BLOODWORTH, DONALD BRUCE
REMAINS RETURNED/ID'D 02/04/98

Name: Donald Bruce Bloodworth
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ubon AF TH
Date of Birth: 28 December 1944
Home City of Record: San Diego CA
Date of Loss: 24 July 1970
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 193031N 1031928E (UG242578)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D

Other Personnel In Incident: James W. "Bill" Reed (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 31 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 2003 with information provided by Daryl White.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: Capt. James W. "Bill" Reed was a pilot assigned to the 555th
Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Airfield, Thailand. On July 24, 1970, he
and his navigator, 1Lt. Donald B. Bloodworth were assigned an operational
mission over Laos in their F4D Phantom fighter/bomber.

Their mission that day took them over the Plaine des Jarres (Plain of Jars)
region of northern Laos in Xiangkhoang Province. As the aircraft was making
a strafing pass over a communist truck convoy, it took enemy fire. The crew
of a C123 observed the Phantom crash after it had made its pass over the
target, but no one saw parachutes before seeing a huge explosion, and no
recognizable aircraft parts were found. No emergency radio beeper signals
were heard. Nevertheless, there remained the possibility that the men safely
ejected.

Bloodworth was listed Missing In Action, Category 1, which means that the
U.S. is certain the enemy knows what happened to him. As backseater, he
would have been first to eject from the crippled plane, so he would not
necessarily land close to his pilot. Bill Reed is Missing In Action,
Category 2, meaning there is strong reason to suspect the enemy knows his
fate.

Reed and Bloodworth are among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos
during the Vietnam war. As Laos did not take part in the agreements that
ended American involvement in Indochina, no prisoner release was ever
negotiated with Laos. Although the Pathet Lao stated on several occasions
that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, not one man held in
Laos has ever been released, and no agreement has been reached to free them.

Over the years since the war ended, thousands of reports have been received
which have convinced many that hundreds of Americans are still alive in
Southeast Asia, held against their will. Bill Reed and Donald Bloodworth
could be among them. If so, what must they be thinking of us?

Donald B. Bloodworth was promoted to the rank of Captain and James W. Reed
was promoted to the rank of Major during the period they were maintained
missing.

Defense POW/MIA Weekly Update
February 4, 1998

REMAINS OF U.S. SERVICEMEN FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA IDENTIFIED

The remains of two American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from
Southeast Asia have been identified and will be returned to their families
for burial in the United States.

They are identified as Col. Paul G. Underwood, of Goldsboro, N.C.; and Capt.
Donald B. Bloodworth, of San Diego, Cal., both U.S. Air Force.

On March 16, 1966, Col. Underwood was leading a strike mission over Lai Chau
Province, Vietnam. As he released his payload, he reported that his F-105
Thunderchief was on fire. Col. Underwood’s wingman reported observing the
F-105 crash but he saw no parachute.

In 1994 and 1995, joint U.S-Vietnamese search teams interviewed local
villagers and investigated a suspected crash site believed to be that of
Col. Underwood. In 1996, the crash site was excavated and human remains,
pilot- related artifacts, and personal effects, including Col. Underwood’s
military identification tags were recovered. The remains were repatriated to
the U.S. Army’s Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii and identified
as those belonging to Col. Underwood.

On July 24, 1970, Capt. Bloodworth and his pilot were flying an F-4D
aircraft as escort on an armed, night reconnaissance mission over Laos. The
pilot radioed that he had lost sight of the markers indicating the target
location. That was the last contact received from the crew.

Joint U.S.-Lao teams investigated this incident twice in 1991 and 1993. In
1991, the teams surveyed the site, and in 1993, excavated a suspected crash
site recovering aircraft wreckage and human remains. These remains were
repatriated and subsequently identified as Capt. Bloodworth’s. His crewmate
is still unaccounted- for.

With the identification of these two servicemen, 2,097 Americans remain
unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.

========================

The San Diego Union Tribune
North Country
February 3, 1998

By Dwight Daniels, Staff writer

Two days before Air Force Capt. Donald Bloodworth climbed into an F-4D
fighter-bomber in July 1970 for a mission over Laos, he'd gotten good news
from home: his wife, Tami, had given birth to their only child, a son......

============================================

From: Darryl.White@wpafb.af.mil
April 17, 2003

I was the crew chief for the aircraft that left that fateful night with Capt
"Wild Bill" Reed and Lt Bloodworth. I did not know Lt Bloodworth real well
but spent a month on alert pad with Capt. Reed before I put his name as
pilot on the gear door of my aircraft.

A little correction is necessary to the listing. The base was Udon Thani or
Udorn as we knew it. We were having a squadron party with maintenance
(flight line troops) and the pilots that evening. The mission was scheduled
for take off at just about dusk so they (or I) did not get to partake in the
festivities for very long. I remember launching the aircraft just like
always except that because of the party I stayed over and launched it for
night shift so they could stay at the party.

 The next day when I came back in I noticed my aircraft was not there. I
asked someone if they turned it around for an early flight, but that is when
I got the bad news, it had crashed. Crew chiefs had an undying love for
their pilots and plane that can't be explained. I was devastated but even
more so when they told me that they couldn't go in for a search and rescue
because of their crash site location. Myself and a couple of the other crew
chiefs said we would volunteer to go search for them if they needed more
men. Of course that was out of the question. I was told that the mission was
AC-119 gunship escort and when the gunship ran out of ammo they targeted the
trucks for the F-4 crew. Capt Reed turned in for the bomb run, and according
to the AC-119, crew never pulled out. I remember walking back through the
squadron office which was the pilot briefing room and office also and Lt
Bloodworth's cigars were still on the counter for most of the day.

 To this day I always wonder was there something I missed that caused the
aircraft to crash. I will never know. There was a saying in the movie Josie
Wales that I always remember because it pertains to all the men and women of
all wars, Clint Eastwood ends the movie by saying "I guess we all died a
little in that damn war." Well I guess I did too. Hopefully they will bring
Capt (Maj) Reed home someday also.

 God Bless all our troops past and present.

 Darryl H White
 D155, D220, G064 Functional System Manager
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