LEWIS, LARRY GENE

Name: Larry Gene Lewis
Rank/Branch: O2/US Navy Reserves
Unit: Fighter Squadron 21, USS RANGER (CVA 61)
Date of Birth: 22 September 1945
Home City of Record: Asheville NC
Date of Loss: 27 February 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 085130N 1083347E (BK320800)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J
Refno: 1710
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 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.

LTJG Larry G. Lewis was an F4 pilot assigned to Fighter Squadron 21 onboard
the USS RANGER positioned on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. (NOTE:
Although Air Force records indicate that the RANGER was stationed in the
Gulf of Tonkin [i.e. Yankee Station], Defense Department records list the
area of loss as South Vietnam/Over Water. No reason for this discrepancy can
be determined since the loss coordinates are unquestionably in the South
China Sea [i.e. Dixie Station].)

The USS RANGER was a seasoned combat veteran, having been deployed to
Vietnam for early Flaming Dart I operations. The carrier played a steady
role throughout American involvement in the war. The first fighter jets to
bomb Haiphong in Operation Rolling Thunder had come from her decks.

On February 27, 1971, Lewis was assigned a night mission with his Radar
Intercept Officer (RIO) LTJG Jim Carroll. They manned their F4J and taxied
into position for catapult launch. LTJG Lewis went to full power and
signalled that he was fully ready for the launch. The catapult launch was
initiated and as the aircraft traveled down the forward part of the flight
deck, one of the two afterburners in the aircraft appeared to go out and
Lewis was so advised on the radio by ship personnel.

The aircraft continued in flight about 100 feet and then started to descend.
As the aircraft continued to lose altitude, Lewis initiated the ejection
sequence approximately one mile in front of the ship. Crewmen from the
RANGER saw two distinct ejection seats fire. The RANGER's rescue helicopter
was on the scene within seconds, and LTJG Carroll was rescued almost
immediately. Despite an extensive search by helicopters, destroyers and
other aircraft that continued into the night and throughout the next day, no
trace of LTJG Lewis was found.

Larry G. Lewis was initially placed in a Missing casualty status which was
later changed to Reported Dead/Non Battle. During the period he was
maintained missing, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

Lewis is listed among the missing because his remains were never found to
send home to the country he served. He died a tragically ironic death in the
midst of war. But, for his family, the case seems clear that he died on that
day. The fact that they have no body to bury with honor is not of great
significance.

For other who are missing, however, the evidence leads not to death, but to
survival. Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports received relating to
Americans still held captive in Indochina have convinced experts that
hundreds of men are still alive, waiting for their country to rescue them.
The notion that Americans are dying without hope in the hands of a long-ago
enemy belies the idea that we left Vietnam with honor. It also signals that
tens of thousands of lost lives were a frivolous waste of our best men.

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