ABBOTT, WILFRED KEESE
RIP  8 October 2021

Name: Wilfred Keese Abbott
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: VF 111 (on exchange duty with the United States Navy - detached from
the 4600th ABW)
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Afton WY
Date of Loss: 05 September 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 202000N 1055500E (WH956484)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F8E

Other Personnel in Incident: none

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 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. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK. 2023

REMARKS: 730304 RELSD BY DRV

SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of
Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North
Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively
by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot
who was shot down on an F8E) and represented half or more of the carrier
fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The
aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.

The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were
the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie
carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions
as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a
heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were
used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo
version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and
frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF models were equipped for
photo reconnaissance.

The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar
fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or
destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader
pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and
released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war.

Capt. Wilfred K. Abbott was a pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam on
Septemer 5, 1966 in an F8E. His mission had taken him near the borders of
Nunh Binh and Nam Ha Provinces, and he was shot down about 10 miles
northwest of the city of Ninh Binh. Capt. Abbott successfully ejected from
the aircraft, although he was seriously injured, and was captured by the
North Vietnamese.

For the next seven years, Capt. Abbott was held in various prisoner of war
camps, including the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" complex in Hanoi. He was
released in the general prisoner release in 1973.

Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing,
prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.
Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified
information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive
today. These reports are the source of serious distress to many returned
American prisoners. They had a code that no one could honorably return
unless all of the prisoners returned. Not only that code of honor, but the
honor of our country is at stake as long as even one man remains unjustly
held. It's time we brought our men home.

Wilfred Abbott retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. He and
his wife Sharon reside in Alaska.

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10/26/2021

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