Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the Air Force, Washington, October 16, 1961 page 1. Sanitized copy. National Archives KOREAN Conflict Casualty File (KCCF) 1950-1954.
MIAs in incident: Fuehrer, Alios A.; Botter, William Joseph; Foulks,
James Arch Jr.; Mooradian, Ara; Black, Wayne Forest; Cogswell, Robert
Whitney
03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" -- is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been
held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War
but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27,
1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department
of Defense.
The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the
"sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the
archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were
repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese
radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and
all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still
lists them as "unaccounted for".
Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The
Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background.
Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA
Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United
States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published
information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
Robert W. Cogswell is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is listed as having "died while missing" by the National Archive.
03/11/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
Early in the morning on October 23, 1951, a B-29A Superfortress (tail number 44-61940) with a crew of thirteen took off from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, as part of group of nine B-29s with fighter support. The briefed mission was a daylight bombing operation targeting the Namsi Air Field, northwest of Pyanghyon, North Korea. As the Superfortress was departing the target area, it was attacked by enemy MiG-15 fighters, inflicting severe damage on the aircraft. The pilot managed to get the aircraft to the bay, but shortly after he gave the bailout order, the B-29 crashed in the water approximately seven miles off the coast of Chongu. Shortly after the crash, the copilot was rescued by an Australian frigate, and the body of another crew member was located and identified a few days later. Five other crew members were captured by the enemy and were returned after the war. The remaining six airmen from this loss are still unaccounted for.
Major Robert Whitney Cogswell, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Connecticut, was a member of the Headquarters Squadron, 307th Bombardment Wing (Medium). He was serving as the Pilot aboard a B-20 Superfortress when it went down in the Korea Bay. He was not seen or heard from again following the loss of the aircraft. Today, Major Cogswell 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 Deferred.
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.