MEADOWS, EUGENE THOMAS

Remains identified 11/21/94
The remains were unearthed in a joint mission earlier in the year -- the
remains of the aricraft commander were NOT found.

Name: Eugene Thomas Meadows
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Da Nang
Date of Birth: 04 March 1940
Home City of Record: Hiddenite NC
Date of Loss: 13 October 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 170400N 1064000E (XD750810)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4C
Refno: 0494

Source: Compiled 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 in 1998.

Other Personnel in Incident: Murray L. Borden (missing)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On 13 October 1966, 1Lt. Eugene T. Meadows and 1Lt. Murray L.
Borden departed their base at Da Nang, South Vietnam on an armed
reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. The aircraft was one in a flight
of two F4C Phantom fighter jets. (NOTE: most U.S. Government records list
Meadows as the pilot and Borden as the navigator of the aircraft, but U.S.
Air Force records indicate that Borden is the pilot of the aircraft.)

The flight of two F4's was to make four passes over its target in Quang Binh
Province, North Vietnam, about 10 miles north of the eastern side of the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). On its fourth pass, the Meadows/Borden aircraft
failed to radio in, and crew members of the other aircraft observed a large
explosion while on a down run. They circled the area, but heard no emergency
radio signals ("beepers"). Shortly thereafter, however, a beeper was heard
by search aircraft, but neither the crew nor the aircraft could be located.
The two First Lieutenants were declared Missing in Action. It was strongly
felt that the enemy knows their fates.

When 591 American POWs were released from Vietnamese prisons in 1973,
Meadows and Borden were not among them. Military authorities expressed their
dismay at the time that, "hundreds" expected to return, did not return, nor
did they appear on any list provided by the Vietnamese of American POWs.

Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports have been received relating to
Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Most authorities agree that Americans
are still alive, being held prisoner. Few agree on the best way to bring
them home.

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