UNDERWOOD, PAUL GERARD
REMAINS RETURNED/IDENTIFIED 02/04/98
Name: Paul Gerard Underwood
Rank/Branch: United States Air Force/O5/Pilot
Unit:
Date of Birth: 07 July 1927
Home City of Record: Hornell NY (Goldsboro NC according to obit)
Date of Loss: 16 March 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates:
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.
REMARKS:
Defense POW/MIA Weekly Update
February 4, 1998
REMAINS OF U.S. SERVICEMEN FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA IDENTIFIED
The remains of two American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from
Southeast Asia have been identified and will be returned to their families for
burial in the United States.
They are identified as Col. Paul G. Underwood, of Goldsboro, N.C.; and Capt.
Donald B. Bloodworth, of San Diego, Cal., both U.S. Air Force.
On March 16, 1966, Col. Underwood was leading a strike mission over Lai Chau
Province, Vietnam. As he released his payload, he reported that his F-105
Thunderchief was on fire. Col. Underwood's wingman reported observing the
F-105 crash but he saw no parachute.
In 1994 and 1995, joint U.S-Vietnamese search teams interviewed local
villagers and investigated a suspected crash site believed to be that of Col.
Underwood. In 1996, the crash site was excavated and human remains, pilot-
related artifacts, and personal effects, including Col. Underwood's military
identification tags were recovered. The remains were repatriated to the U.S.
Army's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii and identified as those
belonging to Col. Underwood.
On July 24, 1970, Capt. Bloodworth and his pilot were flying an F-4D aircraft
as escort on an armed, night reconnaissance mission over Laos. The pilot
radioed that he had lost sight of the markers indicating the target location.
That was the last contact received from the crew.
Joint U.S.-Lao teams investigated this incident twice in 1991 and 1993. In
1991, the teams surveyed the site, and in 1993, excavated a suspected crash
site recovering aircraft wreckage and human remains. These remains were
repatriated and subsequently identified as Capt. Bloodworth's. His crewmate is
still unaccounted- for.
With the identification of these two servicemen, 2,097 Americans remain
unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.
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