19 Feb 2008 REMEMBERED by his wife, Myrna Cody mcody@cableone.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall The B-26 Invader was a World War 2 vintage twin-engined ground attack aircraft. The 1st Air Commando Squadron flew B-26s as well as other propeller-driven aircraft like the A-1 Skyraider and the T-28 Trojan - and these "antiquated" aircraft proved themselves very well suited to the air-to-ground operations required in Vietnam. On 24 Nov 1963, a B-26B (tail number 44-35703) from the 1st ACS provided air support to ARVN troops operating south of Ca Mau in An Xugen Province. The ARVNs were up against a well-armed and well dug-in VC force and were making little progress, impeded particularly by several machinegun emplacements. The B-26, crewed by Capt Howard R. Cody, 1stLt Atis K. Lielmanis, and a Vietnamese officer, made several attack runs against the machineguns. The VC responded by directing their fire against the B-26, thereby revealing their positions to other supporting aircraft - but 44-35703 was itself hit and on fire. Captain Cody broke off his attack and headed for the nearest runway, that at Cau Mau, but the B-26 went down about 24 kilometers south of Ca Mau. Ground impact was into the bank of a canal, where the forward part of the fuselage buried itself in the canal wall. Ground searches of the crash site were conducted between 25-27 Nov 1963 and the remains of two crewmen - 1stLt Lielmanis and the Vietnamese officer - were recovered. Captain Cody's body was not found. The Library of Congress has been directed to make public certain documents regarding POW/MIA personnel. A June 1998 message from Joint Task Force-Full Accounting reports on the excavation of the crash site and the recovery of B-26 aircraft components and possible human remains. An August 1998 JTF-FA message reports the prospective repatriation of the recovered remains, while a July 2001 message provides an analysis of the materials recovered from the site during in 1998 and during a second excavation in 2001. To date, though, there has been no public announcement regarding the recovery and identification of Captain Cody's remains. The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the AIR FORCE CROSS to HOWARD RUDOLPH CODY Captain United States Air Force for service as set forth in the following CITATION: For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force as an Advisor-Pilot of a B-26B aircraft on 24 November 1963. On that date, Captain Cody voluntarily exposed himself and his aircraft during a low-level flight near hidden Viet Cong machine gun installations. This forced the Viet Cong to reveal their position which led to their destruction by cover aircraft. In this action, Captain Cody's aircraft was badly damaged by machine gun fire and he never gained control of his aircraft. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Captain Cody reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

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