ABBOTT, WILFRED KEESE

Name: Wilfred Keese Abbott
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Afton WY
Date of Loss: 05 September 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 202000N 1055500E (WH956484)
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.

REMARKS: 730304 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 who was shot down
on an F8E) 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.

Capt. Wilfred K. Abbott was a pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam on
Septemer 5, 1966 in an F8E. His mission had taken him near the borders of Nunh
Binh and Nam Ha Provinces, and he was shot down about 10 miles northwest of the
city of Ninh Binh. Capt. Abbott successfully ejected from the aircraft, although
he was seriously injured, and was captured by the North Vietnamese.

For the next seven years, Capt. Abbott 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.



