KARST, CARL FREDERICK
The symbol on the Wall next to Carl's name was changed from a cross (MIA) to
a star (KIA) April 30, 1994. Remains were identified.
Name: Carl Frederick Karst
Rank/Branch: Colonel USAF
Unit: Pleiku, South Vietnam
Date of Birth: 27 October 1930
Home City of Record: Galatia KS
Loss Date: 16 November 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 212659N 1052546E
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: O1F
Refno: 1323
Other Personnel In Incident: Capt. Nguyen X. Quy (VNAF - 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.
SYNOPSIS: On November 16, 1968, (then) Major Carl F. Karst, pilot, and Capt.
Nguyen X. Quy, VNAF observer, departed Pleiku in an O1F on a visual
reconnais- sance mission over South Vietnam. At 1640 hours (4:40 p.m.),
shortly after takeoff, Karst reported that his position was two nautical
miles east of Plei- ku, and that he was proceeding with his mission. When
subsequent attempts to raise Karst by radio failed, a search began. The
search continued for three days without success. Karst was classified
Missing in Action.
A few months later, a Vietnamese informer reported information given him by
a NVA/VC propaganda team that Karst's aircraft was shot down by small arms
fire and the Vietnamese observer was killed. The informer stated that Karst
evaded to the south, but was captured and executed in a village in northern
Phu Bon Province. The informant did not witness any of these events. The
report was considered inaccurate because the a NVA/VC team was known for
coloring stories to impress the local population, and because Karst was very
knowledgeable of the location of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese units in the
area. Those who knew Karst agreed that he would not have evaded to the
south, but rather to the west where he knew he might reach friendly forces
and safety.
In December 1983, a refugee turned over two bone fragments and a rubbing of
a metal ID tag bearing Karst's name to U.S. officials in Malaysia. He
stated that he had been given the remains and rubbing by a Buddhist monk in
1981. The refugee was told that the remains were among 7 American remains
recovered at an unspecified location in the Central Highlands.
By 1984, U.S. officials had received a series of reports from eight separate
sources reported information concerning the alleged remains and dog tags of
Karst. Four provided information solely on Karst, while the other four
sources related Karst's name to other Army personnel who had returned from
Vietnam at the end of their tours.
Whether any of the reports relating to Carl Karst are true is not known. It
is apparent, however, that someone knows his fate and that of his observer.
Karst is one of nearly 2500 Americans who remain missing in Southeast Asia.
Unlike MIAs from other wars, most of the missing can be accounted for.
Tragically, based on thousands of reports received by the U.S. Government,
many are still alive in captivity. They must be brought home.
------------------------------------------
From: "Don Napell" <donn@farmerscu.org>9-9-10
I have an elderly lady
that I help take care of. She recently moved to an assisted living
facility and was not able to bring all of her things with her. Upon
going through her things,
I found the MIA bracelet for Col Karst. She
told me that she had worn it for over 30 years.
The amazing thing was
that I know the Karst family. It gave me great honor to be able to
return the bracelet to Col. Karst’s brother today. He was amazed that
someone had kept
it for such a long time and that I was able to return
it. Col. Karst’s remains were returned
and he is buried in Arlington.
It is fitting to honor such an American hero and be able to
return the
bracelet.
Don Napell
Hays, Ks
===================================
https://www.thepacker.com/article/thanking-god-america-and-americans
11/25/2011
Thanking God for America - and Americans
The Packer
All of the writers of the letters wore the POW/MIA bracelet of my dad, Air Force pilot ...
If you are 50 or older, you may remember the POW/MIA bracelets. ...
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Subject: | Col Carl Karst |
---|---|
Date: | Sat, 21 Mar 2020 11:13:56 -0700 |
From: | Anne Hornor <annehornor@hotmail.com> |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
01/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000rhE5VEAU
On August 6, 1993, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now
DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Carl Frederick Karst,
missing from the Vietnam War.
Colonel Karst entered the U.S. Air Force from Kansas and was a
member of the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron. On November
16, 1968, he piloted an O-1F Bird Dog (tail number unknown) that
took off from Pleiku Air Base on a visual reconnaissance mission
over South Vietnam. During the mission, the aircraft was shot
down by enemy ground fire and crashed in Gia Lai-Cong Tum
Province, and Col Karst did not survive the incident. An enemy
presence in the loss area prevented a ground search, and his
remains were not recovered at the time. In 1989, the Vietnamese
government repatriated a set of remains that U.S. analysts
identified as those of Col Karst.
Colonel Karst 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.