CHIPMAN, RALPH JIM

RIP  08/09/2023

Name: Ralph Jim Chipman
Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps
Unit: VMA 533, MAG 15, 1st Marine Air Wing
Date of Birth: 15 August 1943
Home City of Record: Orem UT

    10/05/2023: Son states correct Home of Record is American Fork, Utah
 
Date of Loss: 27 December 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 171500N 1064500E (XD985800)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Refno: 1973
Other Personnel in Incident: Ronald W. Forrester (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews, son. Updated
by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2023.

REMARKS: DEAD/QUAN DOI NHAN DAN

SYNOPSIS: The Grumman A6 Intruder is an all weather, low-altitude,
carrier-based attack plane. The A6A primarily flew close air support,
all-weather and night attacks on enemy troop concentrations, and night
interdiction missions. Its advanced navigation and attack system, known as
DIANE (Digital Integrated Attack navigation Equipment) allowed small
precision targets, such as bridges, barracks and fuel depots to be located
and attacked in all weather conditions, day or night. The planes were
credited with some of the most difficult single-plane strikes in the war,
including the destruction of the Hai Duong bridge between Hanoi and Haiphong
by a single A6. Their missions were tough, but their crews among the most
talented and most courageous to serve the United States.

Capt. Ralph J. Chipman was the pilot of an Intruder assigned a mission over
North Vietnam on December 27, 1972. His co-pilot on the flight was 1Lt.
Ronald W. Forrester. The aircraft did not return from the mission, and last
contact was made with the crew over the target area.

A subsequent article in Quan Doi Nhan Dan, a daily Vietnamese newspaper
described an aircraft downed by the Vietnamese. Apparently the pilot was
reported to be dead, and possibly the co-pilot as well. Although this
article was thought to possibly relate to Chipman and Forrester, it was not
definite enough for proof of death. Both men were classified Missing in
Action. It is believed that the Vietnamese could account for them.

Forrester and Chipman are among nearly 2500 Americans who remained missing
from the Vietnam war. Many experts, having seen the "several million"
documents relating to Americans prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in
Southeast Asia, believe that hundreds of these men are still alive in
captivity today.

In our haste to leave Southeast Asia, we abandoned some of our best men.
Surprisingly, in 1990, overtures by many U.S. government officials hint at
normalization of relations with Vietnam, yet no agreements have been reached
which would free those Americans still held in Southeast Asia. In our haste
to return to Indochina will we again abandon our men?

Ronald W. Forrester graduated from Texas A & M in 1969. He was promoted to
the rank of Captain during the period he was maintained missing.

PRESS RELEASE | Aug. 9, 2023

Pilot Accounted for from Vietnam (Chipman, R.)

 

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ralph J. Chipman, killed during Vietnam was accounted for Aug. 2, 2023.

In the winter of 1972, Chipman was assigned to Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 533, Marine Attack Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On Dec. 27, Chipman was piloting an A-6A Intruder, along with his co-pilot, during a nighttime combat mission over the northern part of the Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam. After entering the target area, Chipman’s aircraft ceased radio communications and never returned to base. Search and rescue teams could not locate any trace of the aircraft or the crew in the Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province. In July, 1974, he Marine Corps reported Capt. Chipman as Killed in Action.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Chipman’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTZDEA4.
08/15/2023
 
On Monday, August 7, 2023, DPAA notified the family of Ralph “Jim” Chipman, USMC, that they had positively ID’ed his remains 50 years after he was shot down over North Vietnam.  Capt Chipman and his Bombardier Navigator, Capt Ron Forrester were conducting a night solo mission as part of Operation Linebacker II on December 27, 1972.  Stationed at the MCAS Royal Thai Air Force Base, known as the Rose Garden, Chipman and Forrester departed just past 8 p.m.in their A-6A Intruder and never returned to base.  Both were listed Missing in Action.
 
This year, DPAA has conducted two JFAs excavating the crash site.  Their efforts thus far resulted in finding Chipman’s dog tag, a fragment of credit card bearing Forrester’s name, two teeth and a handful of small bone fragments.  DPAA was able to make a positive ID on the teeth while the bone fragments are undergoing DNA analysis at AFDIL. The site remains open and further excavation is planned to begin in June 2024. 
 
Capt Chipman's wife Susan and sons Scot and Matt are grateful to have an answer after 50 years.  The family is working with DPAA and the USMC to make funeral arrangements for Jim’s homecoming to be held near his home town of American Fork, UT later this year.  As we celebrate every answer, we continue hope and pray for future answers to quickly follow for all who wait. 

 
Never give up hope!

 
Karoni Forrester
MIA Daughter of Capt Ron Forrester
karoni@mac.com
 

 

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTZDEA4

CAPT RALPH JIM CHIPMAN

 

 

On December 27, 1972, an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 155666, call sign "Tiny 05") took off from Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, carrying two crew members on a night combat mission over North Vietnam. The Intruder was last heard from when an airborne controller received a radio transmission indicating "Tiny 05" was beginning its entry into the target area. No subsequent radio contact was made. An aerial search was conducted over the area where the Intruder was last heard from, but the effort was unsuccessful in locating the aircraft, a crash site, or the two crew members.

Captain Ralph Jim Chipman entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Utah and was a member of the Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 533, Marine Air Group 15, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the pilot of this Intruder when it was lost, and he went missing with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered. Today, Captain Chipman 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 contact your casualty office representative.

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