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Harry Arlo Amesbury, Jr
Major
345TH TAC ALFT SQDN, 374TH TAC ALFT WING, 13TH AF United States Air Force Morrison, Illinois February 13, 1932 to April 26, 1972 HARRY A AMESBURY Jr is on the Wall at Panel W1, Line 7 |
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The Lockheed C130 Hercules, or "Herc" for short, was a multi-purpose propeller driven aircraft used as a transport, tanker, gunship, drone controller, airborne command and control center, weather reconnaissance and electronic reconnaissance platform; as well as search, rescue and recovery aircraft. In the hands of the "Trash Haulers," as the crew of the Tactical Air Command transports styled themselves, the C130 proved to be the most valuable airlift instrument in the Southeast Asia conflict. They were so valuable, in fact, the 7th Air Force Commander, refused for a time to let them land at Khe Sanh when the airstrip was under fire. The C130 was critical in resupplying American and allied troops in this area, and when the Hercules could not land, it delivered its payload by means of a parachute drop. To bolster the Air Force's ability to supply troops in Southeast Asia, aircrews stationed at Ching Chuang Kang Airbase, Taiwan - known also as "CCK Airdrome" - flew to different locations on 3-week temporary duty (TDY) rotations before returning to their home station for 3 days. From the CCK Air Force Base base in Taiwan, C-130 crews flew to different locations, including Korea, Borneo, Indonesia, Japan, and Africa. On 26 April 1972, a C130 (serial 64-0508) departed Tan Son Nhut Airbase on a night emergency resupply mission to the ARVN troops trapped in the besieged city of Anh Loc, Binh Long Province, South Vietnam. The provisional capitol located approximately 65 miles northwest of Saigon had been under siege off and on since early April by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. Airborne support in the form of supply drops of food, medicine and armament, as well as close air support, were critical in keeping the city from being overrun. After arriving in the target area, Major Amesbury established radio contact with the onsite Forward Air Controller (FAC). After providing current mission related information, at 0412 hours the FAC gave Major Amesbury clearance to initiate the supply drop. As the C130 made its pass over Anh Loc at a very low altitude, the aircraft was struck by communist small arms fire and crashed into a large rubber plantation approximately 1 mile southwest of the city. From his vantage point, the FAC watched as the cargo aircraft began its climb to drop altitude, then looked away. When he looked back, he saw the Hercules in flames going into the trees. He reported that under the circumstances, he saw no tracers aimed at the aircraft. In the pre-dawn darkness an aerial visual and electronic search utilizing all aircraft already in the area commenced immediately. However, due to the heavy enemy forces surrounding An Loc, no ground search of the crash site was possible. During the search operation, no emergency beepers were heard and no parachutes seen. According to the Department of the Air Force, it received unspecified information that contained evidence of death for the crew members on May 5, 1972. The status of the missing men was changed to Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered. The crew consisted of the following:
In early February 1975, an ARVN ground team under the control of an American Special Forces advisor was inserted into An Loc to search for Americans lost in several incidents in the area including the crew of the C130. From 1975 to March of 1998, the search for the missing continued. The last accession of remains occurred in February/March 1998. In February a South Vietnamese woman living in Georgia contacted the National League of Families of POW/MIAs claiming she had remains and personal affects of Harry Amesbury. In March she turned over the material to US personnel. In addition to pieces of bone, she handed over Major Amesbury's military ID card and his wedding ring. Over time all of the human remains and personal affects belonging to several crewmen were transported to the US Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CIL-HI) for examination. In addition to 5 teeth that matched Major Amesbury's dental radiographs; long bones including both arms, left leg and the femur from the right leg; along with very small pieces of cranium, were positively identified through mt-DNA as belonging to Harry Amesbury. At the family's request, Major Amesbury's remains were cremated and flown to Boise, Idaho on Sunday, 27 May 1991. The following Tuesday, his ashes were scattered by the family on land that overlooked the Snake River near Marsing purchased by Major Amesbury and his wife for their retirement. When asked why the family chose to scatter his remains in that location, Harry Amesbury's son, David, responded, "This is where he'd want to be." The rest of the bones and teeth recovered and associated with the Hercules' loss remain under the control of CIL-Hi in the belief that one day technology will reach a stage where they also can be positively identified and returned to the families. In summary, remains of four crewmen have been recovered:
1stLt Russell and TSgt Dunn have not been repatriated. 
In addition to the medals noted in shadow box at top of page, Major Amesbury had been awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry and an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for deployment during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was a Senior USAF Pilot as a Major and his ribbon bar below shows from left to right, top to bottom: Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Air Force Organizational Excellence, National Defense Service, Armed Forces Expeditionary, Vietnam Service, Air Force Longevity Service Award, ??, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, and Vietnam Campaign medals" 
- - The Virtual Wall, June 5, 2019
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