Armstrong, John William, Col

POW/MIA
 
 Service Photo   Service Details
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Last Rank
Colonel
Last Primary AFSC/MOS
1115F-Pilot
Last AFSC Group
Aircrew
Primary Unit
1967-1967, 1115F, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing - Gunfighters
Service Years
1949 - 1967
Officer srcset=
Colonel

 Current Photo   Personal Details 

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Home State
Texas
Texas
Year of Birth
1926
 
This Military Service Page was created/owned by SSgt Robert Bruce McClelland, Jr. to remember Armstrong, John William, Col.

If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
 
Contact Info
Home Town
Dallas, Texas
Last Address
Da Nang Air Base, RVN
MIA Date
Nov 09, 1967
 
Cause
MIA-Finding of Death
Reason
Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location
Laos
Conflict
Vietnam War
Memorial Coordinates
29E 055

 Official Badges 

Professional Military Education Missileman (Basic)


 Unofficial Badges 




 Military Associations and Other Affiliations
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
  2012, Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Assoc. Page


 Additional Information
Last Known Activity:

Source: http://www.taskforceomegainc.org/a024.htm
Other Personnel in Incident: Captain Lance P. Sijan (Died in Captivity, Remains returned) 

Then Lt. Col. John W. Armstrong was the Commander of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at DaNang Airbase, South Vietnam.

On 9 November 1967, Lt. Col. Armstrong, pilot; and Capt. Lance P. Sijan, co-pilot; comprised the crew of an F4C, call sign "AWOL 01," that departed their base as the lead aircraft in a flight of two. They were on a Forward Air Control strike mission against enemy targets along a portion of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail located in extremely rugged jungle covered mountains approximately 35 miles southwest of Dong Hoi, North Vietnam; 3 miles northwest of Ban Loboy and 5 miles southwest of the Lao/North Vietnamese border, Khammouan Province, Laos. This area of eastern Laos was considered a major artery of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. When North Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before. This border road was used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle covered mountains. US forces used all assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies from moving south into the war zone.

At 2045 hours, on the second pass over the target, the aircraft was hit by hostile fire, was seen to burst into flames and began to climb to approximately 10,000 feet, then rapidly descend and crash into the dense jungle below.

No parachutes were seen in the darkness and no emergency beepers heard. Search and rescue (SAR) efforts were immediately initiated and voice contact was established with Lance Sijan almost immediately. No contact could be established with Lt. Col. Armstrong.

Because of heavy enemy activity around the crash site, SAR personnel were unable to reach Capt. Sijan and were unable to locate any sign of Lt. Col. Armstrong. At the time formal search efforts were terminated, both John Armstrong and Lance Sijan were listed Missing in Action. Lance Sijan was badly injured in his low-level bailout from the damaged Phantom.

Even with his extensive injuries, he was able to evade capture for 45 days. North Vietnamese troops found him on Christmas Day lying unconscious next to the road that had been their target and only 3 miles from where he had been shot down. He died in captivity on 22 January 1968 - approximately 8 days after reaching Hanoi and two weeks after being captured.

On 13 March 1974, Lance Sijan's remains, along with the headstone used to mark his grave in North Vietnam, were returned to the United States. Further, Lance Peter Sijan was awarded this nation's highest decoration for valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his fierce resistance during interrogation and determination to resist his captures and escape captivity in spite of his emaciated and crippled condition. Before his death, Capt. Sijan was held in a cell with two other Americans. He recounted the circumstances surrounding their shootdown to them, but unfortunately, he could shed no light on the fate of Lt. Col. John Armstrong before he died.

The National Security Agency (NSA), however, intercepted enemy radio transmissions and correlated information which confirmed that John Armstrong, who would be a prize catch for the communists because of his background and position, was known captured alive in Laos. According to these reports, NSA documented that he was interviewed by a Soviet war correspondent. Much later, a Pathet Lao defector, who claimed to have been a prison camp guard, stated that in 1977 he had been guarding several Americans. According to his report, one was named "Armstrong". However, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) states they place no validity in this report.


 

   
Other Comments:

Sources:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61661681/john-william-armstrong

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153915351/john-william-armstrong

https://www.westpointaog.org/memorial-article?id=7161ef6a-1f96-49c0-9896-775f989bfa85

http://www.faraway-soclose.org/armstrong.html

https://www.abmc.gov/node/511419

   

  1967-1967, 1115F, 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron

Lieutenant Colonel
From Month/Year
March / 1967
To Month/Year
November / 1967
Unit
480th Tactical Fighter Squadron Unit Page
Rank
Lieutenant Colonel
AFSC/MOS
1115F-Pilot
Base, Station or City
Danang
State/Country
Vietnam, South (Vietnam)
   
 Patch
 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron Details

480th Tactical Fighter Squadron
Type
Fighter
 
Parent Unit
Tactical Fighter Units
Strength
Squadron
Created/Owned By
Not Specified
   

Last Updated: Nov 9, 2019
   
   
Yearbook
 
My Photos For This Unit
Lt Col Armstrong & Pilots
Lt Col Armstrong
Lt Col Armstrong
26 Members Also There at Same Time
480th Tactical Fighter Squadron

Garner, Clyde Hoover, Brig Gen, (1951-1978) 111 1115F Major
Badley, James Linsday, 1st Lt, (1965-1968) 111 1115F First Lieutenant
Rodriguez, Albert Eduardo, Capt, (1965-1968) 111 1115F First Lieutenant
Vinson, Bobby Gene, Col, (1950-1968) 111 1115A Lieutenant Colonel
Olds, Ernest Arthur, Col, (1956-1968) 111 1115A Major
Sijan, Lance Peter, Capt, (1965-1968) 111 1115R First Lieutenant
Baugh, William Joseph, Col, (1956-1981) 102 1021A Captain
Adamson, Donald V., MSgt, (1954-1980) 462 46270 Master Sergeant
Kirkwood, James, MSgt, (1963-1984) 431 43199 Master Sergeant
Catlett, Donald, TSgt, (1955-1975) 431 43171C Staff Sergeant
Dunsey, Ronald, SSgt, (1966-1970) 00 00E Staff Sergeant
Howe, Jerry, SSgt, (1961-1969) 431 J43151C Staff Sergeant
Marenda, Richard, Sgt, (1966-1969) 431 J43151C Staff Sergeant
Stanley, Dennis, SSgt, (1965-1969) 431 43151A Staff Sergeant
Peterson, Robert, Sgt, (1963-1969) 462 46250 Sergeant
Schintzius, Kenneth, Sgt, (1964-1968) 391 39150 Sergeant
Storey, Robert, Maj, (1962-1990) 702 70250 Sergeant
Upchurch, Richard, SSgt, (1966-1970) 431 43151C Sergeant
Turner, Harold, A1C, (1963-1967) 431 43151 Airman 1st Class
Foster, John, SSgt, (1966-1970) 431 43151C Airman 1st Class
Hawes, Derrill, MSgt, (1966-1987) 431 43131C Airman 2nd Class
VanDyke, Richard, Capt, (1966-1968) 111 First Lieutenant
Swords, Smith J., Col, (1950-1967) Major
Martin, John Murray, Lt Col, (1955-1967) Captain
Wortham, Murray Lamar, Capt, (1964-1967) First Lieutenant
Hulland, Thomas, Sgt, (1966-1968) Sergeant

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