WAGENER, DAVID RAYMOND
REMAINS IDENTIFIED 04 SEPT 97

Name: David Raymond Wagener
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 22 June 1939
Home City of Record: Ann Arbor MI
Date of Loss: 20 October 1966
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 170858N 1054757E (WD840961)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A1E
Refno: 0498
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 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: David R. Wagener was a star athlete at Saline High School and
attended the University of Michigan before joining the Air Force. On October
20, 1966, at age 27, Capt. Wagener was sent on a combat mission over Laos in
his A1E "Spad" aircraft.

The Skyraider is a highly maneuverable, propeller driven aircraft designed
as a multipurpose attack bomber or utility aircraft. The E model generally
carried two crewmen. The A1 was first used by the Air Force to equip the
first Air Commando Group engaged in counterinsurgency operations in South
Vietnam, and later used in a variety of roles, ranging from electronic
intelligence gathering to antisubmarine warfare and rescue missions.

The precise nature of Wagener's mission is not clear, but his aircraft was
shot 7down about 20 miles north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Quang
Binh Province. Circumstances surrounding Wagener's loss indicated that he
had been killed in the crash. There is no second crewman missing, so if
there was one, he was rescued or recovered.

Disturbing testimony was given to Congress in 1980 that the Vietnamese
"stockpiled" the remains of Americans to return at politically advantageous
times. Could Wagener be waiting, in a casket, for just such a moment?

Even more disturbing are the nearly 10,000 reports received by the U.S.
relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities who have
examined this information (largely classified), have reluctantly come to the
conclusion that many Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia. Could
Wagener be among these?

As long as even one American remains alive, held against his will, we must
do everything possible to bring him home -- alive.

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