LODGE, ROBERT ALFRED
Remains returned 30 September 1977
Name: Robert Alfred Lodge
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Unit: 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Udorn AB TH
Date of Birth: 30 June 1941
Home City of Record: Lynbrook NY
Date of Loss: 10 May 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 214603N 1045900E (VK983069)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Refno: 1849
Other Personnel in Incident: Robert Locher (rescued)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 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 1998.
REMARKS: REMS RET BY SRV 770930
SYNOPSIS: In the spring of 1972, the U.S. formulated the LINEBACKER
offensive. Its objective was to keep the weapons of war out of North
Vietnam. At this time, the North Vietnamese had one of the best air defense
systems in the world, with excellent radar integration of SA-2 SAMs, MiGs,
and antiaircraft artillery. The NVN defense system could counter our forces
from ground level up to nineteen miles in the air. MiG fighters were on
ready alert, and after takeoff, were vectored by ground-control radar.
Soviet advisors devised attack strategies, manned a number of the SAM sites,
and also trained North Vietnamese crews.
On the first strike day, a strike force of 32 F4s launched against the Paul
Doumer Bridge and the Yen Vien railroad yard near downtown Hanoi. The North
Vietnamese strongly defended these targets, firing a large number of SAMs
and sending 41 MiGs to intercept the U.S. attackers.
After shooting down a MiG-21, one of the F4D MIGCAP aircraft was shot down
by one of more MiG-19s near Yen Bai, North Vietnam. Maj. Robert A. Lodge was
the pilot of the F4D, callsign Oyster 1. His Weapons Systems Officer was
Capt. Roger Locher. The aircraft was observed to be on fire during descent,
and impacted the ground in a ball of fire. No chutes were seen or beepers
heard from either crewman. This crew had shot down two MiGs the previous
week.
On June 1, an F4 on a mission in the area reported a beeper and voice
contact with a downed crew member in the vicinity of Yen Bai, North Vietnam.
Search and Rescue (SAR) forces were immediately diverted to the area and
established radio contact with the WSO, Capt. Locher. Minutes later
helicopters arrived in the area. By this time, the A1s defending the rescue
were receiving heavy anti-aircraft fire.
The A1s had not been able to pinpoint Capt. Locher's location, and the
helicopters, equipped with electronic location finders (ELFs), attempted to
pinpoint his position. At this point a MiG-21 made a high-speed,
low-altitude pass at the helicopters, followed by another pass within
minutes. The helicopters were low on fuel, and it was decided to suspend
rescue for the day. (Note: Rescue was being attempted within 7 miles of Yen
Bai Airfield, a very strongly defended area and extremely dangerous for the
rescue attempt.)
Rescuers were also suspicious. It had been three weeks since Oyster 1 was
shot down, and it seemed unlikely that anyone could evade capture against
such heavy odds. It was suspected that a captured POW was being used by the
North Vietnamese to lay a trap for the SAR forces. Despite the possibility
of an ambush, the SAR operation resumed the second day.
Operations on the second day began with a diversionary strike against Yen
Bai Airfield. Other F4s were used to hit anti-aircraft guns in the area. The
rescue package and the bombers, plus the attendant array of F4 escorts,
EB66s, F105G Weasels and KC135 tankers totaled 119 U.S. aircraft -- more
aircraft than had been involved in the original 10 May attack on Hanoi when
Locher was shot down.
As the helicopters entered the rescue area, they picked up strong radio
signals from Locher. The A1 escorts were receiving heavy AAA fire and called
in more F4 strikes against the guns. The SAR helicopters, to avoid SAMs and
MiGs, flew at an altitude of about fifty feet (all within 3-7 miles of the
enemy airfield). As they approached Locher's position, they began taking
heavy ground fire from the many villages in the area.
The ELF equipment proved to be particularly valuable, as its signals
directed the helicopters right to Locher. A jungle penetrator was lowered,
and Locher brought on board under heavy ground fire. It was not until Locher
was actually onboard that SAR forces knew for certain that the rescue had
not been a trap.
Roger Locher had walked about twelve miles from where he had parachuted and
had kept himself alive on wild fruit and weed shoots. The many streams had
provided him a plentiful supply of fresh water. The extent of the SAR effort
was indicative of the efforts put forth to rescue downed pilots.
It was believed possible that Robert Lodge had also escaped the crippled
aircraft, and he was classified Missing in Action. In 1973, 591 Americans
were released from prisons in Hanoi. Robert A. Lodge was not among them.
On September 30, 1977, the Vietnamese "discovered" the remains of Robert A.
Lodge and returned them to U.S. control. Alive or dead, he had been a
prisoner of war and a political pawn.
LINEBACKER and LINEBACKER II offensives were the most effective strikes
against enemy defenses in the war. By the end of these surgical strikes,
according to pilots who flew the missions, the North Vietnamese had "nothing
left to shoot at us as we flew over. It was like flying over New York City."
Nearly 2500 Americans did not return from the war in Vietnam. Thousands of
reports have been received indicating that some hundreds remain alive in
captivity. As in the case of Lodge, Vietnam and her communist allies can
account for most of them. As long as even one American remains alive in
captivity in Southeast Asia, the only issue is that one living man.
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