Bio, Hall, Donald J.

HALL, DONALD JOE

Remains Identified - 09/2017

Name: Donald Joe Hall
Rank/Branch: E5/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 26 March 1937
Home City of Record: Stroud OK
Date of Loss: 06 February 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 174600N 1054800E (WE847643)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: HH3E
Refno: 0591

Other Personnel in Incident: Patrick H. Wood; Richard A. Kibbey; Lucius L.
Heiskell (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 2020.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On February 6, 1967, Capt. Lucius L. Heiskell was a pilot and was
flying an O1F aircraft on a visual reconnaissance mission with another O1F
when his aircraft was struck by enemy fire forcing him to bail out. His
parachute was followed to the ground and voice contact with him indicated
that immediate rescue was not feasible due to enemy troops in the area.

Beeper signals continued and later an HH3E helicopter flown by Maj. Patrick
H. Wood was dispatched to recover Heiskell. He was at this time located near
the border of Laos and North Vietnam about 5 miles from the Mu Gia Pass.
Wood's crew that day included Capt. Richard A. Kibbey and SSgt. Donald J.
Hall.

Heiskell was hoisted aboard, but as the helicopter was departing the area,
it was hit by ground fire causing it to explode and crash. The helicopter
pararescueman survived and was treated for burns. The remainder of the crew,
Hall, Kibbey and Wood, as well as Heiskell, were not located.

When 591 Americans were released in 1973, the crew of the HH3E was not among
them. They were numbered with nearly 3000 Americans who remained missing,
prisoner, or unaccounted for at the end of the war.

Since American involvement in Vietnam ended in 1975, over 10,000 reports
relating to Americans missing, prisoner, or otherwise unaccounted for in
Indochina have been received by the U.S. Government. Many officials, having
examined this largely classified information, have reluctantly concluded
that many Americans are still alive today, held captive by our long-ago
enemy.

Whether Hall and the crew of the HH3E survived the crash of their aircraft
to be captured is not known. It is not known if they might be among those
thought to be still alive today. What is certain, however, is that as long
as even one American remains alive, held against his will, we owe him our
very best efforts to bring him to freedom.

Donald J. Hall was promoted to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant during the
period he was maintained Missing in Action.

Airman Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For (Hall, D.)

By | September 05, 2017

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Donald J. Hall, missing from the Vietnam War, has now been
accounted for.

On Feb. 6, 1967, Hall was a member of Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery
Squadron, when he, along with three other service members, were flying an HH-3E helicopter
on a rescue and recovery mission over northern Vietnam. After rescuing the pilot of a downed
aircraft, Hall’s helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire, resulting in an internal explosion and
crash. Hall was subsequently reported missing in action.

Interment services are pending; a formal notification will be released 7-10 days prior to
scheduled funeral services.

The support from the government of Vietnam was vital to the success of this recovery.

Hall's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at an American Battle Monuments Commission
site along with the others who are missing from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to
his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For more information about DPAA, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at
www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call 703-699-1420.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject:	CMS Donald J Hall, USAF
Date:	Wed, 20 Sep 2017 21:02:52 -0700
From:	Robert Hall <rhall39917@aol.com>

I've read Donald's remains were recently identified.
In 1972 I selected Donald's POW/MIA bracelet which I wore until April 2000. It was removed and
"misplaced" in the hospital after I was in an automobile accident. I found a place in Texas and reordered a
bracket in July 2000 and have worn that bracelet ever since.
I would like to return it to the family when Donald's remains are interred. Any info as to where I may forward
the bracelet would be appreciated.

Robert W Hall, CMS, USAF (Ret)
Command Chief Master Sergeant (PACAF) '90-'92

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Duus, Kristen L SFC USARMY DPAA EC (US) <kristen.l.duus.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 19 March, 2018 10:15
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: LOCAL CONNECTION: Funeral Announcement for Airman Killed During Vietnam War

Dear Editor,

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Donald J. Hall, accounted for on Aug. 25, 2017,

will be buried March 26 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington,

D.C.

Hall, 29, of Stroud, Oklahoma, was killed during the Vietnam War.

His grandson, Aaron McGee, is available for interviews at (405) 534-2458.

The Department of Defense has no photos of Hall on file.

Media interested in attending the funeral should contact Arlington National

Cemetery Public Affairs at 703-614-0024.

/////

On Feb. 6, 1967, Hall was a member of Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue

and Recovery Squadron, when he, along with three other service members, were

flying an HH-3E helicopter on a rescue and recovery mission over northern

Vietnam. After rescuing the pilot of a downed aircraft, Hall's helicopter

was hit by enemy ground fire, resulting in an internal explosion and crash.

Hall was subsequently reported missing in action. His status was later

amended to deceased.

In March 2017, a Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) team

excavated a crash site associated with Hall's loss, near Bai Dinh Hamlet,

Dan Hoa Village, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, and recovered possible

osseous remains and material evidence. On March 31, 2017, a Joint Forensic

Review team examined the possible remains in Da Nang and recommended them

for repatriation to the United States. The remains were sent to DPAA on

April 2, 2017.

To identify Hall's remains, DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner

System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis, which

matched his family, as well as anthropological analysis, which matched his

records and circumstantial evidence.

The support from the government of Vietnam was vital to the success of this

recovery.

Today there are 1,600 American servicemen and civilians who are still

unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Hall's name is recorded on the Courts

of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu,

along with the others who are missing from the Vietnam War. A rosette will

be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account

for missing Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the

DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or call (703) 699-1420.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01/2020

Conflict
Service
Status
Date of Accounting

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Accounted For
08/25/2017

On March 19, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Agency (DPAA) identified that the remains of Chief Master Sergeant Donald Joe Hall, missing from the Vietnam War.

Chief Master Sergeant Hall, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Oklahoma, served with Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. On February 6, 1967, he and three others were aboard an HH-3E Jolly Green Giant (tail number 65-12779) on a rescue and recovery mission over North Vietnam. After rescuing a downed pilot, the helicopter was hit by ground fire, suffered an internal explosion, and crashed near Bai Dinh Hamlet, Dan Hoa Village, Quang Binh Province. SMSgt Hall was killed in the crash and his remains could not be recovered at the time. In 2017, the crash site was excavated and human remains were recovered, and modern forensic analysis techniques identified CMS Hall among these remains.

Chief Master Sergeant Hall 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.

CMSgt DONALD JOE HALL

Unit 38 ARS
Historical Country of Loss
North Vietnam
Current Country of Loss
VIETNAM
Home of Record OK