REMAINS RETURNED 05/97
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 28 May 1943
Home City of Record: Clinton MD
Date of Loss: 10 May 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 214100N 1050700E (WJ120975)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4E
Other Personnel in Incident: Dennis E. Wilkinson (remains returned)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: In the spring of 1972, the U.S. formulated the LINEBACKER offensive. Its objective was to keep the weapons of war out of North Vietnam. At this time, the North Vietnamese had one of the best air defense systems in the world, with excellent radar integration of SA-2 SAMs, MiGs, and antiaircraft artillery. The NVN defense system could counter our forces from ground level up to nineteen
miles in the air. MiG fighters were on ready alert, and after takeoff, were vectored by ground-control radar. Soviet advisors devised attack strategies, manned a number of the SAM sites, and also trained North Vietnamese crews.

On the first strike day, the entire force encountered heavy concentrations of anti-aircraft fire and 16 MiGs were seen. Three of the MiGs were downed, but the Air Force lost an air crew. An F4E flown by Capt. Jeffrey L. Harris and Weapons Systems Officer Capt. Dennis E. Wilkinson exploded and crashed. The Air Force believed there was reason to believe the two escaped the crippled plane, and
declared them both Missing in Action.

In 1973, 591 Americans were released from prisons in Hanoi. Harris and Wilkinson were not among them. Military officials were dismayed that hundreds of known or suspected prisoners were not released.

In 1978, Congressman "Sonny" Montgomery led a much-maligned delegation to Hanoi to determine whether any American POWs remained in Vietnam. The Vietnamese told him there were none, and gave the delegation a few sets of American remains. Mr. Montgomery returned with the report that all Americans were dead.

One of the sets of remains given to Montgomery was subsequently identified as Dennis E. Wilkinson. If the Vietnamese could account for him, it seems unlikely that they are unable to account for Harris as well.

LINEBACKER and LINEBACKER II offensives were the most effective strikes against enemy de