MOORE, DENNIS ANTHONY

Name: Dennis Anthony Moore
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit: VF 191
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Littleton CO
Date of Loss: 27 October 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 205000N 1051500E (WJ260035)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F8E

Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 April 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

REMARKS: 730212 RELSD BY DRV

SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of
Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North
Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively
by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot
reported shot down on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier
fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The
aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.

The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were
the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie
carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions
as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a
heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were
used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo
version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and
frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF models were equipped for
photo reconnaissance.

The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar
fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or
destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader
pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and
released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war.

Lt. Dennis A. Moore was the pilot of an F8E sent on a combat mission over
North Vietnam on October 27, 1965. His flight route took him to Hoa Binh
Province, North Vietnam, where his aircraft was shot down about 5 miles west
of the city of Hoa Binh. Moore was captured by the North Vietnamese.

For the next 8 years, Moore was held in various prisoner of war camps,
including the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" complex in Hanoi. He was released in
the general prisoner release in 1973.

Since the war ended, nearly 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.

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977 Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR
Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St.,
Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is reproduced as found in the original
publication (including date and spelling errors).
UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO

DENNIS A. MOORE
Lieutenant Commander - United States Navy
Shot Down: October 27, 1965
Released: February 12, 1973

It is a rare experience, a memory which will endure all the days of my life.
Our homecoming and the warmth and sincerity which we found in the many
people who took of their own time to write or call or simply say "Welcome
Home' were a glimpse of America's inner spirit. If a man needed
reassurance that the soul of America and with it, the enduring ideals,
the whole and strong, he need only consider what we, the men coming home and
experienced - We saw an America changed - A nation with great problems. But
her spirit was great and unchanged.

December 1996
Dennis Moore retired from the United States Navy as a Commander. He lived in
London, England until returning in the late 90's to California.

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