SANBORN, RUSSELL A.C.

Name: Russell A.C. Sanborn
Rank/Branch: Captain/U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Age: 27
Home City: Cherry Point NC
Date of Loss: 09 February 1991
Country of Loss: Kuwait
Loss Coordinates:
Status: Prisoner of War
Status in 2002: Released 03/05/91
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: AV-8B

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. Three Harrier units had been shipped to the Gulf by
mid-February:  VMA 231, VMA 331, and VMA 542. All three are from the 2nd
Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Capt. Russell A.C. Sanborn is a Harrier pilot serving in the Persian Gulf.
On February 9, 1991, his aircraft was shot down over southern Kuwait during
a combat mission. Sanborn's identity was not released for 72 hours during
which time search and rescue efforts were ongoing.

On March 6, 1991, Russell Sanborn was released in a group of 15 Americans by
the Iraqis. The group apparently had been held at Basra in an intelligence
complex. The U.S. had not released any further information on Sanborn since
the time he was shot down.