JOHNS, PAUL FREDERCK

Name: Paul Frederck Johns
Branch/Rank: United States Air Force/O4
Unit:
Date of Birth: 12 October 1931
Home City of Record: LACONIA IN
Date of Loss: 28 June 1968
Country of Loss: LAOS
Loss Coordinates: 160800 North  1070000 East
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A1H
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno: 1218

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File. Updated 2020.

REMARKS:

CACCF/CRASH/PILOT

No further information available at this time.

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From: "Johns, David F." <JohnsD@uthscsa.edu>
Subject: From a family member
Date: Wed, 14 May 2003 11:59:19 -0500

I just happened across your site today and was really touched by some of the
letters to families.  It is soon approaching the 35th anniversary of the day
I lost my father.  Paul F. Johns was shot down over Laos 28 June 1968.  I
was living in base housing at Little Rock AFB with my mom & step-father and
was outside playing football with my friends when I first saw the blue sedan
approaching.  You can't be raised in an Air Force family and not understand
the significance of that sedan.  My heart sank when the sedan stopped in
front of our house.  My father was a bit of a hell raiser, he liked to party
with the guys.  But he was always there for my brother and me and picked us
up every summer to go to my grandmothers in Laconia, Indiana.  While my
brother and I frolicked with our cousins and friends, dad would go squirrel
hunting and running around with his boyhood friends.  I remember one of
them, Peck he was called, a large man with a ready smile and always a kind
word for my brother and I.  About the only thing my father enjoyed more than
partying was flying.  Man he loved to fly and his favorite bird had to be
the A1-H Skyraider.  As I sit here, I wonder how things might have gone if
had not done that 3rd tour in Vietnam.  Would he be proud of the way his
Granddaughter turned out, now a 31 y.o. mom?  Would he enjoy watching his
great-grandson play little league ball?  Would he enjoy watching his now 16
year old grandson play hockey?  Would he enjoy his youngest granddaughters
Middle School band concert?  Would he have approved of the way I led my
life?  So many questions left unanswered.  All I can say is I miss him
terribly and hope he knows that all of his grandchildren &
great-grandchildren are aware of the sacrifice he made for our country.  It
is a heavy price to pay but freedom is certainly worth it.

Thanks for your time and effort.
David Johns
San Antonio, Texas


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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZasEAG

COL PAUL FREDERICK JOHNS

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Major Paul Frederick Johns entered the U.S. Air Force from Indiana and served with the 6th Air Commando Squadron. On June 28, 1968, he piloted a single-seat A-1H Skyraider (tail number 52-135291, call sign "Spad 37") as the lead aircraft in a flight of two on a combat mission over Laos. While pulling up from a napalm strike on a group of enemy trucks, Maj Johns' aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire, lost control, and crashed. The crew of the forward air control (FAC) aircraft on the mission witnessed the crash and reported that there was no ejection or parachute, and no rescue beeper signals were detected. The Skyraider burned completely after impact. Search and rescue efforts failed to find any trace of Maj Johns, and he remains unaccounted for. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Major Johns to the rank of Colonel (Col). Today, Colonel Johns 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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