25 Aug 2002 I wear Johnny's MIA bracelet in hopes that Johnny or his remains will one day return to this country. Please add my name to those of his family and friends who still hope and pray for his return. From one who wears his MIA bracelet, Carole Jordan cali@ctaz.com

 

The Mission On 27 March 1968 then-Corporal Johnny C. Calhoun was the team leader of a 6-man reconnaissance patrol (two Americans and four indigenous personnel) operating near the Laotian border in the western A Shau Valley, Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. The team had completed its mission and was awaiting pick-up when they were attacked by a numerically superior force. Corporal Calhoun directed the other five men to withdraw while he laid down covering fire. The five men were able to evade the enemy forces over a 20-hour period before they were able to be extracted. During the mission debrief, the assistant team leader stated that he saw Cpl Calhoun struck by at least 3 rounds of enemy fire, sustaining chest and abdominal wounds. The team's interpreter, Ho-Thong, stated that he saw Calhoun, after he was hit, pull the pin from a hand grenade and hold it against his body. The western A Shau Valley was firmly held by the North Vietnamese Army, making it impossible to conduct a search and rescue operation for Cpl Calhoun. He was placed in "Missing in Action" status. On 03 Sep 1974 the Secretary of the Army approved a review board's recommendation for a Presumptive Finding of Death, changing Sergeant First Class Calhoun's status from Missing in Action to Died while Missing. Johnny Calhoun's actions on 27 March were judged to warrant award of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest award for gallantry in action. Further information is available on the POW Network and Task Force Omega sites.

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