CONSOLVO, JOHN WADSWORTH JR.
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Name: John Wadsworth Consolvo, Jr.
Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps
Unit: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212, 1st Brigade, MAG 24
Date of Birth: 08 January 1944
Home City of Record: Ft. Belvoir VA
Date of Loss: 07 May 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 164800N 1065700E (YD010555)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J BuNo #155576
Refno: 1845
Other Personnel In Incident: James J. Castonguay, successfully ejectected

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 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 1998 with information from Steven P. Albright.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: Capt. John W. Consolvo was on a combat mission out of Da Nang,
South Vietnam when his aircraft was hit by ground fire as he pulled off
target. He flew the aircraft about 18 miles to a safer bail-out area before
the craft became uncontrollable. Although Consolvo's mission was in South
Vietnam near the DMZ, the ground fire that struck his aircraft came from
Laos.

Consolvo radioed that the aircraft was incapacitated and ordered his radar
intercept officer, CWO James J. Castonguay, to eject. The officer
successfully reached the ground, was rescued after 19 hours and returned to
Da Nang.

The F4 crashed 3-4 miles from the location the RIO landed, in enemy
territory (probably just inside Laos). Although the RIO did not see his
pilot eject, he believed he could have easily ejected and probably did. The
wingman and forward air controller on the mission did not see him eject, but
they had been unable to keep the plane constantly in sight.

John Consolvo flew over 150 combat missions on his first tour of Vietnam. He
was into his second tour when he was shot down on May 7, 1972. He had been
in the Marine Corps since 1966.

If John Consolvo was unfortunate enough to be apprehended by the Pathet Lao,
he is among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared without trace. The Pathet
Lao stated on several occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American
prisoners, yet not one man held in Laos was ever released - or negotiated
for. Circumstances surrounding his crash indicate that the Vietnamese or Lao
could account for his fate - alive or dead. John Consolvo does not deserve
the abandonment he has received by the country he proudly served.

John W. Consolvo, Jr. graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1966.

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MIA Marine's Name Used in Email Scam
January 30, 2009
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
The latest version of a longtime Internet scam has taken a serious turn to the distasteful.
 
For at least 10 years pretty much anyone with an email address has been subjected to desperate pleas from some official -- usually claiming to be from an African nation -- trying to move millions of dollars out of the country but in need of "a partner" to make it happen. And the recipient of the email is asked to be the trusted partner to make it possible by supplying bank account information -- for which, in return, the recipient gets a significant share of the money.
 
But an email now circulating claims to be from Marine Capt. John W. Consolvo, who is trying to get to get more than $12.5 million once belonging to Saddam Hussein out of Iraq and into the U.S. or some other "safe country" until such time as he has completes his military service and can collect it. Consolvo, who says he is with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, offers a "mutually benefiting relationship" to whoever helps him get the money out of Iraq.
 
Problem is, Capt. John W. Consolvo was a pilot with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212, 1st Brigade, MAG 24, and he has been missing in action since his F-4 was shot down over Vietnam on May 7, 1972.
 
The use of the Marine aviator's name in the scheme has obviously shocked his mother, Martha Ann Consolvo of Virginia Beach, Va.
 
"I'm very angry," she said. "It's very disturbing to me that someone would use my son's name in a derogatory way. My son's a hero. Whoever is doing this should be prosecuted. It's fraud."
 
The return address of the scam email -- uow.edu.au -- appears to have come off the email server of the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. Emails and voice mails to the university's media affairs office by Military.com were not returned.
 
According to the email the money, in various currencies, was hidden "with piles of weapons and ammunition at a location near one of Saddam Hussein's old Presidential palaces during a rescue operation and it was agreed by all party present that the money be shared amongst us. This might appear as an illegal thing to do but I tell you what: No compensation can make up for the risks we have taken with our lives in this hell hole."
 
The writer claims to already have survived two suicide bomb attacks, and now wants someone trustworthy to take custody of his share of the money until he gets out -- asking them to contact him at Capt-Jack1@live.com.
 
"If it might be of interest to you then Endeavour (sic) to contact me and we would work out the necessary formalities," he writes, "but I pray that you are discreet about this mutually benefiting relationship."
 
Snopes.com, a Web site that collects, analyzes and archives urban legends and Internet lore, refers to the scheme as the "Nigerian Scam." The heart of the scam is that "a wealthy foreigner who needs help moving millions of dollars from his homeland promises a hefty percentage of this fortune as a reward for assisting him."
 
The Saddam money version being circulated with Consolvo's name seems to play more on the reader's patriotism, expecting someone might help out because of the dangers the leathernecks have taken in Iraq, though it also points out the deal with be mutually beneficial -- suggesting a cut of the loot that, presumably, would be discussed if contact is made.
 
At the Marine Corps' Pentagon press desk Thursday, a spokeswoman said it's not the first time she has heard of a U.S. service member's name being used in such scams, but the military cannot do anything about it.
 
"It's unfortunate that people are doing this and using other people's identities in this way," said Capt. Amy Malugani said. "We are aware of it and it's unfortunate."