FOBAIR, ROSCOE HENRY

Name: Roscoe Henry Fobair
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 47th TFS
Date of Birth: 30 September 1935
Home City of Record: Oxnard CA
Date of Loss: 24 July 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210657N 1050857E (WJ155348)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4C

Other Personnel in Incident: Richard P. Keirn (released POW)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1991 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 March 1997.

REMARKS: AC TOLD DEAD BY VIETNAMESE

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. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes
around.

Capt. Roscoe H. Fobair was the pilot and Capt. Richard P. Keirn the
weapons/systems operator on an F4C sent on a combat mission near Hanoi on
July 24, 1965. About 40 miles east-northeast of Hanoi, in Vinh Phu Province,
the aircraft was shot down.

Roscoe Fobair was captured by the North Vietnamese, but Fobair's fate
remained unclear. Sometime in late 1972 or early 1973, the North Vietnamese
announced that Fobair had died, failing to say when, or if he had been a
captive. Fobair remained classified Missing in Action.

Keirn spent the next 7 1/2 years as a prisoner of war. Like other Americans,
he endured torture and deprivation at the hands of the Vietnamese. Then on
February 12, 1973, he was released in Operation Homecoming.

Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing,
prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.
Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified
information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive
today. These reports are the source of serious distress to many returned
American prisoners. They had a code that no one could honorably return
unless all of the prisoners returned. Not only that code of honor, but the
honor of our country is at stake as long as even one man remains unjustly
held. It's time we brought our men home.

Roscoe H. Fobair was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during the
period he was maintained missing.

---

Use your Browser's BACK function to return to the PREVIOUS page

---