COHRON, JAMES DERWIN

Name: James Derwin Cohron
Rank/Branch: E6/US Army 5th Special Forces
Unit: C & C Detachment, MACV-SOG
Date of Birth: 11 November 1938 (Leon IA)
Home City of Record: Centerville IA
Date of Loss: 12 January 1968
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 162745N 1064800E (XD929208)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 0984
Other Personnel In Incident: 2 indigenous personnel

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 1998.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: James D. Cohron was born in Leon, Iowa and joined the service when
he was 25. When he went to Vietnam, he was attached to MACV-SOG (Military
Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observation Group), Command &
Control North. MACV-SOG was a joint-service high command unconventional
warfare task force engaged in highly classified operations throughout
Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces channeled personnel into MACV-SOG
(although it was not a Special Forces group) through Special Operations
Augmentation (SOA), which provided their "cover" while under secret orders
to MACV-SOG. The teams performed deep penetration missions of strategic
reconnaissance and interdiction which were called, depending on the time
frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire" missions.

On January 12, 1968, SSgt. Cohron, was a member of Spike Team "Indiana," the
second man from the rear of the team formation, when the team was ambushed
by an enemy force of unknown size 1 mile inside Laos south of Khe Sanh. The
team broke contact by evading through a gully and set up a defensive
position on a small hill where they called for helicopter extraction.

A head count was taken, and it was determined that Cohron and two indigenous
personnel were missing. The team's view of their path of evasion was
obstructed by tall elephant grass, and they were unable to visually locate
Cohron and the others. Attempts to raise them by radio failed. After contact
with the enemy force was broken, the remainder of the team was extracted.

In the ensuing days, searches were made which yielded a small spot of blood
where the initial contact was made, and Cohran's food ration, which was
identified by the empty cigarette package. Search efforts were terminated
without success.

Cohron is one of nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos. Although the
Lao stated they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, not one man held
in Laos was ever released - or negotiated for. With evidence mounting that
hundreds of these men could still be alive, the question rises, "Where is
James Cohron?"

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