I Chose to make a Difference...
I Adoped an MIA!

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On August 28, 1997, I became a member of "Operation Just Cause" by adopting my own MIA, thereby wearing an MIA Bracelet, in honor of Merlin Raye Allen, so he will not be forgotten. You can also join "Operation Just Cause" and adopt your own, by logging on to the Operation Just Cause Switchboard requesting your own MIA. then....

Order your own MIA Bracelet

MY MIA....

Merlin Raye Allen
Rank/Branch: E3/USMC
Unit: A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
Date of Birth: 22 October 1946
Home City of Record: Bayfield WI
Date of Loss: 30 June 1967
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 161349N 1074301E (YC896956)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: CH46A

OTHER PERSONNEL IN INCIDENT: John House; Michael Judd; John Killen; Glyn Runnels (all still missing)

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: DED/CRSH BRN/SOM RECOV/NT SUBJ

SYNOPSIS: Capt. John A. House was the pilot of an CH46A helicopter carrying personnel assigned to Company A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division near the city of Phu Bai, South Vietnam on June 30, 1967.

Among the passengers onboard the aircraft were members of Company A, LCpl Merlin R. Allen, LCpl. John D. Killen, and Cpl. Glyn L. Runnels. Also onboard was the company's hospital corpsman, Petty Officer Third Class Michael B. Judd.

The aircraft was hit by small arms fire, exploded and crashed. Although some of the personnel aboard survived, House, Allen, Judd, and Killen were never found, nor were remains recovered that could be identified as theirs. The four men were listed as killed in action, body not recovered.

Nearly 2500 Americans did not return from Southeast Asia at the end of the war. Some, like the pilot and passengers of the CH46, are probably dead and will never come home. Since the end of the war, however, thousands of refugee reports have been received that indicate hundreds of Americans are still alive, held captive.

It is a matter of pride in the Marine Corps that one's comrades are never left on the field of battle to fall into the hands of
the enemy. One can imagine that these men, had they survived, would willingly go one more mission for the return of those who still await rescue. Although some of the personnel aboard survived, House was never found, nor were remains recovered that could be identified as his. He was listed as killed in action, body not recovered.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep pushing this issue inside the Beltway...
The need to get specific answers is more important now than ever before. If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70s...They don't have much time left. We have to demand the answers from the bureaucrats and keep standing on their necks (figuratively speaking) until they get the message that THEY work for US and that we are serious about getting these long overdue responses. Diplomatic considerations aside...
We can no longer allow questionable protocols established by pseudo-aristocratic armchair strategists, to determine or influence the fate of the men who were in the trenches while the diplomats were sharing sherry and canapes and talking about "Their Plans" for the future of SE Asia.

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Remembering.... Hospital Corpsman Michael Barry Judd, HM3, USN

Michael Barry Judd, HM3, USN

Name: Michael Barry Judd
Rank/Branch: E4/USN/USMC
Unit: A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
Date of Birth: 22 August 1945
Home City o f Record: Cleveland, OH
Date of Loss: 30 June 1967
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 161349N 1074301E (YC896956)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: CH46A
Refno: 0746

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* More recent information on this incident has been addeded below, provided by the brother of John "Jack" House, pilot of the CH46 Chinook helicopter)

"Jake I found you from a visit to the "Operation Just Cause Ring..

"My name is Robert House, brother of John (Jack) House (Service number: 086844). I read your report on the fate of Merlin Raye Allen, your MIA, which mentions my brother John House and the incident relative to their deaths. Based on the information I have, your account of the incident is not completely correct. I have more detailed information of this incident, based on a letter sent to my parents on Jack’s death (incident number 67063013.KIA). According to Lieutenant Colonel William R. Beeler (U.S. Marine Corps, July 1, 1967 letter), the account of the incident is as follows: 'As Jack helicopter approached the landing zone, his plane was unexpectedly hit by ground fire. The aircraft was severely damaged but he was able to fly for about a half mile before he crash landed in a thick jungle canopy. The co-pilot (Ted Pittman now in Dallas, TX) managed to escape along with the two enlisted crew members and four of an eight man reconnaissance team. Prior to being rescued, two of the lesser injured reconnaissance team members returned to the scene of the crash and verified the crash scene.'

"As I recall, by parents were contacted by the co-pilot and he told them that Jack was not injured from fire or the crash, but tree branches stopped his exit from the helicopter and just before he was able to get free, the plane exploded.

"I’m still baffled why they never were able to recover some of his remains, since they knew the exact location of the crash. I believe some of his bones must have survived the explosion. It sure would be nice to have some remains for Jack’s wife and son Eric, who was born months before Jacks death.

"Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need further information on Jack’s death.

Robert House"

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Note: If you wish to communicate with Robert House, please direct your mail to the Web Yeoman (Webmaster). He will forward it on to Robert House. Do that here.

My Web Rings Site is temporarily down

                You can make a difference by getting involved! If you follow the following suggestions on how to write your Senator/Congressmen, you will get results.  These suggestions come to you from George "Gunny\ Fallon, of Operation  Just Cause:

WE CAN GET THE ANSWERS IF WE ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS!

Every day, the president, vice-president, senators, congressional representatives and a variety of appointed government officials are asked to respond to questions about government projects and programs. In all but the most extraordinary cases, the inquiry is passed on to aides and assistants who have little choice but to respond with prepared stock answers.

If you ask one of them what they are doing about the MIA issue, they will tell you:
"Everything we can."
Then they go back to the business of perpetuating the bureaucracy.

However, there is a better and more effective way to get their attention. Ask a more direct question that demands more than the expedient but lame, stock response. For Example:

Dear Senator, What is being done to determine the fate of Sfc Daniel R Phillips-USASF, who was last seen fighting his way through the perimeter during the seige of LangVei on 2/7/68? No remains were ever found although there was an intensive search of the area later on, and no one saw him fall. There is no evidence that he was killed and he is known to have been capable of surviving under harsh conditions. Please advise me of any action that is being taken by you or any other elected or appointed official to determine his fate. In the event there is nothing being done, please explain why not, and tell me how you personally plan to correct this and prevent it from ever happening again.

With a question that detailed, they can't get away with the old stock answers. And in researching those answers, they may come to realize what a large segment of the Veteran Brotherhood has known for years...That we abandoned "Loyal American Citizens" in Southeast Asia, and that many of them could still be alive in captivity today!

Let's get those answers which are owed to the families, friends and ourselves.
Just fill out this simple form and I will email you with the name, history and date of loss for a specific MIA so you can ask your elected representatives in Washington some specific questions.
Let's make this the year we bring them all home!

Copy the Letter above then use it as a template, customizing it for your Personal MIA, and then use the following links to send your Email to the ones who can make a difference...
E-Mail your Senators for the POW Network

Please visit these important Links...

| Our Vietnam Tribute | Our Air Group MIA's | Website Dedication & Tributes |
| Quarterdeck | Home Page |

Other POW/MIA Off-site Links

| POW Network |

| Navy Corpsman MIA's |
(We need a new Link as this older link went down)