Bio, Avolese, Paul A.

AVOLESE, PAUL ANDREW

Remains Identified 09/21/2020

Name: Paul Andrew Avolese
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Unit: 2nd Bombardment Squadron
Date of Birth: 12 June 1932
Home City of Record: East Meadow NY
Date of Loss: 07 July 1967
Country of Loss: South Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 094357N 1065858E
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: B52D
Refno: 0757

Other Personnel in Incident: William J. Crumm; David F. Bittenbender; on
second B52: Charles H. Blankenship; George E. Jones; Olen B. McLaughlin (all
missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 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. 2021

REMARKS: AIR COLLISION - 7 RESC - N SUBJ - J

SYNOPSIS: Boeing B52 Stratofortress bombers have long been the Air Force's
most important strategic bomber. Used heavily in Vietnam, the venerable
aircraft continued its role throughout the Southeast Asia conflict and
played an important role in the Persian Gulf war two decades later.

On July 7, 1967, two B52 aircraft were enroute to a combat mission when they
collided in mid-air over the South China Sea. The aircraft were
approximately 20 miles offshore at the point of Vinh Binh Province when the
accident occurred. Seven crewmembers from the aircraft were rescued, but
Avolese, Crumm, Bittenbender, Blankenship, Jones, and McLaughlin were not.

All the missing crewmen onboard the two B52 downed that day were believed to
be dead. It is unfortunate, but a cold reality of war that their remains
were not recoverable. They are listed with honor among the missing because
their remains cannot be buried with honor at home.

Others who are missing do not have such clear-cut cases. Some were known
captives; some were photographed as they were led by their guards. Some were
in radio contact with search teams, while others simply disappeared.

Since the war ended, over 250,000 interviews have been conducted with those
who claim to know about Americans still alive in Southeast Asia, and several
million documents have been studied. U.S. Government experts cannot seem to
agree whether Americans are there alive or not. Detractors say it would be
far too politically difficult to bring the men they believe to be alive
home, and the U.S. is content to negotiate for remains.

Well over 1000 first-hand, eye-witness reports of American prisoners still
alive in Southeast Asia have been received by 1990. Most of them are still
classified. If, as the U.S. seems to believe, the men are all dead, why the
secrecy after so many years? If the men are alive, why are they not home?

Major General William J. Crumm is the highest-ranking man missing.

MAJ PAUL ANDREW AVOLESE

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Conflict
Service
Status

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Accounted For (SEE BELOW)

On July 7, 1967, a B-52D Stratofortress (tail number 56-627, call sign "Kilo Red 2") with seven crew members took off from Guam as one of three aircraft on a bombing mission against enemy targets east of Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. When the flight was over the South China Sea, "Kilo Red 2" collided with one of the other aircraft in the flight as they attempted to change position as directed by ground radar. The collision resulted in a giant fireball followed by the breakup of both aircraft. No parachutes were observed, but several beeper signals were received and search and rescue efforts recovered four survivors from "Kilo Red 2." However, the remaining three crew members were lost during the incident and remain unaccounted for.

Major Paul Andrew Avolese entered the U.S. Air Force from New York and served in the 2nd Bombardment Squadron. He was the radar navigator aboard "Kilo Red 2" and could not be located following the crash. Today, Major Avolese is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.

Maj PAUL ANDREW AVOLESE

Unit 2ND BM SQUADRON
Historical Country of Loss
South Vietnam
Current Country of Loss
SOUTH CHINA SEA
Home of Record NY

~~~~~

Airman Accounted For From Vietnam War (Avolese, P.)

Maj. Avolese was accounted for in September 2020, but his family only recently received
their full briefing on his identification, which is why this release is being sent out now.

WASHINGTON�The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today
that U.S. Air Force Maj. Paul A. Avolese, 35, of Jamaica, New York, killed during the
Vietnam War, was accounted for Sept. 21, 2020.

On July 7, 1967, Avolese was a radar navigator assigned to the 4133^rd Bombardment
Wing. That day, he was part of the crew of a B-52D Stratofortress bomber conducting
a bombing mission from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to a target in Vietnam. During
a maneuver over the South China Sea, Avolese�s bomber collided with another B-52,
causing both aircraft to fall into the sea. Four of the crew members from his aircraft were
rescued, but Avolese was never recovered. He was declared dead on July 24.

Between 1993 and 2020, several investigation and recovery efforts were made to find
Avolese�s crash site. During the 138^th U.S.-Vietnam Joint Field Activity conducted
between Feb. 19, 2020, and March 5, 2020, DPAA partnered with Project Recover,
who, with a team from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, conducted hydrographic
surveys and diving operations on a previously identified site. Divers observed life
support equipment consistent with a Vietnam-era B-52, and found possible remains.
The findings were turned over to DPAA�s laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-
Hickam, Hawaii, on March 23, 2020.

To identify Avolese�s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological
analysis, as well as material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam and appreciative of Project
Recover and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography for their partnership in this mission.

Avolese�s name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,
D.C., and the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
in Honolulu, along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette
will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family and funeral information, contact the Air Force Casualty Office at (800) 531-5803.

Sean P. Everette
SFC, USA
Public Affairs NCOIC
Outreach and Communications
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
41 18th St. South, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 699-1420