DUBBELD, ORIE JOHN JR.

Name: Orie John Dubbeld, Jr.
Rank/Branch: O2/US Army
Unit: U.S. Army Infantry, Advance Team 21, MACV
Date of Birth: 29 November 1948 (St. Petersburg FL)
Home City of Record: Cocoa Beach FL
Date of Loss: 03 March 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 143351N 1073619E (YB807116)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 1714
Other Personnel in Incident: James E. Duncan (missing)

Source: Compiled 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 in 2020.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On March 3, 1971 1Lt. Orie J. Dubbeld and SFC James E. Duncan were
serving as advisors to the 22nd ARVN Ranger Battalion on a reinforcement
mission in Kon Tum Province, South Vietnam. During the mission, their unit
came under ground mortar attack. A mortar round hit directly in the foxhole
where 1Lt. Dubbeld and SFC Duncan were located. An ARVN medical officer
stated that Dubbeld was killed instantly, and that SFC Duncan died a few
minutes later.

An attempt was made to carry the bodies with the withdrawing ARVN unit.
However, the fighting became so intense that it was necessary to bury the
advisors. To date, no attempt has been made to exhume the bodies.

The ARVN medical officer confirmed that Dubbeld and Duncan were dead. It is
unfortunate, but a reality of war that their remains were left behind out of
the necessity to protect the lives of the team who served with them. They
are listed with honor among the missing because their remains cannot be
buried with honor at home.

The U.s. Government believes the enemy knows the final resting place of
Dubbeld and Duncan, but access to the site has been denied.

The Vietnamese also refuse to reveal information regarding the hundreds of
Americans that authorities believe are still alive, held prisoner in
Southeast Asia. Dubbeld and Duncan lost their lives trying to help an allied
nation preserve its freedom. Their deaths will only have the honor due them
when we are willing to exert the effort necessary to rescue those Americans
who are still alive.

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KY5LEAW

1LT ORIE JOHN DUBBELD JR.

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On March 3, 1971, two members of Advisory Team 21 were operating alongside the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 22nd Ranger Battalion on a reinforcement mission in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, when their unit came under enemy fire. The two men took cover in a foxhole that then received a direct hit from a mortar round, both men were killed. Surviving members of the unit attempted to recover the remains of those killed in the fighting, but the enemy presence forced them to bury the bodies nearby before withdrawing. Both men remain unaccounted for.

First Lieutenant Orie John Dubbeld Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Florida, was a member of Advisory Team 21, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. He was one of the two men killed when the mortar shell struck their position, and his remains have not been recovered. Today, First Lieutenant Dubbeld 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.

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