HARBER, STEPHEN JAMES

Name: Stephen James Harber
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Infantry Division
Date of Birth: 08 May 1948
Home City of Record: Fairmont MN
Date of Loss: 02 July 1970
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 162525N 1071140E (YD335172)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 1646

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.

Other Personnel In Incident: (Lee N. Lenz, Roger D. Sumrall, both killed)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: At 0400 hours on July 2, 1970, SP4 Steven J. Harber, rifleman, was
a member of a unit set up in a night defensive position in Thua Thien
Province, South Vietnam about 25 miles WSW of the city of Hue, when an
unknown sized enemy force attacked.

SP4 Harber occupied a position with Sgt. Lee Newlun Lenz and SP4 Roger Dale
Sumrall. Their position was hit by numerous rocket propelled grenades (RPG),
satchel charges, mortars and small arms fire. After the attack, at
daybreak, a search was made for the unaccounted for personnel.

The remains of Sgt. Lenz and SP4 Sumrall were found, but there was no trace
of SP4 Harber. He was listed Missing in Action.

Harber's family waited until the end of the war with no word of Stephen. But
when 591 Americans were released from Vietnam in 1973, Harber was not among
them, and the Vietnamese denied any knowledge of his fate.

Examination of intelligence reports indicate that there was more than one
prison "system" in Vietnam. Those prisoners who were released were
maintained in the same systems. If Harber was captured and kept in another
system, the POWs who returned did not know it.

Now, nearly 20 years later, men like Harber are all but forgotten except by
friends, family and fellow veterans. The U.S. "priority" placed on
determining their fates pales in comparison to the results it has achieved.
Since Harber went missing, nearly 10,000 reports have been received by the
U.S. concerning Americans still missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities
are convinced that there are still hundreds of them alive in captivity.

Whether Harber survived to be captured, or is still alive, is not known.
What is certain, however, is that we as a nation, are guilty of the
abandonment of nearly 2500 of our best and most courageous men. We cannot
forget, and must do everything in our power to bring these men home.

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

01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZlvEAG

SGT STEPHEN JAMES HARBER

Return to Service Member Profiles

On July 2, 1970, three members of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, were helping to set up a night defensive position on Hill 902 at (GC) YD 335 172 in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, when an enemy force of unknown size attacked. During the attack, the three men occupied a position that was hit several times by rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and satchel charges. The intense fire fight lasted over an hour with the enemy eventually being forced to withdraw.  After the attack and at daybreak, a search was made for missing personnel and recovered the remains of two of the three men. However, the third could not be accounted for.

Specialist 4 Stephen James Harber entered the U.S. Army from Minnesota and was a rifleman with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was the soldier who could not be located following this attack, and further attempts to recover his remains were unsuccessful. After the incident, the Army posthumously promoted SP4 Harber to the rank of Sergeant (SGT). Today, Sergeant Harber 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 Non-recoverable.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.