PIETRZAK, JOSEPH RAY

Remains returned 1994, ID 2004

Name: Joseph Ray Pietrzak
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division
Date of Birth: 03 September 1944 (Dayton OH)
Home City of Record: Roseville OH
Date of Loss: 10 February 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 162025N 1070647E (YD257076)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH6A
Refno: 1701

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 2005.

Other Personnel in Incident: Mark J. Robertson (missing)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: WO Mark J. Robertson, pilot, and Sgt. Joseph R. Pietrzak,
observer, were flying aboard an OH6A helicopter on a visual reconnaissance
mission in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam on February 10, 1972. The
helicopter was hit by heavy 51 caliber machine gun fire in the power
compartment and fuel section. It burst into flames and fell vertically and
exploded on impact.

Other helicopters in the area immediately attempted to land and search the
area for survivors, but the crewmen reported that enemy fire and
deteriorating weather conditions prevented them from doing so. None of the
crews conducting visual searches saw survivors or bodies around the blazing
helicopter. Radio frequencies were monitored for a period after that, with
no result. Enemy activity in the area prevented further search in the loss
area near the Laos border.

It was concluded that Robertson and Pietrzak were dead, but their remains
were never recovered, and their names are among those counted missing,
prisoner, or unaccounted for from the Vietnam war.

Since 1975, nearly 10,000 refugee reports have been received by the U.S.
Government relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia, convincing many
authorities that hundreds remain alive today. Although Pietrzak and
Robertson apparently are not among those said to be alive, one can imagine
that they would gladly fly one more mission to help bring their comrades to
freedom.

===========================================================
POW/MIA UPDATE:  January 13, 2005
National League Of Families

POW/MIAs - VIETNAM WAR: There are now 1,842 Americans listed by the Defense
Department as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War - 1,403 in
Vietnam, 377 in Laos, 55 in Cambodia and 7 in PRC territorial waters.  SGT
Joseph Pietrzak, USA, from OH, was listed KIA/BNR February 10, 1971, in
South Vietnam; his remains were jointly recovered June 7, 1994, and ID'd
nearly a year ago, but the ID only recently released, likely due to family
considerations.  MSGT Kenneth Hanna and MSGT Charles Lindewald, both USA,
were listed MIA February 7, 1968, both in South Vietnam; their remains were
recovered jointly and repatriated January 15, 2004, and recently ID'd.
Others have been ID'd, not yet announced by DPMO, perhaps due to delays in
scheduling ID consultations with the primary-next-of-kin (PNOK).  DPMO
controls the announcements and tries to maintain the fiction that PNOK
retain decision-making capability over acceptance of the ID - this is no
longer true.

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02/2020

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