ADAMS, SAMUEL
Name: Samuel Adams
Rank/Branch: E5/US Air Force.
Following the incident, the Air Force promoted SSgt Adams to the rank of Chief
Master Sergeant (CMSgt).
Unit: 6250th Civil Engineering Squadron
Date of Birth: 02 August 1935
Home City of Record: Goldenrod FL (family in NH)
Date of Loss: 31 October 1965
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 10400N 1070000E (YS224805)
Status (in 1973): Prisoner of War
Category: 1
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ford Truck
Refno: 0180
Other Personnel in Incident: Thomas Moore; Charles G. Dusing (both POW),
Jasper Page, escapee
REMARKS: 6512 DIC-ON PRG DIC LIST
Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published
sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK. 2023
SYNOPSIS: On October 31, 1965, four U.S. Air Force personnel were captured
while traveling by truck from Vung Tau to Saigon. This incident occurred on
Route 15 at grid coordinates YS224805, just on the border of Binh Hoa and Gia
Dinh Provinces of South Vietnam. The individuals in this incident are SSgt.
Samuel Adams, CMSgt. Charles Dusing, TSgt. Thomas Moore and TSgt Jasper
Page.
On November 2, 1965, while being taken to a detention camp, Jasper Page,
managed to escape and return to U.S. control. It was reported that Samuel
Adams had been shot during the same escape that freed Page, but a defector
identified Adams' photo as a prisoner at a later date. CIA's analysis of
this identification has been inconclusive. The names of all three appeared
on the died in captivity list furnished by the Provisional Revolutionary
Government (PRG) in 1973 at the Paris Peace Accords. The list reflected that
they had died during December 1965, but no details were given.
When 591 Americans were released at the end of the war in 1973, Adams, Dusing
and Moore were not among them; their names were on a list. No bodies were
returned to their families, even though the Vietnamese clearly know where to
find the three men. Since that time, Vietnam has doled out handfuls of remains
as the political atmosphere seemed appropriate, but Adams, Dusing and Moore
remain unaccounted for.
The three are among nearly 2500 Americans who remain missing in Indochina.
Unlike "MIA's" from other wars, most of these men can be accounted for.
Tragically, over 8000 reports concerning Americans still in Southeast Asia have
been received by the U.S. since the end of the war. Experts say that the
evidence is overwhelming that Americans were left behind in enemy hands. It's
time we brought our men home.
Senate Select Committee Report:
South Vietnam Samuel Adams
Charles G. Dusing
Thomas Moore
(0180)
On October 31, 1961, four U.S. Air Force sergeants were traveling
by bus from the coastal resort town of Vung Tau toward Saigon.
They were stopped by local Viet Cong forces and taken prisoner. On
November 2, 1965, the four sergeants attempted to escape from
custody, and Staff Sergeant Jasper N. Page was successful. He last
saw Sergeant Adams as the Viet Cong were chasing him and shooting
at him.
The status of the three was changed from missing in action to
prisoners of war. All appeared on the Provisional Revolution
Government's died in captivity list provided to the U.S. in January
1973. Their date of death was given as December 1965. The remains
of the other three sergeants have never been returned. All were
declared dead/body not recovered after the end of hostilities.
Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any information on their
fate.
In March 1992, the Joint Task Force interviewed a witness in
Vietnam who described sightings of the four servicemen shortly
after their capture at way-station B50. Information was also
received that one prisoner escaped and the remaining three
prisoners were shot. After burial, their bodies were later exhumed
and reburied at a new location which has since been deforested, and
the grave site can not be located.
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VIETNAM WAR
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UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
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Unaccounted For
On October 31, 1965, four U.S. service members returning from a
rest and relaxation break in Vung Tau, South Vietnam, were
riding in a truck with a Vietnamese driver. While en route to
Saigon, the truck was stopped by local communist guerilla forces
and the four U.S. service members were captured. On November 2,
while being moved to an enemy prisoner of war camp, two of the
four men attempted to escape; one was wounded and recaptured by
the guards, but the other successfully escaped and returned to
U.S. control two days later. Upon his return, air and ground
search efforts were launched for the other three men but without
success. In January 1973, the names of the three men who did not
escape appeared on the died-in-captivity list released by the
Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, and their
remains have not been returned.
Staff Sergeant Samuel Adams entered the U.S. Air Force from
Florida and served with the 6250th Support Squadron. He was one
of the three men who did not escape during this incident and was
reportedly killed by the local communist guerilla guards. He
remains unaccounted for. Following the incident, the Air Force
promoted SSgt Adams to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt).
Today, Chief Master Sergeant Adams 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 Active
Pursuit.
If
you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you
with additional information and analysis of your case. Please
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CMSgt SAMUEL ADAMS
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Unit 6250
SPT SQ TAN SON NHUT
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Historical Country of Loss
South Vietnam
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Current Country of Loss
VIETNAM
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Home of Record FL