DUNLOP, THOMAS EARL

Name: Thomas Earl Dunlop
Rank/Branch: O5/US Navy
Unit: Attack Squadron 22, USS CORAL SEA
Date of Birth: 10 July 1930
Home City of Record: Neptune Beach FL
Date of Loss: 06 April 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 172300N 1063800E (XE735170)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A7E
Refno: 1816
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 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 USS CORAL SEA participated in combat action against the
Communists as early as August 1964. Aircraft from her squadrons flew in the
first U.S. Navy strikes in the Rolling Thunder Program against targets in
North Vietnam in early 1965 and participated in Flaming Dart I strikes. The
next year, reconnaissance aircraft from her decks returned with the first
photography of Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) sites in North Vietnam. The A1
Skyraider fighter aircraft was retired from the USS CORAL SEA in 1968. The
CORAL SEA participated in Operation Eagle Pull in 1975, evacuating American
personnel from beleaguered Saigon, and remained on station to assist the
crew of the MAYAGUEZ, which was captured by Cambodian forces in 1975. The
attack carriers USS CORAL SEA, USS HANCOCK and USS RANGER formed Task Force
77, the carrier striking force of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western
Pacific.

One of the aircraft that launched off the decks of the CORAL SEA was the
Vought A7 Corsair II, a single-seat attack jet. According to pilots, forward
air controllers (FAC) loved the A7, especially in North Vietnam. Whenever
A7s were around, they'd try to get them because of their ability to put the
ordnance right where it was supposed to be. The accuracy had little to do
with pilot technique, it was the bombing computers onboard the aircraft at
the time. The Corsair manufacturer had as many technical reps onboard the
ship as there were pilots, and they reps had the airplanes tuned to
perfection. A7s were also good on fuel, with an exceptionally long range
over 700 miles.


In the early weeks of the CORAL SEA's 1972 tour, its attack squadrons
started going after targets in North Vietnam in April. There were a lot of
missiles, and a lot of bullets. The action was faster than it had been in
previous tours.

The Air Wing commander of Attack Squadron 22 when it departed on its 1972
cruise was CDR Thomas E. Dunlop, an A7 pilot. Early in May, Dunlop launched
on a mission over Quang Binh Province. When he was about 5 miles south of
the city of Dong Hoi, Dunlop's aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile
(SAM) and he was forced to eject.

Whether Dunlop survived the downing of his aircraft is uncertain. He was
classified Missing in Action. No one saw him in prisoner of war camps, nor
have his remains been found.

For nearly 20 years, the Vietnamese have denied knowledge of the fate of
Thomas E. Dunlop, even though the U.S. believes he could probably be
accounted for -- dead or alive. By 1980, the Department of the Air Force had
declared him dead, based on no specific information he was still alive.

Disturbing testimony was given to Congress in 1980 that the Vietnamese
"stockpiled" the remains of Americans to return at politically advantageous
times. Could Dunlop be waiting, in a casket, for just such a moment?

Even more disturbing are the nearly 10,000 reports received by the U.S.
relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities who have
examined this information (largely classified), have reluctantly come to the
conclusion that many Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia. Could
Dunlop be among these?

Perhaps the most compelling questions when remains are returned are, "Is it
really who they say it is?", and "How -- and when -- did he die?" As long as
reports continue to be received which indicate Americans are still alive in
Indochina, we can only regard the return of remains as a politically
expedient way to show "progress" on accounting for American POW/MIAs. As
long as reports continue to be received, we must wonder how many are alive.

As long as even one American remains alive, held against his will, we must
do everything possible to bring him home -- alive.

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