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"Green Beret"
NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN
MY ADOPTED POW/MIA's:
REXFORD JOHN DEWISPELAERE
Name: DEWISPELAERE, REXFORD JOHN
Reference Number: 1530-0-05
Date: 691124
Rank: E4
Status: NR
Country: LA/
Service: F
Return Date: 931115
Race: C
Coordinates: (Latitude/Longitude) 154900N1064600E
Aircraft/Vehicle Type: C130A
SOURCE: Compiled 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 in 1998.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On November 24, 1969, a C130A departed Ubon Airfield, Thailand on
an operational mission over Laos. The crew aboard the aircraft included Maj.
Michael D. Balamonti (the navigator); Capt. Earl C. Brown; Capt. Richard O.
Ganley; 1Lt. Peter R. Matthes (the copilot); and Sgts. Donald L. Wright;
Larry I. Grewell; Charles R. Fellenz; and Rexford J. DeWispelaere.
While on the mission, near Ban Bac, Savannakhet Province, Laos, the C130 was
observed to be struck by several rounds of 37mm anti-aircraft fire, burst
into flames, crash to the ground, and explode on impact. All the crew was
declared Missing in Action, but due to enemy presence in the area, it was
strongly felt that the enemy could account for them. It was not determined
whether the crew died or survived the crash of the aircraft.
The crew of the C130 are among nearly 600 Americans who were lost in Laos.
When Dr. Henry Kissinger negotiated President Nixon's Peace Agreements in
Paris in 1973, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War, the Americans
lost in Laos were forgotten. Kissinger did not negotiate for them, even
though several were known to be Prisoners of War, and some 125 of them were
known to have survived their loss incidents. Furthermore, the Pathet Lao
stated on several occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American
prisoners.
The nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos have never been negotiated for, and
not one American held in Laos was released at the end of the war.
Since the end of the war, nearly 10,000 reports have been received by the
U.S. relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities
believe that hundreds remain alive today, held captive. Whether the crew of
the C130 could be among them is not known, but it seems certain that there
are compelling questions that need answers. Among them - why did we abandon
the men who served our country? What are we doing to bring them home?
Name: DEWISPELAERE, REXFORD JOHN
Reference Number: 1530-0-05
Date: 691124
Rank: E4
Status: NR
Country: LA/
Service: F
Return Date: 931115
Race: C
Coordinates: (Latitude/Longitude) 154900N1064600E
Aircraft/Vehicle Type: C130A
REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: On November 24, 1969, a C130A departed Ubon Airfield, Thailand on an operational mission over Laos. The crew aboard the aircraft included Maj. Michael D. Balamonti (the navigator); Capt. Earl C. Brown; Capt. Richard O. Ganley; 1Lt. Peter R. Matthes (the copilot); and Sgts. Donald L. Wright; Larry I. Grewell; Charles R. Fellenz; and Rexford J. DeWispelaere. While on the mission, near Ban Bac, Savannakhet Province, Laos, the C130 was observed to be struck by several rounds of 37mm anti-aircraft fire, burst into flames, crash to the ground, and explode on impact. All the crew was declared Missing in Action, but due to enemy presence in the area, it was strongly felt that the enemy could account for them. It was not determined whether the crew died or survived the crash of the aircraft. The crew of the C130 are among nearly 600 Americans who were lost in Laos. When Dr. Henry Kissinger negotiated President Nixon's Peace Agreements in Paris in 1973, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War, the Americans lost in Laos were forgotten. Kissinger did not negotiate for them, even though several were known to be Prisoners of War, and some 125 of them were known to have survived their loss incidents. Furthermore, the Pathet Lao stated on several occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners. The nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos have never been negotiated for, and not one American held in Laos was released at the end of the war. Since the end of the war, nearly 10,000 reports have been received by the U.S. relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities believe that hundreds remain alive today, held captive. Whether the crew of the C130 could be among them is not known, but it seems certain that there are compelling questions that need answers. Among them - why did we abandon the men who served our country? What are we doing to bring them home?