BERRYMAN, MICHAEL C.

Name: Michael C. Berryman
Rank/Branch: Captain/U.S. Marine Corps
Unit:
Age: 28
Home City: Yuma AZ
Date of Loss: 28 January 1991
Country of Loss: Kuwait
Loss Coordinates:
Status: Prisoner of War
Status in 2002: Released 03/05/91
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: AV8B Harrier

Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project  09 March 1991 from one
or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the POW NETWORK 2002.

REMARKS: OPERATION DESERT STORM

SYNOPSIS: The Harrier, or AV-8B, is a fighter-bomber notable for its ability
to make vertical takeoffs by directing thrust from its engines downward. The
peacetime favorite at airshows is used extensively by the U.S. Marines in
Operation Desert Storm.

Capt. Michael C. Berryman has been a Harrier pilot for six years. Of the 60
pilots in his unit, he has the second-most experience. In the Middle East,
Berryman is stationed at a Marine base about 60 miles from the Kuwaiti
border.

On Monday, January 28, Berryman was on a bombing mission in his Harrier jet
over Kuwait when the aircraft was shot down. Other airmen in the area saw
the Harrier explode when it struck the ground, but were unable to determine
if Berryman ejected from the aircraft.

The following day, Berryman's family was notified that he is missing in
action. The Marine Corps requested that the family not make public
statements regarding the loss of Michael Berryman. They have hope "that
maybe he got out of the plane before it crashed."

On March 6, 1991, to the surprise of everyone, Berryman was released by the
Iraqis in a group of 15 American POWs. He had been held near Basra.

Michael C. Berryman is from Cleveland, Oklahoma and now lives with his wife
in Yuma, Oklahoma. He graduated from high school there in 1980. He received
a degree in construction engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 1985.
Following Navy ROTC years at OU, Berryman joined the Marine Corps. His
parents, Loy and Esther Berryman, live in Cleveland. Berryman's brother,
Brian, is an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy.