Saturday, March 20, 1999
SP6 John T. Strawn
--- General / Personal ---
Last name: STRAWN
First name: JOHN THOMAS
Home of Record (official): SALEM
State (official): OR
Date of Birth: Wednesday, April 15, 1942
Sex: Male
Race: Caucasian
Marital Status: Single
--- Military ---
Branch: Army
Rank: SP6
Serial Number: 543389150
Component: Regular
Pay grade: E6
MOS (Military Occupational Specialty code): 98C30
--- Action ---
Start of Tour: Thursday, March 4, 1971
Date of Casualty: Thursday, March 4, 1971
Age at time of loss: 28
Casualty type: (A3) Hostile, died while missing
Reason: Air loss - Crashed on land (Fixed wing aircraft, non-crew)
Country: North VietNam
Province: Unknown/Not Reported
The Wall: Panel 04W - Row 022
LASTNAME: STRAWN FIRSTNAME: JOHN THOMAS IDNO: 543389150
SVC: A COMP: R RANK: SP6 GRADE: E6 MOS: 98C30 AGE: 28 HOME:
SALEM ST: OR CASDATE: 19710304 CAS1: A3 CAS2: B CAS3: 3 BODY: BNR
CTRY: VN PROV: NZ LSVC: ** BIRDATE: 19420415 RACE: C REL: PO MAR:
S SEX: M CIT: 1 TOURD: 710304 PANL: 04W LINE: 022 REFNO: 5 PDATE:
7105
Details:
REMARKS: RAD CONT LOST-SAR NEG-J
SYNOPSIS:
On March 4, 1971 Capt. Michael W. Marker, pilot of a JU21-A twin
engine turbo prop (serial number 18065, call sign Vanguard 216) departed Phu
Bai, Republic of Vietnam on an early morning combat support mission in the
vicinity of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). His crew that morning consisted of
WO1 Harold L. Algaard, co-pilot; SP5 Rodney D. Osborne, technical observer; SP5
Richard J. Hentz, crewman; and SP6 John T. Strawn, crewman. The pilot and crew
were assigned to the 138th Aviation Company, 224th Aviation Battalion, 509th RR
(Radio Research) Group, a cover designation for their real unit in USASA.
"Radio Research" was actually a secret cover designation for certain units
operating under the direction of the U.S. Army Security Agency Group, Vietnam.
All missions of this agency were highly classified. The 224th Aviation
Battalion was referred to as an aviation battalion in Vietnam for security
reasons only. The JU21A aircrew's actual unit designation was 138th ASA
Company, 224th ASA Battalion (Aviation), U.S. Army Security Agency Group,
Vietnam.
Two hours into the mission, at 0840 hours, radio and radar communication was
lost. When the aircraft failed to return from the mission at the appointed
time, search efforts were initiated and continued for 2 days over a 300 mile
area, but proved negative. A reliable source indicated that an aerial
detonation in the vicinity of the DMZ occurred on March 4, 1971 at the same
flight altitude and pattern flown by Vanguard 216. Hostile threat in the area
precluded any visits to the suspected area of the crash. No trace was ever
found of the aircraft or the crew.
While the missing crew members were initially listed as Missing In Action, a
change in status to Killed In Action, Body Not Recovered (KIA/BNR) occurred
within 90 days of the incident. Regarding the status change, the families were
told that all information pertinent to the incident was classified and would
remain classified for ten years.
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