Our Mission:
My first husband, Capt. Jerry Zimmer, was an F4B Phantom jet pilot, whose aircraft was shot down on August 29, 1969, approximately 20 miles South of Da Nang, Vietnam, after six months in country. Neither Jerry nor his navigator, 1st Lt. Al Graf, was able to eject, before the aircraft crashed into the Que Son Mountains. Initially Jerry and Al were classified as Killed in Action/No Body Recovered (KIA/NBR). Years later, both Marines were listed as MIA, along with other service members whose bodies were never recovered.
Jerry has been gone nearly a half century, and hope for recovering his remains had run out a long time ago. However, in recent years our family became involved with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), now merged with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), and learned that Jerry’s and Al’s remains might, in fact, be recoverable, so we are doing everything possible to support their efforts to make this happen and bring our guys home where they belong.
NOTE: BLOG POSTS ARE NOT UPDATED, SO INFORMATION MAY HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME.
Posts Tagged ‘Special Forces’
POW JON CAVAIANI RETURNS TO VIETNAM BATTLEFIELD
QUANG TRI, Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Aug. 6, 2011) – Medal of Honor recipient and Vietnam veteran Jon Cavaiani hands out candy to the Montagnard children of Vietnam. Cavaiani, a witness to the Hickory Hill Assault in the remote hills of Vietnam, provided first-hand knowledge of the battle to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command which helped narrow down the specific site location for future missions. (DoD photo by Mr. Thiep Van Nguyen II, Forensic Photographer/Released)
See more JPAC Photos of Vietnam August, 2011
The attached image and several others, viewed through the above link, tell a story of JPACs efforts to bring home our MIAs, still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. As you view the beautifully captured images, you will see that recovery efforts – frequently conducted under difficult conditions — demand dedication, stamina and belief in the idea that our MIAs are not dispensable.
Often, JPACs operations are duly noted by the locals, including children, who live in rural areas and rarely see foreigners, like Jon Cavaiani, whose smile and lollipops no doubt were a big hit. What the kids don’t see, however, is that the man known as Staff Sgt Cavaiani, USA, served two years as a POW in North Vietnamese prison camps — “Plantation Gardens” and “Hanoi Hilton”– before his release in 1973. Cavaiani was awarded the Medal of Honor on December 12, 1974, from President Gerald Ford, for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action in the Republic of Vietnam on June 4 and 5, 1971….”
Interestingly, Cavaiani wasn’t even supposed to become a soldier. A naturalized citizen in 1968, he was declared 4-F because of an allergic reaction to bee stings. Somehow the Brit turned American citizen figured out a way to by-pass the bee problem and ended up in the front lines with the Army as a Special Forces security expert in clandestine operations. Read more
Tango Mike Mike — A Must-See Video!
When troops were pinned down and surrounded by hundreds of NVA during the Vietnam War, the Hueys were a beautiful sight, along with all the other choppers that came to help out the guys on the ground.
If you don’t have time to read a great Vietnam War book, then watch the attached video (youtube link below) — you’ll think again. It depicts a side of the Vietnam War that a lot of Americans back home did not see or realize that extraordinary human beings were fighting a very dangerous war, in a far off place that few knew existed until they heeded our country’s call to serve.
While soldiers — most not old enough to vote — were described in those days as “baby killers” — words created by activists and loved by media — yet, in reality, our guys were risking their lives, often trying to save fellow warriors, above everything else.
In the video, you will meet M. Sgt. Roy Benavidez, USA, SF (Dec.), a young man who came from a humble background, during an era when being a Hispanic-Indian from Texas, was tested in every way. But as you will see, M. Sgt Benavidez exceeded all expectations and earned the Medal of Honor for heroic actions that seemed almost super human. Some might look at this video as a lesson in prejudice, i.e., white vs. brown or rich vs poor, but I see it more as a way to convey that wearing a United States Army uniform is a transformational opportunity, and M. Sgt. Roy Benavidez proved it — yes, in every way.
M. Sgt. Benavidez served in the U.S. Army for 24 years, and later died on November 29, 1998, at the age of 63. You can purchase a copy of his book on Amazon — it is called, “Medal of Honor: One Man’s Journey from Poverty and Prejudice,” written by Roy Benavidez and John R. Craig. It is also available on Kindle. Or, simply watch this video again and again. Maybe even share it with others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?=RZ7968BbMnU&feature=player_embedded
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