CLEARY, PETER McARTHUR
Name: Peter McArthur Cleary
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Udorn AF TH
Date of Birth: 27 August 1944
Home City of Record: Colchester CT
Date of Loss: 10 October 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 174800N 1064000E (XE541685)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4E
Refno: 1936
Other Personnel in Incident: Leonardo C. Leonor (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 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 1998.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served
a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission
type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and
high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art
electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing
capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"
planes around.
Capt. Peter A. Cleary and Capt. Leonardo C. Leonor were pilots attached to
the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn Airfield, Thailand. The
aircraft they flew on the combat missions they were assigned was the F4E, an
electronic version of the Phantom.
On October 10, 1972, Cleary was the pilot and Leonor the navigator onboard
their F4E when it was assigned a mission over North Vietnam. The aircraft
did not return to friendly control, and the crew was declared missing at the
time of estimated fuel exhaustion. Their last known location was on the
coastline of North Vietnam at Quang Binh Province, about 5 miles south of
the city of Ron.
Cleary and Leonor were maintained missing in action for the next seven
years. At that time, their status was administratively changed by the
Department of the Air Force to killed in action, based on no specific
evidence that they were alive.
When the last American troops left Southeast Asia in 1975, some 2500
Americans were unaccounted for. Reports received by the U.S. Government
since that time build a strong case for belief that hundreds of these
"unaccounted for" Americans are still alive and in captivity.
"Unaccounted for" is a term that should apply to numbers, not men. Nearly
600 men were left behind in Laos, and our government did not negotiate their
release. We, as a nation, owe these men our best effort to find them and
bring them home. Until the fates of men like Cleary and Leonor are known,
their families will wonder if they are dead or alive - and why they were
deserted.
-------------------------------
From - Fri Aug 07 20:07:27 1998
Cc: "Tom Cleary"
Subject: MIA Family - Love Letters
I am the brother of Peter Cleary - MIA 10/10/72. I will be speaking at the
Traveling Wall in Bristol, Ct. on Friday August 14, 1998. In preparing
myself for this talk, I found this page. I find the Love Letter Page
intriguing.
If anyone would like to contact me about Pete or the "MIA experience",
feel free.
POW-MIA You are not forgotten.
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