Michael Lora Bouchard
Lieutenant Commander
VA-196, CVW-14, USS CONSTELLATION, TF 77, 7TH FLEET United States Navy Missoula, Montana November 01, 1938 to November 26, 1973 (Incident Date December 20, 1968) MICHAEL L BOUCHARD is on the Wall at Panel W36, Line 48 |
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My name is Monte Murphy of Elgin, Texas. I am 36 years old and wanted to let whatever family member of LCDR Bouchard who might see this know that I think about him every day because I wear a POW/MIA bracelet that bears his name. Even though I was too young to be in the war, a day never goes by that I don't remember what he and all the other vets have done for this country. Thank You.
Monte Murphy |
I remember when I was 10 years old, my dad talking to Mike's father on the phone, listening ... just being there for him. Sometimes the calls were late at night and when my dad would hang up he would break down and cry. This strong man who had served in WWII would collapse into the sorrow and loss he felt for his friend, who would never know the truth about what happened to his son after that plane went down. I have memories of there being a news story that showed some POW's in captivity and how one young man resembled Mike, and my parents thinking there might still be hope of his returning. Sadly, that was not the case. Mike's leather jacket still hangs in Bonner Grade School where he, and later I, attended. I didn't know him, but I'll never forget him. I'll never forget my dad's tears, or the heartbreak the whole community felt. God bless Mike, his family and friends, and all the brave men and women who never made it home.
Kathy Teague |
I was presented this bracelet bearing the name MICHAEL L. BOUCHARD almost 15 years ago. I wear it every day. It has been on an innumerable adventures with me. Over the years I have had to wrap the inside of the bracelet with duct tape to keep it from corroding further. I wear this for him and all those who did not make it home. I work as a bike messenger in New York City. It is hazardous work. Because I uphold the memory of those lost, I know in my heart that I will always make it home. This pilot is being watched over. Thank You for creating this webpage. I look forward to a day when he and those who are still lost will be found...
J. S. |
Hello, My name is Alphie Liming and I grew up Missoula, MT. Mike grew up in a very small lumber mill "company" town, Bonner, about 7 or 8 miles from Missoula. My grandmother taught him in the second grade at Bonner Elementary School. Mike was one year ahead of me in school, and the following year my grandma taught me in the 2nd grade. That's when I got to know Mike. We sort of lost touch until high school, but because there wasn't a high school in Bonner Mike had to come to Missoula to school. We became reaquainted and subsequently went steady in high school. An extremely bright and personable young man, he was very popular, being Student Body President, as well as State Study Body President. (I always thought he would go on to be a politician.) He graduated in 1956 and went to Oregon State University on an NROTC Scholarship and was a Sigma Chi. I had been accepted to go to OSC as well, but as things happen sometimes, we parted ways (still very good friends) and I went to USC. The last time I saw Mike was in 1961. He came to visit me and my husband, who was also a Navy officer, in San Diego. I know that he was married and believe had 3 children, but subsequently divorced. I've heard that he had been accepted to the Blue Angels just before he was shot down, supposedly on one of his last missions. We've seen photos on TV taken in a POW camp in North Vietnam a year or so after he was shot down that many of us felt were pictures of him eating (he was left-handed as I am). Mike was an admirable person and I know would have gone far had not his life been cut so short.
From a childhood friend, |
A Note from The Virtual WallOn the night of 19/20 Dec 1968, LT Michael L. Bouchard, pilot, and LT Robert W. Colyar, bombardier-navigator, launched from USS CONSTELLATION in A-6A BuNo 154152 for a strike mission in Laos. Upon arrival in the area they were assigned to a Forward Air Controller working a truck park on the Ho Chi Minh Trail near the village of Ban Tanook, about 20 miles southwest of the A Shau Valley.Bouchard was to make visual dive-bombing runs by the light of parachute flares. Once cleared by the FAC, he rolled in but as his aircraft was passing through 5500 feet and at an airspeed of about 500 knots the A-6 was hit by AAA fire, separating the starboard wing from the fuselage. Other aircrew in the area saw only one parachute, which turned out to be Colyar's. Once on the ground, Colyar spent about 30 minutes searching for Bouchard but then was forced to leave the area to avoid capture. He was picked up the next day by an Air Force helicopter. LT Bouchard was classed as Missing in Action and was carried in that status until 26 Nov 1973, when the Secretary of the Navy approved a Presumptive Finding of Death. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander while MIA. LCDR Bouchard's remains have not been repatriated. |
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