly our flanks to give us fire support when we needed it.

            For a little variety John wanted to switch from our hole ship platoon to the gun ship platoon for the remainder of his tour.  We were both getting "short."  John was going to extend his tour for a couple of months so he could get an "early out" when he returned to the "World." I was a double-digit midget (less than 100 days on my tour of duty), scheduled to board a "Freedom Bird" back to the "World" in mid-December with 147 days left on my enlistment. Anyone returning from Nam with less than 150 days was eligible for an "early out". 

            John had gone through all the proper channels and everything was approved for him to make the switch to gun ships.  He would be leaving his Huey, tail number 512, the best "hole ship" in the 281st Assault Helicopter Company.  I had been bouncing from one ship to another since I joined the special unit in April.  I had worked my way up to crew chief and wanted 512 for my permanent ship.  That also was approved and the date was set for the transfer to occur.  November 4.We were at our base camp in Nha Trang mostly flying daily support missions to small, remote, hilltop encampments in the Central Highlands.       

            The gentle hum of fans moving the hot humid air in our barracks was disrupted every morning at 0530 when we rolled out from our beds.  November 4 began as every day began by us heading to the bulletin board that posted our missions and chopper assignments for the day.  But there was a mistake.  John was still assigned to #512 and scheduled for a mission to the Highlands.  I was assigned to #360 and headed to the Highlands as well.  I woke John up.

            The plan was for him to have the day off to move from our barracks over to the gun ship platoon/ barracks.  We woke up our assistant platoon sergeant, Ruiz and told him of the mess up.  All three of us went next door to wake up our platoon sergeant and have him fix the mix up.  He told us the duty officer must have forgotten to switch us that day and he would take care of it later.  He told us to fly our posted missions and the transfer would take place the next day.  At age 20 and being in the Army there wasn't much more we could do to change things.  With rifles in hand we grumbled our way to the mess hall, grabbed a bite to eat and a couple cups of coffee then headed to the flight line as dawn began to color the eastern sky.

            The ships had been fueled the night before and mechanics worked through the night on any repairs before the duty officer assigned them for a mission.  It was the crew chief's responsibility to inspect the ship to make sure any repairs were completed while the door gunner mounted the M60 machine guns and loaded both ammo boxes.  Our pilots also inspected the ship before we fired up.

            The quiet morning stillness was shattered as our ship's turbines ignited and the increasing whine of the engines built.  We all pulled on our helmets and went through radio checks.  Thumbs up.  John, in 512, was two bunkers away and as my chopper lifted straight up, I flashed a peace sign to him as we turned for the airstrip and received permission from the air controller to take off. With our chopper's nose pointing down we gained speed and altitude as we hit transnational lift just over the concertina wire of our perimeter.  The jungle below was still too dark to discern it's true color but the sky was glowing red and the air began to cool as we headed west towards Duc My Pass that lead into the Central Highlands. 

            By 0900 we had picked up Special Forces personnel and supplies in Ban Me Thuot and headed deeper into the Highlands to a hilltop A Camp near the Cambodian border.  John and his crew on 512 were on a similar mission at another Green Beret camp in the Phu Khanh province just south of Ban Me Thuot.

            The air in the Highlands was always much cooler than that of the coast.  We always liked these missions to escape the intense humid heat.  A weather front began building that afternoon and added freshness to the cool air.  We finished our mission by early afternoon without ever being shot at all day.  It was a good day.  After refueling at Ban Me Thuot we headed home.  The wind had picked up in the pass and our ship was tossed around a bit, nothing too serious.  Our crew had flown through gale force winds during the Monsoon season earlier in the summer.

            Back at base camp, I remember checking out my ship as the sun began to creep into the clouds that were building to the west.  I was up checking out the rotor when one of the mechanics came up and said 512 had radioed they were in trouble.  The last radio transmission was from a new pilot, Warrant Officer Cavender that said "Oh my god we're inverted!" and all went silent.  We all knew UH-1H helicopters couldn’t fly inverted.

            It was 1920 hours.  They were somewhere near Duc My Pass and the storm and darkness were both building.  First seat pilot, Warrant Officer One Terry Alford and the new in country WO1 Jim Cavender along with door gunner, Jim Klimo and John were missing.

            We hung around the radio control room listening, hoping, and praying.  We wanted to go fire up our ships and head out to find them, but we knew we would have to wait until daylight.  It was after 2200 when we headed to the EM Club to spread the word and have a couple of beers before turning in.  The Enlisted Men's Club was our haven when we were at base camp.  It was where we drank and found solace after defeating death each day.  Drinking and laughing with buddies was strong therapy that helped blur the chaos and horrors of each day.  On the evening of November 4 it was a gathering of concentrated hope for a positive outcome the next day when we flew out in search of our friends.  I, for one, was full of hope when I finally turned in for the night.

            Our whole platoon was up and ready to go before the first glimmer of the new day was apparent in the eastern sky.  We had Green Beret "belly sergeants" for spotters; we had "sniffers" (mechanical devises that could smell smoke, fuel or even body odor).  We had maps and assigned search areas.  We had jungle hoists, rope ladders, and McGuire Rigs to pull them out of the tangled jungle vegetation.  We had medics and above all that we had hope.

            We searched, hoping the multi layers of jungle canopies had softened their crash and upon hearing our choppers they would pop a smoke grenade to lead us to them.  We looked for signs of broken vegetation the chopper would have left as it crashed through the foliage. Nothing.  All day we flew stopping only to refuel and then search some more.  And still nothing.  After the second day without any results I spoke with a couple of the Green Beret about going down on the ground to search below the jungle canopies.  The request was denied.  We searched for five long days without any sign and then the order came down, "search efforts suspended".

            Our company had suffered losses like every combat company fighting in a war.  We had zipped fallen comrades in body bags and carried wounded bleeding men to our choppers before.  We were all too familiar with death and destruction.  After several months of combat we became hardened by war, tempered by fear, and tuned by hope for survival.  It was still possible the crew of 512 could be out there hurt, hungry and fleeing from the Cong.  How could we suspend the search?  Orders are orders, but every time we flew to the Highlands it took us a bit longer to get there because we would fly low, straining our eyes as we desperately sought for any sign of the ship and our fallen comrades. Life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner on a hole ship in a firefight averaged 7 seconds.  Each of us lived every day to the fullest with that glum statistic looming about us.  Being totally "in tune" with our senses was paramount to survival.  Although each of us outwardly mourned each time we lost members of our company, deep down in secret recesses we were thankful it wasn't us that day.  But the circumstances involved with John's disappearance cut deep within me.

            The days and missions continued as my time in country grew shorter and shorter.  Since John's disappearance I had two blown out engines in flight; an auto rotation into a rice paddy after running out of fuel; both pilots wounded while extracting a team from a hot LZ; shrapnel from enemy artillery embedded in my ship; mortar fire striking the roof of a building I sat next to; a very near midair collision with a F-100 fighter jet; eight bullet holes within 12 inches of my head and four machine gun duels.  It was time for me to return to the "World".

            December 12, 1969 a big beautiful silver "Freedom Bird" full of fellow survivors fell completely silent as its jet engines roared down the runway and as the wheels lifted off from hell, aka Vietnam, the cabin exploded with cheers and tears.  We were going home!

            But home would never be the same.  Christmas at home in Minnesota felt foreign. I was out of place.  I was alive in the "world".  And John, where was he?  Where should I be rather than him?  Without the focus of war that reality started digging, clawing, tearing at my very being.  No amount of alcohol or drugs diverted the guilt.  I ran across America, coast to coast, north to south from Canada through Mexico.  I hid and I searched the depth of my soul while wandering in solitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.   became invisible, an unknown wounded warrior in the bush of Alaska.  Trying desperately to create my own healing therapy.  I sought out intense experiences in life to layer over the guilt of being alive.  Searching for a reason to live when so many around me had died.

            Years passed.  And on my life's journey I found a mountain woman that became my lover and a true friend I could confide in.  We started a family together in an abandoned log cabin in interior Alaska and a time of healing began.

            On a trip back to my childhood home in Minnesota I found John's home address in Oregon.  We routed our way through Hermiston, Oregon on our way to catch the ferry back to Alaska in 1982.We pulled off the highway and I found Mr. & Mrs. Cecil Ware in the phone book.  Judgment Day was at hand.  I called the number and introduced myself as a friend and comrade of John's.  I remember hoping with all my soul that a miracle had happened and the voice would say John's alive and well.  That didn't happen and Aileen, John's mom, invited me to their home.  John's Home.  Aileen had called John's brother and nephew to come over and I met the whole family.   brought pictures of John and myself to give them.  After a while I drew up all the courage I could muster and told them the whole story.  The story that changed all of our lives.  It was a tragic story of a forgetful duty officer posting the wrong mission assignments twelve years before that caused them to loose their son.  And it was the story of my daily struggles with that guilt.  We all cried and then they reached out from the depth of their loss and touched my troubled soul.  Their goodness, understanding, caring and forgiveness lifted an intensely heavy millstone from my neck.  There is not a day that I live that I don't think of John and thank him for my life.  I have made it a point to live as full and happy a life as possible in tribute to John.

            Aileen was very active in the MIA movement.  In January 1987 she received copies of documents from the Department of Defense Joint Casualty Resolution Center that shed the first light on John's disappearance. 

            A refugee fleeing Communist Vietnam was interviewed in Thailand by a JCRC officer.  The refugee was an enlisted man in the South Vietnam Regular Army on patrol in the forested region of Tuy Hoa/Nha Trang in 1969. The report reads: His patrol came across the wreckage of a US Huey helicopter concealed from the air by thick jungle canopy.  The aircraft had probably been shot down a "few weeks prior".  They found the decaying bodies of four Americans amid the wreckage.  He collected their four dog tags from the bodies as souvenirs before continuing on with their mission. The "source" stated he assumed the incident was reported and the US would recover the bodies.  He himself did not report it.  The report goes on about how the "source" was subjected to a reeducation camp somewhere in North Vietnam after the South fell and in 1979 he escaped.  He eventually made his way to his sister's home in Thailand.

            He stated he sent his brother to the crash site.  His brother found the site still untouched and recovered the remains of all four Americans, and returned to hide them near his home somewhere in a hamlet near Nha Trang.  This bizarre sounding report has many blacked out sections and is difficult to read, but reportedly there was only one helicopter incident in that area in 1969.To my knowledge no other contact was made with the source or his brother as no further news followed that document.

            More than 2,000 Americans are still listed as Missing In Action in Vietnam.  The families and friends of John Ware, Jim Klimo, Terry Alford and Jim Cavender have no physical remains to emotionally bury their losses.  I for one, keep their memory alive.  John personally helped guide me through my first six months of combat in Vietnam and he has helped guide me through my last 30 years.  His death has helped me to understand the greater meaning of life. 

Michael Olson

RECOLLECTIONS
By Jeff Murray
jeff.murray@bankofamerica.com

            I flew in 512 with John, and Les White was the AC. It was in January 1969, I think. We were flying out of Phu Hiep and supporting the ROKs, and we flew a lot of sorties for this ROK Colonel, who kept us past our release time by promising lunch. We talked it over and figured what the heck, even a ROK Colonel gets good chow, so we kept on flying. When we finished he asked us to shut down and come eat, so we did. He looked a bit surprised that we brought the crew with us, and I could tell he was a bit taken aback but he smiled and invited us in his GP medium. He then pulled out a case of C's and told us to help ourselves. Shoot, we had those in the aircraft. I distinctly remember SP5 (that's what he was then) Ware glaring at us for making him eat the same stuff he had on board because we passed up a stop at the Qui Nhon PX snack bar. I told him it was his fault because we Warrants did all the work and the Colonel never intended to feed the lowly crew and it was only through my good graces that he wasn't eating his own food. But he must have liked it because when we deployed up to Phu Bai we stopped at some refueling spot for gas and there sat a pallet of C-Rations with one, lone guard. Some Crew Chief (let's just say it was John) asked him what he was waiting for, and he replied "The helicopters." Whereupon the CE said, "Here we are" and grabbed about 10 cases, loaded them on his own bird and said "We'll be back for the rest later." The guard probably got an Article 15 for that one, but we ate well.

Jeff

  MOTHERS PAIN: NOT KNOWING IS THE HARDEST PART

Aileen Ware with the telegram informing her of her son's fate.

By Jean Conklin

Nine stressful years had passed; officially, the ordeal was finished. Aileen Ware had experienced all the stages of coping with death and dying: denial, anger, bargaining, self-pity, depression, grief and acceptance. Like many who confront challenges greater than themselves, the roots of Aileen's personal faith became deep and strong.

Aileen remembers February 1972. Her son John's birthday had just passed. She wore a new, stainless steel POW/MIA bracelet - a reminder to her and others to pray for he safe return of the missing Soldiers.

I had been praying," Aileen remembers. "I heard something snap, and I looked down and found the bracelet had split in two, and fell off my wrist. I felt different. My heavy heart seemed to be gone, and instead, I felt peace. I soon realized that God had performed a miracle. The broken bracelet was a sign from God that he had delivered me from relief in that instant.” Aileen continues to hope for John's safe return, but her hope is without the anguish and heartache of a grieving mother. "I know that John is in God's hands," she shares freely. The only lead discovered during subsequent investigations involved a person in Dac Lac Province who is allegedly holding remains and a dog tag possibly associated John's case. The case has been recommended for reinvestigation

The remains of 2,163 Vietnam veterans are unaccounted for, 42 are Oregonians.

Some 9 million men and women were in uniform between 1965 and 1975; 1.3 million are believed to have seen combat. Nearly 300,000 men were wounded in the war-75,000 of them disabled by their wounds. There is no final count on the number of other casualties-the ones who returned with scars heir psyches or deadly toxins in their blood. At the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., 58,175 deceased veterans names are etched in stone. Vietnam memorials dot our nation’s countryside. Generations pass by the walls some too young to have known the war, others too old to have fought it. Uniformed men and women come; some salute, some just stare. Tourists come; some snap pictures, some stand silently off to one side, drifting back into memory.

Published in the November 1995 issue of Ruralife, Forest Grove, Oregon.

OFFICIAL REPORT
Missing In Action
WO1's TERRY ALFORD and JIM CAVENDER
SP4's JOHN WARE and JAMES KLIMO

The following narrative is from the United States Army Case Summary Report: Refno: 1515 Province: Khanh Hoa District: Khanh Binh Township: Khanh Binh Lat: 123326N Long: 1085304E UTM: BP702890 

Narrative: On 4 November 1969 WO1 Terry Alford, WO1 Jim Cavender, SP4 John Ware and SP4 James R. Klimo were crew members aboard a UH-1H helicopter flying east from Duc Lap to Nha Trang in deteriorating weather conditions. After making radio contact with air traffic controllers at approximately 1920 HRS, a radio transmission from this aircraft indicated that the aviators had become disoriented in the clouds and were in an emergency situation. No further contacts were heard and all SAR operations conducted were negative.

NOTE: The above UTM and Geo Coordinates are based on the last known US location (last radio transmission). Witness testimony from subsequent investigations place this incident loss near Hon Mang Mountain (49P BP797784), within Khanh Hoa Province. The actual crash site is probably in the vicinity of BP736768; the location of the landing zone prepared in April 1996.

POST WAR SOURCES: 
T85-226, 23 July 85, JCRC-LNB: Source provided hearsay information about a helicopter crash site in the Nha Trang area (No Further Information) that had reportedly been discovered in 1969. Further, the witness' brother had reportedly recovered four sets of remains from this site and was holding them near his home in Nha Trang.

AUG 93, JFA 25: Team members investigate this case in Khanh Hoa Province. No witnesses to this incident could be found, MRS. NGUYEN THI CUT provided second-hand hearsay information about a person who allegedly held remains and a dogtag possibly associated with this case, but MRS. CUT's acquaintance (NFI) who knew the individual's name was out of the area for several days.19 May 1994, Ltr from Garnett Bell to CILHI (Central Identification Lab, Hawaii): Author provided hearsay information of a helicopter crash site near "Chu Knia Mountain" in the vicinity of BP 4779. He also claimed to possess remains and artifacts from this site and offered to forward them to CILHI. A photograph of an unidentified POW (#111) thought to possibly be of SP4 Klimo, was later identified as Charles Jackson, Captain, USAF by Jackson himself and his cellmate, Thomas J. Hanton, Captain, USAF.

FEB 94, JFA 28: Team members returned to Khanh Hoa Province and re-interviewed MRS, Cut who introduced MR. PHAM NGOC CHAU to investigators. MR. CHAU provided hearsay information regarding the recovery of remains and a dog tag allegedly taken from the crash site of an "A37". The team also attempted to interview MR. Y SON, the person MR. CHAU identified as the one who discovered these artifacts, but MR. SON was unavailable during the teams' visit.

JUN 94, JFA 30: Team members investigated this case in Dac Lac province. They were successful in locating MR. Y SON, who stated that in 1985 that he had come across a crash site but had not removed any artifacts. MR. Son led team members to this site (BP 702888), but it turned out to be a VNAF 0-1E loss. MR. SON also identified another witness having knowledge of a different crash site in the area, MR. MA LUC. MR. LUC led the joint team to a site at BP 706888, which correlated to a VNAF L-19. Finally, the tentative last known location (BP 702890) was searched with negative results.

NOV 95, JFA 38: Team attempted to interview MR. Thanh, but found that he was resettled in the US; with no forwarding address. NOTE: A source interviewed in July 1985 said that MR. THANH discovered a helicopter crash site and 4 sets of remains in 1969.

APR 96, JFA 40: Purpose of this investigation was to canvass residents (5 x total interviewed) of the villages near BP 9085, to gather information about aircraft losses in the area, and to conduct a survey of the last known location at BP 702890 of RENFO 1515.

NOTE A survey was already done, see V30 above. The joint team first traveled to Nihn Hoa Township, Khanh Hoa Province and interviewed on witness, MR. LE SI DUNG. MR. DUNG knew about a helicopter crash site near a stream near Hon Mang Mountain (BP 797784) but could not lead the team there because of his asthma. The VNOSMP team then went to Ca Hong Hamlet, Khanh Binh Village, Khanh Vinh District, Khanh Hoa Province and met MR. BO BO CHIA. MR. CHIA agreed to lead workers to an area near the site to help prepare a landing zone (at 49P BP 736768) for the Joint Team members. According to the VNOSMP, the LZ is approximately 200M from the crash site. The Joint Team did not survey the alleged crash site because of time constraints. OTHER INFO: Based upon witness and advance VNOSMP team statements, team members determined that there is no crash site at the US last known location (BP 702890), nor was there any crash site located near the position of last radio transmission-at 49P BP9085. Team also attempted to find MR. THANH again, without success. (JFA 38 determined Thanh was in US...)

NOTE: A computer database search of a 15km area around Hon Mang Mountain (BP 797784) indicates four UH-1 Operational Losses, one VNAF UH-! loss, the UH-1H associated with REFNO 1515, and a UH-1H associated with a resolved case. Four witnesses confirmed that no aircraft crashed near BP9085.

NOV 96, JFA 43: Team members investigated this case in Krong Bong district, Dak Lak Province (near Chu Knia Mountain in the vicinity of BP4779) They interviewed three witnesses who provided information on a fixed wing aircraft crash site near Cu Pui Village, which does not correlate to this case.

NOTE: This investigation was conducted based on a lead provided by MR. GARNETT BELL on 19 May 1994 (see USG section above).

MAR 98, JFA 49: Joint Team interviewed two witnesses (MR. LE QUOC TRUNG and MR. BO BO CHIA) concerning a crash site near Khanh Vinh District. Following the interviews the team surveyed crash site at BP 7300876343 and found data plates that belong to a UH-1 helicopter.

NOTE: Analysis of material found indicates the items correlate to an UH-1 aircraft incident, but they are insufficient to establish a correlation with REFNO 1515. There were five UH-1 crashes within 15km during the war.

FUTURE PURSUIT INFORMATION Narrative: US RESEARCH (DPMO): Find MR. THANH in US and interview him. (MR. THANH was mentioned in a July 1985 report. [See USG info above] In 1969, he reportedly discovered helicopter wreckage/remains in Nha Trang area)

JOINT INVESTIGATE: Need to go back to V49 site with metal detector to obtain more wreckage that will identify specific UH-1 helicopter.

CASE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION ANALYST NOTES: During V49, MR. LE QUOC TRUNG, while at survey site BP 7300876343, said this is not the site he had visited with his brother (LE SI DUNG, see V40). He pointed east and indicated the site he told IE2 about is on the reverse side of the mountain across the valley, vicinity BP7775. He recalls at this site that he saw small unidentifiable burnt pieces of wreckage, a pair of torn leather boots, and a 30X60cm stripped engine block, with holes in a straight line where the pistons would have been. The site he recalls is 15X20 sqm and was surrounded by trees. MR. TRUNG agreed to take a Joint Team to this location.

NOTE: Based on general location and witness describing that he found an in-line piston engine, site may correlate to an O-2 operational loss 3km south of Hon Mang Mountain, the general location witness pointed to. MAY BE WORTH CHECKING OUT!

END OF REPORT