JOHNSON, DALE ALONZO

Name: Dale Alonzo Johnson
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Unit: (unknown, per USAF)
Date of Birth: 17 September 1929
Home City of Record: Elizabethton TN
Date of Loss: 27 October 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 173659N 1062757E (XE556501)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D
Refno: 0507
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 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 F105 Thunderchief ("Thud"), in its various versions, flew more
missions against North Vietnam than any other U.S. aircraft. It also
suffered more losses, partially due to its vulnerability, which was
constantly under revision. The versatile aircraft was also credited with
downing 25 Russian MiGs.

Maj. Dale A. Johnson was the pilot of an F105D aircraft on a combat mission
over North Vietnam on October 27, 1966. While his aircraft was in a dive to
make a bombing run near the city of Quang Khe, it burst into flames and
began to break up in the air. No parachute was seen and no emergency radio
beeper signals were heard. Others in the flight felt certain Johnson went
down with the plane and could not have survived.

Dale A. Johnson is listed among the missing because his remains were never
recovered. Others who are missing do not have such clear-cut cases. Some
were known captives; some were photographed as they were led by their
guards. Some were in radio contact with search teams, while others simply
disappeared.

Since the war ended, over 250,000 interviews have been conducted with those
who claim to know about Americans still alive in Southeast Asia, and several
million documents have been studied. U.S. Government experts cannot seem to
agree whether Americans are there alive or not. Detractors say it would be
far too politically difficult to bring the men they believe to be alive
home, and the U.S. is content to negotiate for remains.

Well over 1000 first-hand, eye-witness reports of American prisoners still
alive in Southeast Asia have been received by 1990. Most of them are still
classified. If, as the U.S. seems to believe, the men are all dead, why the
secrecy after so many years? If the men are alive, why are they not home?

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