CONGER, JOHN EDWARD JR.
Name: John Edward Conger, Jr.
Rank/Branch: E3/US Army
Unit: Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade
Date of Birth: 07 January 1950 (Columbus OH)
Home City of Record: Lebanon OH
Date of Loss: 27 January 1969
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 103954N 1062519E (XS555802)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 1367
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled 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 in 1998.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: PFC John E. Conger, Jr. was a rifleman for Company A, 3rd
Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade, and was serving in that capacity on January
27, 1969 on a search and destroy mission in Long An Province, South Vietnam
near the city of Tan An.
The unit was inserted by helicopter and began a sweep. While crossing a
field, Congar's company was taken under fire by enemy machine guns. During
the initial fire four men were wounded. PFC Conger moved up to attempt to
knock out the machine gun nest and was reportedly wounded in the right
shoulder and neck. Attempts to recover Conger and five other wounded
individuals at that time were unsuccessful because of continuing fire.
On January 28, U.S. artillery and aircraft shelled and bombed the area while
U.S. ground forces cordoned off the area. By January 29, the area had been
secured, but Conger and the other individuals could not be located.
On October 13, 1969, the remains of the individuals who had been missing
with Conger were found, but no trace of Conger was located. No further
searches were conducted.
PFC John Conger was declared Missing in Action. It was never learned whether
he was killed that day in January or not. He might have survived to be taken
prisoner.
As reports continue to flow in indicating that Americans are still alive and
captives in Southeast Asia, it becomes increasingly apparent that PFC Conger
could be among them. If so, what must he be thinking of his country?
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