11 Mar 2007 REMEMBERED by one who wears his MIA bracelet, Joe M Snider kntman2020@yahoo.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 27 Jan 1973, CDR Harley Hall and LCDR Phillip Kientzler of the Navy's Fighter Squadron 143 embarked in USS ENTERPRISE were flying F-4J BuNo 155768 on a strike mission in northern Quang Tri Province when they were shot down about 5 kilometers northeast of Dong Ha on the south bank of the Cua Viet River. Although the area was firmly controlled by the North Vietnamese Army, search and rescue efforts were begun immediately. One of the aircraft involved in the SAR was an OV-10 (tail number 68-3806) from the 23rd TASS at Nakhon Phanom RTAFB, crewed by then-1stLt Mark A. Peterson and Capt George W. Morris of Alhambra, California. They too were shot down by a hand-held SA-7 missile, crashing within a half-mile of the F-4 wreckage. Both men ejected from the OV-10, two good beepers were heard, and a brief voice contact was made with Captain Peterson. The SAR efforts were fruitless - none of the four men were picked up. Two months later, on 27 March, LCDR Kientzler was freed during Operation Homecoming. Although Kientzler had been told that CDR Hall was killed, he knew nothing about Captains Peterson or Morris. Hall, Peterson, and Morris were carried as Missing in Action until their respective services approved findings of death - Morris on 23 Aug 1978, Peterson on 04 Oct 1979, and Hall on 29 Feb 1980. Harley Hall's remains were repatriated on 25 Jan 1993 with positive identification announced on 06 Sep 1994. Peterson and Morris remain missing.

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