Bio, Lewis, James W.

Name: James W. Lewis
Rank/Branch: USAF, 03
Unit:
Date of Birth: 24 July 28
Home City of Record: Marshall, TX
Date of Loss: 07 April 65
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 193500N 1034700E
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 3
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: B-57B

Source: Compiled by THE P.O.W. NETWORK 02 February 93 from the following
published sources - POW/MIA's -- Report of the Select Committee on POW/MIA
Affairs United States Senate -- January 13, 1993. "The Senate Select
Committee staff has prepared case summaries for the priority cases that the
Administration is now investigating. These provide the facts about each
case, describe the circumstances under which the individual was lost, and
detail the information learned since the date of loss. Information in the
case summaries is limited to information from casualty files, does not
include any judgments by Committee staff, and attempts to relate essential
facts. The Committee acknowledges that POW/MIAs' primary next-of- kin know
their family members' cases in more comprehensive detail than summarized
here and recognizes the limitations that the report format imposes on these
summaries." 2020

On April 7, 1965, Baker and James were crewmen on a B-57B, one in a flight
of four aircraft on an interdiction mission launched from Bien Hoa Air Base,
South Vietnam and with its target in Xieng Khouang Province, Laos. The crew
was last seen descending through thin overcast toward the target area and it
never reappeared. Extensive search and rescue efforts through April 12th
failed to locate either the aircraft or its crew.

On April 14, 1965, the New China News Agency reported the shoot down of a
B-57 approximately three miles north-northeast of the town of Khang Khay.
This was described as the first B-57 shoot down of an aircraft launched from
South Vietnam.

Both crewmen were initially reported missing in action in South Vietnam
while on a classified mission. Their loss location was later changed to
Laos. There was limited wartime reporting about U.S. aircraft losses in the
general area the crewmen were last reported but they could not be correlated
to this specific incident. U.S. intelligence continues to receive
information which may correlate to this shoot down but provides no positive
information on the fate of the crewmen.

In January 1974 Major Baker's next-of-kin requested his case review go
forward and he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, in January
1974. Lewis was declared dead/body not recovered, in April 1982. Returning
POWs were unable to provide any information on the fate of these two
servicemen.

ACCOUNTING RESULTS: There are now 1,827 Americans listed by the Defense
Department as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War - 1,393 in
Vietnam, 372 in Laos, 55 in Cambodia and 7 in PRC territorial waters. Over
90% of all 1,827 Americans still missing and unaccounted for from the
Vietnam War were lost in Vietnam or in areas controlled by them. The
following US personnel have been acknowledged as accounted for since the
March, 2005 League Newsletter, and the League extends best wishes to each
family in sincere hope that the end of uncertainty brings long-sought peace
of mind.

Lieutenant Colonel Lee A. Adams, USAF, MIA 4/19/66, NVN, RR 10/6/93
Colonel Arthur D. Baker, USAF, MIA 4/7/65, LA, RR 2/24/03
Sergeant 1st Class Michael L. Batt, USA, MIA 3/16/69, SVN, RR 4/7/88
Sergeant 1st Class Raymond E. Bobe, USA, MIA/BNR 3/16/69, SVN, RR 4/7/88
Lieutenant Colonel Marvin L. Foster, USAR, MIA 3/16/69, SVN, RR 4/7/88
Colonel Gregg Hartness, USAF, MIA 11/26/68, LA, RR 2/16/05
Lieutenant Colonel Darel D. Leetun, USAF, MIA 9/17/66, NVN, RR 4/12/95
Colonel James W. Lewis, USAF, MIA 4/7/65, LA, RR 2/24/03
Lieutenant Colonel David R. Smith, USAR, MIA 3/16/69, SVN, RR 4/7/88

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

COL JAMES WIMBERLEY LEWIS

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Conflict
Service
Status
Date of Accounting

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Accounted For
05/20/2005

On May 20, 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel James Wimberly Lewis, missing from the Vietnam War.

Colonel Lewis entered the U.S. Air Force from Mississippi and was a member of the 8th Bombardment Squadron, 34th Tactical Group. On April 7, 1965, he piloted a B-57B Canberra (tail number 53-3880) that took off from Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, on an interdiction mission over Xiangkhoang Province, Laos. While diving at the target, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire, and Col Lewis was killed in the crash. Search efforts failed to locate the downed aircraft, and Col Lewis' remains were not recovered at the time of his loss. In 1997, the crash site was located near Ban Khang Pha Mian and between 2003 and 2004, a joint investigative team recovered human remains and artifacts from this loss. U.S. analysts identified Col Lewis from these remains.

Colonel Lewis 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.

Col JAMES WIMBERLEY LEWIS

Unit
Country of Loss
LAOS
Home of Record MS