GREWELL, LARRY IRWIN
REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95
Name: Larry Irwin Grewell
Rank/Branch: E5/US Air Force
Unit: 41st Tactical Airlift Squadron, Ubon Airfield, Thailand
Date of Birth: 06 July 1945
Home City of Record: Tacoma WA
Date of Loss: 24 November 1969
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 154900N 1064600E (YC902495)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: C130A
Refno: 1530
Other Personnel in Incident: Michael D. Balamonti; Earl C. Brown; Rexford J.
Dewispelaere; Charles R. Fellenz; Richard O. Ganley; Peter R. Matthes;
Donald L. Wright (all 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 November 24, 1969, a C130A departed Ubon Airfield, Thailand on
an operational mission over Laos. The crew aboard the aircraft included Maj.
Michael D. Balamonti (the navigator); Capt. Earl C. Brown; Capt. Richard O.
Ganley; 1Lt. Peter R. Matthes (the copilot); and Sgts. Donald L. Wright;
Larry I. Grewell; Charles R. Fellenz; and Rexford J. DeWispelaere.
While on the mission, near Ban Bac, Savannakhet Province, Laos, the C130 was
observed to be struck by several rounds of 37mm anti-aircraft fire, burst
into flames, crash to the ground, and explode on impact. All the crew was
declared Missing in Action, but due to enemy presence in the area, it was
strongly felt that the enemy could account for them. It was not determined
whether the crew died or survived the crash of the aircraft.
The crew of the C130 are among nearly 600 Americans who were lost in Laos.
When Dr. Henry Kissinger negotiated President Nixon's Peace Agreements in
Paris in 1973, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War, the Americans
lost in Laos were forgotten. Kissinger did not negotiate for them, even
though several were known to be Prisoners of War, and some 125 of them were
known to have survived their loss incidents. Furthermore, the Pathet Lao
stated on several occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American
prisoners.
The nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos have never been negotiated for, and
not one American held in Laos was released at the end of the war.
Since the end of the war, nearly 10,000 reports have been received by the
U.S. relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities
believe that hundreds remain alive today, held captive. Whether the crew of
the C130 could be among them is not known, but it seems certain that there
are compelling questions that need answers. Among them - why did we abandon
the men who served our country? What are we doing to bring them home?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
01/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000sjb0VEAQ
On October 2, 1995, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA,
now DPAA) identified the remains of Technical Sergeant Larry
Irwin Grewell, missing from the Vietnam War.
Technical Sergeant Grewell joined the U.S. Air Force from
California and was a member of the 41st Tactical Airlift
Squadron. On November 24, 1969, he was the loadmaster aboard a
C-130A Hercules on a forward air controller/illumination mission
over Laos. While operating near Ban Salou, the Hercules was shot
down by anti-aircraft fire, and TSgt Grewell was killed in the
crash. Immediate search and rescue efforts were prevented by
heavy enemy presence in the area, and a friendly aircraft that
later passed over the crash site saw no signs of survivors. In
1993, a joint U.S. and Laotian search team recovered remains
from a crash site associated with TSgt Grewell's C-130A. In
1995, forensic analysis identified some of the recovered remains
as those of TSgt Grewell.
Technical Sergeant Grewell is memorialized on the Courts of the
Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.