Mascari, Phillip Louis, Maj

On May 2, 1969, then 1Lt. Phillip Louis Mascari was the pilot of an O-2A, call sign "Nail 110" on a Forward Air Control (FAC) mission.  The mission identifier was Steel Tiger.  He departed Ubon Airfield, Thailand, on his 33rd mission at 1200 hours and proceeded to Sector 5 of Steel Tiger.  At the conclusion of this mission, he was to return to Ubon.  
  
   The last radio contact with 1Lt. Mascari was at 1455 hours.  At that time their was no indication of any trouble.  He was due to make radio contact again at 1600 hours, but it was not made.  No undue concern was felt when Phillip Mascari failed to report in as scheduled because radio contact was frequently lost when aircraft were flying low in mountains.

   When the Command and Control Center suspected Nail 110 might be in trouble, extensive visual and electronic search and rescue (SAR) efforts were immediately initiated.  During the search, no trace of the aircraft or its pilot was found.  No ground search was possible because of the lack of knowledge of a specific loss location.  By 1800 hours, when the fuel in the aircraft would have been exhausted, Phillip Mascari was listed as Missing In Action (MIA).

  
   Sal and Jeanne Mascari believe their son could still be alive.  In 1970 they traveled to Paris to try and meet with the North Vietnamese.  In 1973 and again in 1975, Sal Mascari traveled to Laos to see what he could learn about his son.  What he saw on his second trip disheartened him.  Sal Mascari was able to travel to within 15 miles of the spot his son was lost, in dense, triple-canopy jungle.  But traveling to a Lao village with Phils potograph, two natives identified the picture.  One claimed to have buried Phil, another said he had taken his boots.  Sal Mascari didn't know what to believe.

This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii with another memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.

He loved music and everyone he met.  We had a memorial service for him at St. Aloyisius Church in Caldwell N.J.  They had a parade and planted a tree in memory of him at Caldwell College, and one in front of the police building.  They named a street Mascari Lane and all of Caldwell adopted him.   One thing I know, he died doing what he loved, flying. Mrs. Jeanne Mascari, Mother 


Subject:...... I Knew Jeanne & Sal

I knew Jeanne and Sal Mascari. They lived near me for years.  They were a loving couple. They devoted decades to seeking information on Philip. I attended Phillip's Memorial Mass in Caldwell, NJ. Most of the town attended his Mass. The POW / MIA  Flag flies on the flag poll on the Green in the center of the town of Caldwell New Jersey in Philip L Mascari's honor.