SITEK, THOMAS WALTER

Name: Thomas Walter Sitek
Rank/Branch: O4/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 142, USS CONSTELLATION (CVA 64)
Date of Birth: 03 August 1935 (Buffalo NY)
Home City of Record: Niagra Falls NY
Date of Loss: 23 August 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210400N 1060400E (XJ108297)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4B

Other Personnel in Incident: Patrick L. Ness (remains returned)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 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:

SYNOPSIS: The USS CONSTELLATION provided air power to the U.S. effort in
Vietnam early in the war, having participated in strikes against Loc Chao
and Hon Gai in North Vietnam during August 1964. One of the first American
POWs of the war, and certainly one of the most well-known, LTJG Everett
Alverez, launched from her decks and was captured during this series of
strikes in 1964. The CONSTELLATION was large and carried a full range of
aircraft. Fighters from her air wing, CVW-14, earned the carrier the
Meritorious Unit Commendation in 1968 during a particularly intense period
of air attacks. VF-96, a premier fighter squadron awarded the Clifton Trophy
two straight years, flew from the CONSTELLATION in October 1971. During this
period, two of her pilots, LT Randall H. Cunningham and LTJG William
"Willie" Driscoll became the first American aces of the Vietnam War, having
shot down five Russian-made MiG enemy aircraft. The CONSTELLATION remained
on station throughout most of the war.

One of the aircraft launched from the decks of the CONSTELLATION was the F4
Phantom. 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.

The contrast between fighter and attack squadrons in Vietnam was not as
striking as in previous wars. Fighter pilots have long held the attention of
aviation enthusiasts and the American public, a fondness dating back to the
days of the dramatic exploits of the Red Baron in World War I. But attack
pilots, except for brief moments of public glory--the Korean War film, "The
Bridges at Toko-Ri," is one notable example--have been relegated to plodding
unnoticed in the aviation trenches to conduct an unglamorized and relatively
under-publicized air-to-mud business.

Vietnam, however, was an air-to-ground war. There were a considerable number
of duels in the skies over North Vietnam and the exploits of MiG killers
have been well documented. But those aerial duels were just a thin slice of
the air-war pie. The bulk of naval air activity consisted of various attack
aircraft dropping bombs and firing rockets and bullets on the fields,
factories and bridges of North Vietnam. While on Dixie Station off the coast
of South Vietnam, aviators turned their attention to forward air control
(FAC), close-air support, long-range strikes and general division tactics.
Fighter pilots, not wanting their talents to go to waste, also flew
air-to-mud.

LCDR Thomas W. Sitek was a fighter pilot assigned to Fighter Squadron 142
onboard the USS CONSTELLATION. On August 23, 1967, he and his Radar
Intercept Officer (RIO), Ensign Patrick L. Ness, launched from the carrier
on a flak suppression/strike mission against a rail yard ten miles east of
Hanoi.

During their initial approach to the target, several surface-to-air missiles
(SAM) were launched against the strike force. Other aircraft saw Sitek's
aircraft take a direct hit by a SAM, catch fire and fall to the ground. No
one saw any ejections or parachutes. Search and rescue efforts were not
feasible since the location was deep inside enemy territory. The two men
were presumed to have died in the crash of the aircraft.

Sitek was a veteran pilot. Ness, however, was on his first tour of Vietnam.
Married shortly before he shipped out, Ness had joined the Navy in July 1965
and learned to fly. Before he was shot down on August 23, he had been shot
down twice and rescued. The third time, he was not so lucky.

On April 10, 1986, the Vietnamese "discovered" the remains of Patrick Ness
and returned them to U.S. control. The Ness family, aware that
misidentifications had been made in the past, considered carefully their
acceptance of the group of human bones offered to them as the mortal remains
of Patrick Ness. Ness was finally buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery
in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where his family still resides.

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.

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