CARRIER, DANIEL LEWIS

Remains Returned 20 November 1989

Name: Daniel Lewis Carrier
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 09 November 1942
Home City of Record: San Diego CA
Date of Loss: 02 June 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 175000N 1062700E (XE532722)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4C
Refno: 0717
Other Personnel in Incident: Alton C. Rockett, Jr. (missing)

Official pre-capture photo

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1990 with the assistance
of 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 2020.
REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: 1Lt. Daniel L. Carrier and Capt. Alton C. Rockett Jr. were pilots
of an F4C Phantom fighter/bomber assigned a mission over North Vietnam on
June 2, 1967. The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings,
served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor,
photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast
(Mach 2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and
mission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at
low and high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art
electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing
capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"
planes around.

At a point on the coast of North Vietnam's Quang Binh Province, about 5
miles north of the city of Ron, Rockett and Carrier's aircraft was shot down
and they were declared Missing in Action.

The Defense Intelligence Agency further expanded the Missing in Action
classification to include an enemy knowledge ranking of 3. Category 3
indicates "doubtful knowledge" and includes personnel whose loss incident is
such that it is doubtful that the enemy wound have knowledge of the specific
individuals (e.g. aircrews lost over water or remote areas).

On November 20, 1989, the Vietnamese returned remains to the U.S. which were
subsequently identified as being those of Daniel L. Carrier. For his family,
there can finally be a homecoming, a funeral, and long-delayed healing.

For Rockett's family, and for thousands of others, however, conclusions
remain elusive. Over 2300 men and women are still maintained on "unaccounted
for" lists. Further, since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports have been
received by the U.S. Government relating to Americans missing in Southeast
Asia. Many authorities who have reviewed this classified material have
reluctantly concluded that hundreds of Americans are still alive, held
prisoner in Southeast Asia.

Whether Daniel L. Carrier was ever held prisoner of war is unclear. What is
certain, however, is that as long as there is even one American held against
his will in Southeast Asia, we owe him our very best efforts to bring him
home.


Subject:  Submission
Date:  Thu, 24 May 2018 03:54:01 +0000
From:  William M. Killian


On June 2, 1967, aircraft commander CPT Alton C. Rockett Jr. and pilot 1LT Daniel L. Carrier were on board the Number Two F-4C Phantom II in a flight of two on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. The Flight Leader cleared Number Two into the target first. At the time of Number Two’s bomb run, anti-aircraft ground fire was observed, but CPT Rockett stated his aircraft was not hit. Number Two then orbited while the Flight Leader completed his pass. When the Flight Leader had finished bombing, he told Number Two to return to base, which was acknowledged. About one minute later, the Flight Leader noticed a large fireball in his rearview mirror. He immediately turned back to see the rapidly diminishing fireball. The Flight Leader could not positively identify the source of the fireball. He made numerous unsuccessful radio calls to his wingman. During the search period prior to their low-fuel state and departing the area, neither crewman of the lead aircraft heard any beeper signals or sighted any unusual visual signal. Due to darkness and the location, no search and rescue effort was initiated. Both Rockett and Carrier were declared Missing in Action. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]


 

Submitted by William M. Killian

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


01/2020   

 

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000qFIGqEAO

CAPT DANIEL LEWIS CARRIER

Return to Service Member Profiles


On November 17, 1989, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILH, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Daniel Lewis Carrier, missing from the Vietnam War.

Captain Carrier joined the U.S. Air Force from California and was a member of the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On June 2, 1967, he was the pilot of an F-4C Phantom II (tail number 637548) on a night armed reconnaissance mission over enemy territory in Vietnam. During the mission, Capt Carrier's aircraft was downed by anti-aircraft fire and he was killed in the incident. Enemy presence in the area at the time prevented search efforts for his aircraft's crash site. On July 31, 1989, the Vietnamese government returned remains to American authorities that analysts were able to identify as those of Capt Carrier.

Captain Carrier is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.