BLACKBURN, HARRY LEE JR.
Remains returned April 10, 1986
Name: Harry Lee Blackburn, Jr.
Rank/Branch: O5/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 92, USS CONSTELLATION (CVA 64)
Date of Birth: 28 December 1935 (Ft. Benning GA)
Home City of Record: Highland Springs VA
Date of Loss: 10 May 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 205700N 1062000E (XJ384165)
Status (in 1973): Prisoner of War
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J
Other Personnel in Incident: Stephen A. Rudloff (Released POW)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 April 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: POSS DED RO85 RPTS ALGD SUICI
SYNOPSIS: Commander Harry L. Blackburn Jr. was a pilot assigned to Fighter
Squadron 92 onboard the USS CONSTELLATION. On May 10, 1972 he launched with
his radar intercept officer (RIO), Lt. Stephen A. Rudloff in their F4J
Phantom fighter aircraft. They were assigned on a flak suppression mission
against the Guan Lang Airfield near Hai Duong, Hai Hung Province, North
Vietnam.
After effectively hitting two anti-aircraft positions, Cdr. Blackburn was in
the process of engaging enemy MiG aircraft when his plane was hit by ground
fire and he and Rudloff were forced to eject from the aircraft. Both cremen
were seen by other aircraft to safely eject with good parachutes, and were
seen to land on the ground several hundred yards apart.
Blackburn and Rudloff were initially placed in a category of Missing in
Action, which was later changed to captured (POW). Rudloff was released as a
POW in 1973, but Blackburn was not, nor did his name appear on any list
provided by the Vietnamese. The U.S. does not classify persons as prisoner
of war without reason, and doubtless received intelligence to confirm the
capture of both men.
When Rudloff was released, he reported that he was taken prisoner and locked
in a room in a nearby compound. The night of his capture, Rudloff heard a
vehicle drive up to the building and saw a light go on in the room next to
his. Next, he heard a noise which he described as a "hand slapping a face".
Thinking the man in the next room might be Blackburn, he began to shout, but
was immediately hushed by the guards. The light in the next room was then
turned off and the vehicle drove away. Rudloff believes this is the last
contact he had with his pilot.
The Defense Department further notes "POSS DED R085 RPTS ALGD SUICI", which
translates to "Possibly dead. R085 (Rudloff) reports alleged suicide." There
is no reference to this data remark in public U.S. Navy records. *
In 1973, returning POWs reported seeing Blackburn's name scrawled on the
walls of their cells. Hanoi denied any knowledge of Harry Blackburn.
April 10, 1986, the Vietnamese returned remains they had "discovered" which
were positively identified as being those of Harry Blackburn. For 14 years,
he was a prisoner of war -- alive or dead. It is unclear how or when
Blackburn died.
Since American involvement in Vietnam ended in 1975, nearly 10,000 reports
relating to Americans missing, prisoner, or otherwise unaccounted for in
Indochina have been received by the U.S. Government. Many officials, having
examined this largely classified information, have reluctantly concluded
that many Americans are still alive today, held captive by our long-ago
enemy.
It is not known how long Harry Blackburn lived as a prisoner of war. He is
one of about 100 Americans who were confirmed prisoners of war, and about
whom the Vietnamese denied knowledge. The Vietnamese also deny knowledge of
the over 2300 other Americans still prisoner, missing or otherwise
unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. And the U.S. accepts them at their word
and gratefully accepts the "gift" of remains that should have been returned
decades ago.
If even one American is still alive in captivity today, it represents our
nation's greatest shame. We must do everything possible to bring our men
home.
Harry Lee Blackburn, Jr. was promoted to the rank of Captain during the
period he was maintained as a Prisoner of War.
* Homecoming (Egress Report) 24 April 1973 quotes several returness saying
that the NVN told them Blackburn swallowed a cyanide pill, which some felt
was implausible, while others felt it would have been in character to kill
himself to avoid capture, if in fact the NVN didn't shoot him. DRV told
some returnees they would return the body after the end of the war.
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