Bio, Morris, George W. Jr.

Name: George William Morris, Jr.
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS), Nakhon Phanom RTAFB,
Thailand. Also a consignment of aircraft operating from Ubon which was
designated as OL-1 (Operating Location #1).

Date of Birth: 16 September 1946 (Baltimore MD)
Home City of Record: Alhambra CA
Date of Loss: 27 January 1973
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 165145N 1071107E (YD328655)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 1
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: OV10A
Other Personnel In Incident: Mark A Peterson (missing)

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 with information from Dick Anderson, 23rd TASS 69-70, OV-10A Engine
Mechanic TLC Brotherhood. 2020

SYNOPSIS: The OV10 Bronco was among the aircraft most feared by the Viet
Cong and NVA forces. Whenever the Bronco appeared overhead, an air strike
was certain to follow. Although the glassed-in cabin could become
uncomfortably warm, it provided splendid visibility. The two-man crew had
armor protection and could use machine guns and bombs to attack, as well as
rockets to mark targets for fighter bombers. This versatility enabled the
plane to fly armed reconnaissance missions, in addition to serving as
vehicle for forward air controllers.

1Lt. Mark A. Peterson was pilot, and Capt. George W. Morris the co-pilot, of
an OV10A aircraft with the mission of locating two downed Navy pilots on
January 27, 1973 within hours of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords
ending American military involvement in Vietnam.

When the aircraft was over Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, it was hit by
enemy fire and both Peterson and Morris were forced to eject. Both safely
parachuted to the ground and one was in radio contact with rescuers.
However, neither could be located or rescued, apparently because of the
enemy situation.

It is not known for certain that Morris and Peterson were captured. The two
Navy pilots they were trying to rescue were Phillip A Kientzler and Harley
H. Hall. Kientzler was captured and released a few months later in the
general prisoner release. Kientzler was told Hall had been killed. It is
believed that the Vietnamese could easily account for Peterson and Morris,
alive or dead.

                                                        [r1981.97]
                                PROJECT X
                        SUMMARY SELECTION RATIONALE

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: Both crewmen ejected and were observed to land
near each other. After a brief period Lt. Peterson stated that be was going
to be captured. There are indications that one of the two crewmen (probably
Capt. Morris), was killed in the incident.

1. (U) At 1735 hours on 27 January 1973 lLt Mark A. Peterson, pilot, and
Capt. George W. Morris, Jr., co-pilot, were crewmen of an OV10 aircraft,
(#68-3806, call sign NAIL 89), controlling a search and rescue mission for
the crewmen of an F4 aircraft which had been downed at 1715 hours near the
Cua Viet River in South Vietnam. Crewmen of the other aircraft in the area
saw the Peterson-Morris aircraft hit by an SA-7 missile and observed both
officers eject. They saw two good parachutes, which landed near each other,
and heard two good beeper signals. After a brief period they heard Lt.
Peterson state: "This is NAIL 89'er. I'm going to be captured.! I'm going
to be captured!" He was asked to repeat this transmission and did so. There
was no further contact with him and contact was never established with
Capt. Morris. The last known location was in the vicinity of grid
coordinates YD 328 655. (Ref 1)

2. (C) One member of the F4 crew was captured. He was released during
Operation Homecoming and reported he saw the OV10 hit and the crewmen
eject. As they were coming down in their parachutes, an estimated 30 North
Vietnamese troops opened fire on them with AK-47 rifle fire. He believed
they were both killed. Also, the North Vietnamese in Hanoi made a great
production of him being the last US POW of the war. (Ref 2)

3. (U) A South Vietnamese source reported that on 30 January 1973 he
observed an OV10 plane shot down. He later observed a US P0W being escorted
by five North Vietnamese personnel. He heard this POW was to be taken to
the Trieu Phong District Unit and that a second US pilot was killed in
action at the crash site. (Ref 3)

4. (C) A North Vietnamese source reported hearing from a local guerrilla
member of the Go Hai Village Unit that an OV10 aircraft had been shot down
by a single missile (type unknown) of an anti-aircraft unit in the Cua Viet
area. The US pilot ejected but his parachute did not open and he was killed
instantly on impact in a ricefield. In the meantime, the plane crashed
about two kilometers southeast of the site where the pilot landed. The
source did not visit the site and could not provide a description of the
pilot's remains. (Ref 4)

5. (C) A South Vietnamese soldier who escaped from Communist detention
reported observing an OV10 hit by anti-aircraft ground fire about three
kilometers from his location. The pilots ejected from the aircraft. The
wind blew both parachutes in a northeast direction. A little later a group
of five guerrillas escorted a US POW to the source's location. An escort
told the source the POW was being taken to the security section of the
Trieu Phong District Unit. A few days after this incident the source heard
from a friend that one of the OV10 pilots had been killed and buried in the
center of a ricefield. (Ref 5)

6. (U) During the existence of JCRC, the hostile threat in the area
precluded any visits to or ground inspections of the sites involved in this
case. These individuals' names and identifying data were turned over to the
Four-Party Joint Military Team with a request for any information
available. No response was forthcoming. Capt. Morris and lLt Peterson are
carried in the status of Missing.

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

Subject:	POW List
Date:	Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:44:09 -0800
From:	John Pagel 2nd. <tfosoca@msn.com>

CAPT GEORGE WILLIAM MORRIS JR.

Return to Service Member Profiles

Conflict
Service
Status

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Unaccounted For

On January 27, 1973, an OV-10 Bronco (tail number 68-3806, call sign "Nail 89") with a crew of two was serving as the forward air controller on a search and rescue mission for the crew of an downed F-4 Phantom near the Cua Viet River. During the mission, this aircraft was hit by an enemy surface-to-air missile. The crew in other aircraft in the area saw both crew members of the OV-10 bail out, and they watched the parachutes land fairly close to one another in the vicinity of (GC) YD 328 655. The rescue team clearly heard rescue beepers from both crew members of the Bronco and established radio communication with one of them, who stated that he was about to be captured. That was the last communication received from either of the Bronco's crew members. The rescuers could not attempt to extract the downed fliers because of the heavy enemy presence in the area. When the North Vietnamese released U.S. prisoners of war during Operation Homecoming, the crew members of the Bronco were not among them.

Captain George William Morris Jr., who joined the U.S. Air Force from California, served with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron. He was the copilot of the Bronco when it crashed, and his remains have not been recovered. Today, Captain Morris 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.

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.

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Capt GEORGE WILLIAM MORRIS Jr.

Unit 23 TAC AIR SPT SQDN
Historical Country of Loss
South Vietnam
Current Country of Loss
VIETNAM
Home of Record CA