OLMSTEAD, STANLEY EDWARD

Name: Stanley Edward Olmstead
Rank/Branch: O4/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 84, USS INDEPENDENCE (CVA 62)
Date of Birth: 12 November 1933 (Gage OK)
Home City of Record: Marshall OK
Date of Loss: 17 October 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 213500N 1063300E (XJ605872)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4B

Other Personnel In Incident: Porter A. Halyburton (released POW); At nearby
coordinates, all F4 aircraft from USS Independence and US Navy personnel; Rodney
A. Knutson and Ralph E. Gaither (both released POWs); Roderick L. Mayer
(missing) and David R. Wheat (released POW)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 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: PROB DIED IN A/C WRECKAGE

SYNOPSIS: LT Roderick Mayer was a pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier USS
INDEPENDENCE (CVA-62). On October 17, 1965 he and his Radar Intercept Officer
(RIO), LTJG David Wheat launched in their F4B Phantom fighter jet for a day
strike mission on the Thai Nguyen bridge northeast of Hanoi.

On the same day, a second Phantom flown by LCDR Stanley E. Olmstead, with LTJG
Porter A. Halyburton as his RIO, and a third Phantom flown by LTJG Ralph Gaither
and LTJG Rodney A/ Knutson also launched from the USS INDEPENCENCE. These four
pilots were part of Fighter Squadron 84, the "Jolly Rogers". Mayer and Wheat
were part of the carriers Fighter Squadron 41. All were dispatched to the same
general mission area near the city of Thai Nguyen.

The three Phantoms were all shot down within a few miles of each other. Knutson
and Gaither were shot down in Long Song Province, North Vietnam, near the border
of China, or about 75 miles northeast of the city of Thai Nguyen. Olmstead and
Halyburton were shot down in Long Son Province about 40 miles east of the city
of Thai Nguyen. Mayer and Wheat were shot down about 55 miles east-northeast of
the city of Thai Nguyen, in Long Son Province.

Mayer and Wheat's aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Both men were seen to
eject from the aircraft. Search and rescue (SAR) efforts were hampered due to
enemy small arms fire. Lt. Mayer was observed over a period of two hours in a
prone position, still in his parachute. Before rescue helicopters could reach
the scene, both Mayer and Wheat had disappeared from sight and enemy troops were
seen in the area. David R. Wheat was confirmed to be a prisoner of war, and when
released in 1973, made statements which suggest that Mayer was killed during the
ejection or that he died later of injuries resulting from the ejection. He
stated that Lt. Mayer did not move, even when he was found by ground troops.
Mayer was classified Prisoner of War.

LCDR Olmstead's aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed while on a bombing
mission. No transmissions were heard, nor was there any sign of ejection by
either crewmember. Other U.S. aircraft passed over the crash site and deterimed
that there was no possibility of survival. However, it was later learned that
Halyburton had survived, and was captured. Being the RIO, Halyburton would eject
first. It was believed that Olmstead had probably died in the crash of the
aircraft, but there was no proof of this theory. Olmstead was classified Missing
in Action.

Gaither and Knutson were captured by the North Vietnamese, spent nearly 8 years
as prisoners and were both released on February 12, 1973 in Operation
Homecoming. Knutson had been injured, and was not fully recovered at the time of
his release.

The fates of these six men from the USS INDEPENDENCE was not clear at the time
they were shot down. Their status changed from Reported Dead to Prisoner of War
or Missing in Action. At the end of the war, only Olmstead and Mayer remained
missing. Ultimately, they were declared dead for lack of evidence that they were
still alive.

When the war ended, refugees from the communist-overrun countries of Southeast
Asia began to flood the world, bringing with them stories of live GI's still in
captivity in their homelands. Since 1975, nearly 10,000 reports relating to
Americans missing in Southeast Asia have been received. Many authorities believe
that hundreds of Americans are still held in the countries in Southeast Asia.

The U.S. Government operates on the "assumption" that one or more men are being
held, but that it cannot "prove" that this is the case, allowing action to be
taken. Meanwhile, low-level talks between the U.S. and Vietnam proceed, yielding
a few sets of remains when it seems politically expedient to return them, but as
yet, no living American has returned.


Roderick L. Mayer was promoted to the rank of Commander during the period he was
maintained missing and David R. Wheat was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
Commander.

Rodney A. Knutson and Ralph E. Gaither were promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
Commander during the period they were maintained as prisoner of war.

Stanley E. Olmstead was promoted to the rank of Commander during the period he
was maintained missing. Porter A. Halyburton was promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant Commander during the period he was maintained as a prisoner of war.




