GRANGER, PAUL LOUIS

Name: Paul Louis Granger
Rank/Branch: O1/US Air Force
Unit: 307th Strategic Wing, Utapoa AF TH
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: San Francisco CA
Date of Loss: 20 December 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210500N 1055900E (WJ869477)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: B52D

Other Personnel In Incident: Thomas J. Klomann (released POW); Arthur V.
McLaughlin; Irwin S. Lerner; Randolph A. Perry Jr.; John F. Stuart (all
missing); from a B52G at WJ692313: William Y. Arcuri; Terry M. Geloneck; Roy
Madden Jr.; Michael R. Martini (all released POWs); Craig A. Paul; Warren R.
Spencer (both remains returned)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 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: 730329 RELSD BY DRV

SYNOPSIS: Frustrated by problems in negotiating a peace settlement, and
pressured by a Congress and public wanting an immediate end to American
involvement in Vietnam, President Nixon ordered the most concentrated air
offensive of the war, known as Linebacker II, in December 1972. During the
offensive, sometimes called the "Christmas bombings," 40,000 tons of bombs were
dropped, primarily over military targets in the area between Hanoi and Haiphong.
White House Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler said that the bombing would end only
when all U.S. POWs were released and an internationally recognized cease-fire
was in force.

The Christmas Bombings, despite press accounts to the contrary, were of the most
precise the world had seen. Pilots involved in the immense series of strikes
generally agree that the strikes against anti-aircraft and strategic targets was
so successful that the U.S., had it wished, "could have taken the entire country
of Vietnam by inserting an average Boy Scout troop in Hanoi and marching them
southward."

The operation had its costs, however, in loss of aircraft and personnel. During
the month of December 1972, 62 crewmembers of B52 aircraft were shot down and
captured or went missing. Of these 62, 33 men were released in 1973. The remains
of roughly a dozen more have been returned over the years, and the rest are
still missing. At least 10 those missing survived to eject safely. Yet they did
not return at the end of the war.

On December 20, 1972, three B52 aircraft departed Utapao Airbase, Thailand for a
bombing mission over Hanoi. During the mission, two of the three aircraft were
shot down by surface-to-air missiles (SAM). One of the aircraft, a B52G,
contained the following crewmembers: Capt. Warren R. Spencer; Capt. Craig A.
Paul; Capt. Terry M. Geloneck; 1LT William Y. Arcuri; 1LT Michael R. Martini;
and SSgt. Roy Madden, Jr. SSgt. Madden was the gunner on this aircraft.

The number three aircraft in the flight, a B52D, contained the following crew
members: Major John F. Stewart, pilot; Major Randolph A. Perry; Capt. Thomas J.
Klomann; Capt. Irwin S. Lerner; 1Lt. Paul L. Granger; and Chief Master Sgt.
Arthur V. McLaughlin, Jr., pilot.

These two B52 crews met varied fates. On the first aircraft, all but Paul and
Spencer were captured and released in 1973. Madden, Martini, Arcuri and Geloneck
were all injured; Madden sufficiently that he was brought home on a litter. The
remains of Paul and Spencer were returned by the Vietnamese on September 30,
1977, despite earlier denials that the Vietnamese knew anything about the two.

From the second aircraft, only two men were captured and released -- Granger and
Klomann. Klomann was sufficiently injured that it was necessary to bring him off
the Freedom bird on a litter.

From the two aircraft, Lerner, McLaughlin, Perry and Stuart remain unaccounted
for. The U.S. believes there is ample reason to suspect the Vietnamese could
account for these men, yet the Vietnamese deny any knowledge of them.

One thing that amazed analysts about the B52 bombers that were shot down over
Hanoi during this period was the high survival rate of the crewmembers. Many
more were returned as POWs than was expected. The B52s that were shot down were
downed in extremely hostile territory with little or no chance of rescue.
However, they were fortunate to be captured during a period in which little or
no harassment and torture was being experienced by American POWs. In fact, the
Vietnamese were, during this time, "fattening them up" for what they believed
was to be their imminent release.

Unfortunately, it does not appear that all the prisoners were returned in 1973
at the end of the war. Since the end of the war, thousands of reports have been
received by the U.S. Government relating to Americans still alive in captivity.
Experts in the U.S. Government have stated they believe Americans are still
being held prisoner in Southeast Asia. The question then, is no longer whether
or not they are alive, but who are they, and how can we bring them home?

