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.
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 Gross is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is listed as having died "while missing" by the National Archive.
03/12/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
On April 30, 1951, a C-47 Skytrain (tail number 44-77261A) carrying six crew members departed Taegu Air Base on a mission dropping leaflets behind enemy lines in North Korea. During the mission, the Skytrain disappeared behind enemy lines south of Wonsan, North Korea. A partial distress call from an unknown aircraft that may have been this Skytrain was recieved by nearby Air Force and Navy radio operators, but they were unable to determine the exact source of the call. The Skytrain did not return from its mission and it was reported missing along with its six crew members. Search and rescue efforts were carried out for six days, but no sign of the aircraft or its crew could be located.
Master Sergeant Robert Franklin Gross, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Alabama, served with the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Wing. He was the radio operator aboard the C-47 when it disappeared, and he was declared missing in action. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with MSgt Gross, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Master Sergeant Gross 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.