SINGER, DONALD MAURICE

REMAINS RETURNED 09/30/77

Name: Doanld Maurice Singer
Rank/Branch: United States Air Force/O4/Aircrew - EWO
Unit:
Date of Birth: 29 September 1928
Home City of Record: Philadelphia PA
Date of Loss: 17 August 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates:
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F 105F
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident: Joseph Brand (remains returned)
Incident Number: 0432

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV

 SYNOPSIS:

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                                    UNCLASSIFIED
                                  HEADQUARTERS
                      JOINT CASUALTY RESOLUTION CENTER
                            APO SAN FRANCISCO 96330
JCRC-OPS
                                                                23 APR 1976

SUBJECT: Project X
THRU: Commander-in-Chief, Pacific
ATTN: J-3
FPO San Francisco 96610
TO: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
International Security Affairs

ATTN: CAPT Ray Vohden, USN
Washington, D. C. 20301

1. Project X is a study I initiated for operational purposes in August 1975 to
evaluate the possibility of any of the unaccounted for being alive. The  conclusion
reached is: There is a possibility that as many as 57 Americans could be alive,
although it is highly probable that the number is much smaller, possibly zero.

2. I emphasize that this conclusion is not an assertion that 57 or any
other number of unaccounted for Americans are alive in SEA or in the hands
of the Vietnamese, Laotians, or Cambodians.

3. This study has been held close and is forwarded to DOD ISA at the
request of Dr. Roger Shields, made during my conversation with him in his
office on 27 January 1976.

4. This study has taken over 8 months and has involved many analysts.
Included were personnel experienced in Aviation, Ground Operations, Search
and Rescue, and Intelligence. Summaries for each of the 57 possibilities
are inclosed. Two principal criteria for determining any individual as
"possibly alive" were used:

a: The existence of positive reasonable indicators suggesting that the
individual concerned survived the loss incident.

b: The absence of a reasonable case supporting an assertion that the
individual concerned is dead.

5. It should be recognized that the average age of JCRC data is about seven
years.

6. Many factors were considered during this study. A description of the
methodology employed is available at JCRC Headquarters on request.

/s/

John P. Vollmer
Col, USA
Commander


                                          REGRADED UNCLASSIFIED
                                          WHEN SEPARATED FROM
                                          CLASSIFIED INCLOSURES
 
                                             UNCLASSIFIED

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                              PROJECT X INDEX

               USE THE FOLLOWING INDEX TO ACCESS CASE SUMMARIES.
 
               REFNO-------------NAME

               0031 ------------ Greer, Robert L.
               0031 ---------------Schreckengost, Fred T.

               0054------------ Mc Lean, James H
 
               0100------------ Tavares, John C. (Civilian)
 
               0124 ------------ Mellor, Frederick
 
               0155 -------------- Garwood, Robert
 
               0223 ------------ Bailon Ruben (Civilian)
               0223 ------------ O'Laughlin, Stephen
               (Civilian)
 
               0253 ------------ Mauterer, Oscar
 
               0267------------ Peterson, Delbert R.
 
               0286 ------------ Hewitt, Samuel
 
               0297 ------------ Gates, James W.
               0297 ------------ Lafayette, John

               0314 ------------ Goss, Berneard J.
 
               0329 ------------ Thomas, Kenneth D.

               0358 ------------ Harris, Gregory
 
               0413------------ Kwortnik, John C.
 
               0432 ------------ Brand, Joseph W.
 
               0453 ------------ Tatum, Lawrence B.
 
               0466 ------------ Ammon, Glendon L.
 
               0541 ----------- Warren, Arthur L.
 
               0641------------ O'Grady, John F.
 
               0646 ------------ Hasenbeck, Paul A.
               0646 ------------ Mangino, Thomas A.
               0646 ------------ Nidds, Daniel R.
               0646 ------------ Winters, David M.
 
               0667 ------------ Graham, James S.
 
               0685 ------------ Dodge Ronald W.
 
               0754 ------------ Frederick, William V.
 
               0816 ------------ Degnan, Jerry L. (Civilian)
 
               0826------------ Moore, Herbert W.
 
               0830 ------------ La Porte, Michael
 
               0840------------ Vescelius, Milton J.
 
               0914------------ Hauer, Leslie J.

               0920 ------------ Teague, James E.
 
               0969 ------------ Hartney, James C.
 
               0970------------ Jones, William E.

               1010------------ Cocheo, Richard (Civilian)
 
               1011------------ Lacey, Richard J.
 
               1130 ------------ Metz, James H.
 
               1131 ------------ Held, John W.
 
               1274 ------------ Pridemore, Dallas
 
               1321 ------------ Erskine,Jack D. (CIVILIAN)
 
               1329 ------------ Francisco, San D.
               1329 ------------ Morrison, Joseph

               1372 ------------ Briggs, Ronald D.
               1372 ------------ Christiansen, Eugene F.
               1372 ------------ O'Hara, Robert C.
               1372 ------------ Parsons, Donald E.
               1372 ------------ Padgett, David E.
               1372 ------------ Stanley, Charles I.
 
               1402 ------------ Mc Donnel, John T.
 
               1673 ------------ Mc Kay, Clyde W. (Civilian)

               1747 ------------ Soyland, David P.
 
               1982------------ Morris, George W.
               1982------------ Peterson, Mark A.
 
               1994------------ Dean, Charles (Civilian)
               1994------------ Sharman, Neil (Australian)
 


                        SUMMARY SELECTION RATIONALE

NAME: BRAND, Joseph W., Maj., USAF

OFFICIAL STATUS: MISSING

CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED

RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: Maj. Brand was seen to eject and a few minutes
later attempted to establish voice contact from the ground. No subsequent
reports have been received to indicate Maj. Brand's possible capture or death.

REFNO: 0432 14 Apr 75

(C) CASE SUMMARY

1. On 17 August 1966, Maj. Joseph W. Brand, pilot, and Maj. Donald M.
Singer, electronic warfare officer (EWO), departed Takhli RTAFBL Thailand,
in the lead aircraft (63-8308) of a flight of four F105 aircraft. The
mission was a search and destroy mission of surface-to-air missiles (SAM)
and antiaircraft artillery (AAA) sites in North Vietnam. The flight had
just departed the target area when the flight leader sighted a lucrative
target and directed his and the number two aircraft to expend their
remaining ordnance. During their attack, number three and four performed
MIG cover. Immediately after lead's rockets were launched, number three
observed lead's canopy jettison and both crew members eject simultaneously,
and then the aircraft crashed into the target area. Number three saw one
parachute blossom and the other appeared to be only a streamer. Number two
did not witness either ejection but called for the SAR effort. Number four
observed one fully deployed parachute and one which appeared to be
partially open. Due to his maneuvering, number four lost sight of both
parachutes before they contacted the ground. The parachutes quickly
disappeared after ground contact near the aircraft wreckage (vicinity VJ
655 515). After one turn around the area, number four heard Maj. Brand
state that he was all right. Two way radio communications could not be
established due to noise and chatter on the radio. No other contact was
established with the pilot or EWO except that one emergency radio beeper
continued to transmit for several hours. (Ref 1)

2. AlE's arrived in the area and made low passes looking for any signs of
flares, smoke, or signals. They transmitted directions for the downed crew
to turn their beepers on and off if they heard the transmission; this was
done by at least one of the crewmen. The area was populated and covered
with rice paddies. All efforts to locate and recover the downed crew were
unsuccessful. (Ref 1)

3. (U) Hanoi news service reported on 30 August 1966 that a U.S. aircraft
was downed on 17 August in Nghia Lo Province. On 22 December 1969, it was
learned that Mrs. Cora Weiss as a representative to "The Women's Strike for
Peace Organization,," had visited Hanoi and had returned with five letters
which she stated had been returned by the North Vietnamese. One of the
letters returned was addressed to Maj. Singer by his wife. According to
Mrs. Weiss, the North Vietnamese stated the five addresses had died in
their parachutes or in the crash of their aircraft. A news release on 7
January 1971 reported that Win Ton Lay, a DRV spokesman in Paris, stated
that Maj. Singer was known to be dead. (Ref 2)

4. (U) Although reportedly dead, Maj. Singer was not identified on any list
provided to the U.S. government. The DRV should have more information
regarding these men. Individual case folders were forwarded to the FPJMT
for use in negotiations. (Ref 2)

5. (U) During the existence of JCRC, the the area precluded any visits to
or ground inspections of the sites involved in this case. Details of this
case together with information indicating enemy knowledge of the case were
turned over to the Four-Party Joint Military Team on 29 August 1973.

6. (U) Maj. Brand and Maj. Singer are currently carried in the status of
Missing.

(U) REFERENCES USED

1. RPT (C), 355 CSG (CBPO-PA), w/statements, 18 Aug 66.

2. RPT (U), File Record Summary of Maj. Singer, undated.

(U) ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUALS

1. Joseph W. Brand 0432-0-01

2. Donald M. Singer 0432-0-02

 

http://www.nbcmontana.com/station/news-team/KECI-Reporter/-/14594980/14803326/-/wwdgf2/-/index.html
 

Air Force pilot killed in Vietnam honored posthumously

 By Kevin Maki, KECI Reporter, kmaki@keci.com

Air Force pilot killed in Vietnam honored posthumously 12-7-12

MISSOULA, Mont. -

Forty-six years after he was shot down over North Vietnam, the father of a Missoula woman has been awarded medals of honor for service to his country.
 

For years, nobody knew whether Colonel Donald Singer was alive or dead. He was just missing.

His family would spend 11 years in limbo.

His remains were returned in 1977, and on Pearl Harbor Day, he was honored as an American hero. ....

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02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000ukCnREAU

COL DONALD MAURICE SINGER

Return to Service Member Profiles

On October 25, 1977, the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Donald Maurice Singer, missing from the Vietnam War.

Colonel Singer, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Pennsylvania, served with the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On August 17, 1966, he was the electronic warfare officer aboard an F-105F Thunderchief (serial number 63-8308) on a strike mission against enemy surface to air missiles and antiaircraft artillery sites in North Vietnam. During the mission, the Thunderchief was shot down and Col Singer was killed. Search and rescue efforts following the crash were unsuccessful and his remains were not recovered at the time. In 1977, the Vietnamese government repatriated remains which U.S. analysts identified as those of Col Singer.

Colonel Singer 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.