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US Air Force Air Force Colonel(COL) Edwin David Palmgren, World War II Veteran, Korean War Veteran, Vietnam Veteran, Native of Winston-Salem, NC. He was Declared Missing In Action(MIA).
US Air Force Colonel Edwin David Palmgren was a casualty of the Vietnam War. As a member of the Air Force, COL Palmgren was listed as Missing in Action(MIA) on April 22, 1968 when his plane went down over Laos. He was then declared Killed in Action November 26th, 1973 in Laos. He was 46 years old and was married. It was reported that Edwin died when his plane crashed. His body was not recovered. COL Palmgren is on panel 51E, line 032 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.
LtCol Palmgren was my father's flight leader in the Thunderbirds. Great memories of Nellis AFB. I was thinking about him today and saw your wonderful tribute here. Thank you. Rod Reder, son of LtCol Lloyd " Curly" Reder.
Colonel Palmgren, Sir. We met on your MIA braclet I wore in college. After graduation I volunteered and whet to flight school at Williams AFB, AZ. One day the braclet broke and I thought of the loss your family was experiencing. I obtained a replacement and display both in my office. If Col R.K. Williams account of your return is accurate, Welcome Home fellow comrade in flight. We visted 28 May '88 Hou TX.; 26 Feb '93 Wash DC; 31 Dec '04 Wash DC and will vist again on 26 Feb '05 near my POR when the Wall that Heals comes to Sugarland, TX. Michael R. Holguin 1Lt USAF.
I finally found you, Col. Edwin Palmgren. I wore your bracelet on my arm when I was a freshman at Amery High School, Wisconsin. It broke a few years later, but I carried it in my pocket and still have it to this day. I am now a retired teacher and am 57 years old. Through the years I tried to do something in your honor. I was the coordinator of the Amerasian Mentor Program in Mobile, Alabama and resettled refugees from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. God Bless you and your family. Your service is appreciated and your sacrifice will never be forgotten. John K. Matson
Daughter Pam Palmgren's teacher. I was his daughter's 7th grade teacher in Phoenix. I have often wondered how Pam was doing in life. Bill Chilcoat, goldwing66@aol.com
I knew Ed very well. he was my Instructor Pilot in the F-100A at Nellis AFB NEV in 1957. We flew togather many times and I learned how to stay alive in fighters from Ed. Years later, I was living in Cameron Mo. and was a pilot for TWA. A fellow USAF pilot friend of mine said he was coming to Cameron for a funeral in a few weeks. I asked how could that be? Why would they wait that long for the burial? He said that he had died in 1965 and was just coming home. It was then I found that it was Ed and that although it had never been mentioned, I had met and known his Dad and Mom through my living in Cameron. Later when I retired and moved back to Salina Kansas, my boyhood home, I met his son who lived in Salina. Small world, Great fighter pilot, what a waste!!! Colonel Ronald K. Williams Salina, Kansas.
SYNOPSIS: The F111 was first used in Southeast Asia in March 1968 during Operation Combat Lancer and flew nearly 3,000 missions during the war despite frequent periods of grounding. From 1968 to 1973, the F111 was grounded several months because of excess losses of aircraft. By 1969, there had been 15 F111's downed by malfunction or enemy fire. The major malfunctions involved engine problems and problems with the terrain following radar (TFR) which reads the terrain ahead and flies over any obstructions. Eight of the F111's downed during the war were flown by crews that were captured or declared missing. The first was one of two F111's downed during Operation Combat Lancer, during which the F111 crews conducted night and all-weather attacks against targets in North Vietnam. On March 28, the F111A flown by Maj. Henry E. MacCann and Capt. Dennis L. Graham was downed near the airfield at Phu Xa, about 5 miles northwest of the city of Dong Hoi in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Both MacCann and Graham were declared Missing in Action. Graham had been a graduate of Texas A & M in 1963. The crew of the second F111 downed during March 1968 was recovered.
On April 22, 1968 at about 7:30 p.m., Navy Lcdr. David L. Cooley and Air Force LtCol. Edwin D. Palmgren departed the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Air Base, Thailand to fly an attack mission against the Mi Le Highway Ferry over Dai Giang along Route 101. They were to pass over very
heavily defended areas of Laos at rather low altitude. Although searches continued for four days, no wreckage was ever found. The loss coordinates are located near Quang Bien, in Laos, although the two men are listed as Missing in Action in North Vietnam. As a result of the loss of the Cooley/Palmgren F111A, the Air Force suspended use of the aircraft for a limited period to investigate the cause of the losses and make any necessary modifications. After the aircraft returned to the air, the crashes resumed. When the 15th F111 went down in late 1969 because of mechanical failure, all F111's were grounded and the plane did not return to Vietnam service for several months.
Air Force officials had suspected mechanical problems, but really had no idea why the planes were lost because they fly singly and out of radio contact. Capt Sponeyberger and 1Lt. Wilson had ruled out mechanical problems. "It seems logical that we were hit by small arms," Wilson said, "By what you would classify as a 'Golden BB' - just a lucky shot." Sponeyberger added that small arms at low level were the most feared weapons by F111 pilots. The SAM-25 used in North Vietnam was ineffective at the low altitudes flown by the F111, and anti-aircraft cannot sweep the sky fast enough to keep up with the aircraft. That a 91,000 pound aircraft flying at supersonic speeds could be knocked out of the air by an ordinary bullet from a hand-held rifle or machine gun is a David and Goliath-type story the Vietnamese must love to tell and retell.
He served with the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron, "Buccaneers", then TDY to the 423rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th Air Force.
Some of the medals he was awarded were: The Purple Heart Medal for his combat related wounds, the Vietnam Service Medal, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Service Medal, The National Defense Service Medal, The Air Medal with Multiple Oak Leaf Clusters, and The Air Force Commendation Medal.
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