MERONEY,  VIRGIL KERSH III

Remains identified - Burial June 9, 2012

Name: Virgil Kersh Meroney III
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 22 May 1943
Home City of Record: Fayetteville AR
Date of Loss: 01 March 1969
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 171000N 1060400E (XD134981)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Other Personnel In Incident: Wendell R. Keller (missing)
Refno: 1396

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: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served
a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission
type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and
high altitudes. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes
around.

Maj. Wendell R. Keller was the pilot and 1Lt. Virgil K. Meroney was the
bombardier/navigator of an F4D Phantom assigned to the 433rd Tactical
Fighter Squadron. On March 1, 1969, the two were sent on a combat mission
which took them over Laos.

Near the Ban Karai Pass, one of several passageways in the mountains
comprising the border of Laos and Vietnam, Keller and Meroney's aircraft was
hit by hostile fire and crashed. No parachutes were seen and no emergency
beeper signals were heard. However, it was believed that both might have
safely ejected the aircraft, as they were not declared killed in action, but
missing in action.

Keller and Meroney are two of nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos. Despite
numerous statements by the Pathet Lao and scores of intelligence reports
indicating that Americans were held in Laos during the war, no prisoners
were released that were held in Laos. The United States has not negotiated
for the release of those Americans held in Laos.

Although there is no substantive information that Keller and Meroney are
still alive, evidence continues to mount that some Americans are alive and
held captive. As long as even one American remains alive, held unjustly, we
owe him our best effort to bring him home.

Virgil Meroney was promoted to the rank of Captain and Wendell Keller to the
rank of Lieutenant Colonel during the period they were maintained missing.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=c77bda8b-2340-4c71-a1af-904cd11aea57   2012

Four Vietnam-Era Aviators Identified

Three Airmen, One Naval Aviator Returned To U.S. For Burial

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office has released the names of three aviators missing in action from the Vietnam war whose remains have returned to the U.S. for military burials.....

Air Force Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried June 9, in his hometown. On March 1, 1969, Meroney was a crew member aboard an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Kahammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing Meroney’s aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts.....

 
 
 
Airmen Missing From Vietnam War Identified
10/16/2012 04:24 PM CDT
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 824-12
October 16, 2012
Airmen Missing From Vietnam War Identified

 
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried, as a group, with full military honors.

Air Force Col. Wendell Keller of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19, in Arlington National Cemetery. Meroney was interred individually on June 9, in his hometown.

On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts.

From 1994 to 2011, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Khammouan Province, Laos. The teams located human remains, military equipment, a military identification card, and aircraft wreckage of an F-4, including an engine data plate and radio call-sign plate. During the 17 years of investigations, analysts evaluated the material evidence and the accounts of more than 40 eyewitnesses to confirm the information correlated with the crew's loss location.

To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools including dental comparisons and radiograph comparisons.

Today, 1,655 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. The U.S. government continues to work closely with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover Americans lost during the Vietnam War.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.
 

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000ork9FEAQ

CAPT VIRGIL KERSH MERONEY III

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On April 11, 2012, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Virgil Kersh Meroney III, missing from the Vietnam War.
 
Captain Meroney entered the U.S. Air Force from Arkansas and was a member of the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. On March 1, 1969, he was the bombardier and navigator aboard an F-4D Phantom II (tail number unknown) on a nighttime strike mission against enemy targets in Khammouan Province, Laos. The aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed, killing both crew members; Capt Meroney's remains were not recovered at that time due to a heavy enemy presence in the area. However, between 1994 and 2011, several joint U.S./Laotian investigations were conducted at the crash site in Khammouan Province and recovered human remains and other material evidence. Modern forensic techniques were able to identify Capt Meroney among the remains.
 
Captain Meroney 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.