Bio, Mills, James B.

MILLS, JAMES BURTON
Remains returned/identified 08/2018

Name: James Burton Mills
Rank/Branch: O2/U.S. Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 21, USS CORAL SEA (CVA-43)
Date of Birth: 31 August 1940 (Stigler OK)
Home City of Record: Bakersfield CA
Date of Loss: 21 September 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 191858N 1054300E (WG753358)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4B
Refno: 0465

Official photo

Other Personnel In Incident: James R. Bauder (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1990 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 2018.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: James Mills was the all-American boy. In high school, he earned
letters every year in football, basketball and track and was selected as a
class officer a number of times. While studying for his degree in Business
Administration at the University of California at Berkeley, he participated
in intramural sports and held offices in his fraternity, Sigma Alpha
Epsilon.

Mills' naval training took him to Rhode Island, Florida, Georgia and
California. His first tour of duty was onboard the USS MIDWAY as a radar
intercept officer on an F4B Phantom, and he completed 148 missions over
North Vietnam. He began a second tour onboard the USS CORAL SEA in 1966.

Lt.Cdr. James R. Bauder was a pilot assigned to Fighter Squadron 21 onboard
the USS CORAL SEA (CVA 43). On September 21, 1966, Bauder and Lt.JG James B.
Mills, the Naval Fighter Officer, launched with another F4B fighter jet from
the USS CORAL SEA on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North
Vietnam. Bauder was the flight leader of the flight. The assigned route was
from Cua Can to Thach Luyen along a river adjacent to Highway 1A.

Bauder briefed the mission for the two aircraft to penetrate the coast. The
wingman, Lt. Hanley, was in a 4-5 mile radar trail. Capt. Bauder dropped his
six flares at 3500 feet to illuminate the river for barges. His aircraft
then executed a starboard turn to watch for flak and surface-to-air missiles
(SAMs) as the wingman bombed targets of opportunity under the illumination
of the flares. The wingman was then to proceed straight ahead off the target
for 45 seconds and drop his flares. Bauder and Mills would follow him north
in a 4-5 mile radar trail with the intention of bombing targets illuminated
by the second series of flares.

The wingman attempted to contact Bauder by radio, but was unsucessful. He
then checked with the USS CHICAGO and the E2A air control aircraft to see if
they had radar contact with the leader's aircraft, but they did not. At no
time were any flak or SAM firings observed by the crew of the wing aircraft.
Neither crew member observed any explosions in the air or on the ground. No
signals were detected from the emergency radios carried by both Bauder and
Mills. An extensive search was conducted in the area during the night and
early morning with negative results. Bauder and Mills and their aircraft
disappeared. The two were placed in a Missing In Action category.

When 591 Americans were released in 1973, Bauder and Mills were not among
them. They are two of nearly 2500 Americans who did not return from
Indochina at the end of American involvement there. Unlike MIAs from other
wars, most of the missing in Southeast Asia can be accounted for.

Tragically, over 1200 eye-witness reports have been received that indicate
that some of these "MIAs" are actually held prisoner today. Whether James
Bauder and James Mills are among them is unknown. But their families would
like to know...and have them home, one way or another.

From - Wed May 17 12:16:29 2000

You may want to add the following:

Jim's immediate family has been involved in the National League of Families
of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia since it's inception in
1970. His father, E.C. "Bus" Mills, was a board member for several years
and the League Executive Director for one year in 1974. His mother, Lois,
was Regional Coordinator for several years. His sister, Ann Mills
Griffiths, had served on the board for several years and then has been
Executive Director for over 20 years, currently serving in that capacity.
His other sister, Judie Mills Taber, served as California Coordinator and
Regional Coordinator for many years. His family remains committed to the
return of all POWs, the fullest possible accounting of the missing, and the
return of all recoverable remains. They appreciate the concern and active
involvement of so many people who have stood firm in their commitment to
this issue through the 33+ years that Jim has been MIA. There are over 150
relatives of Jim's who await word on his fate.

Thanks!

Judie Mills Taber

http://www.aerotechnews.com/blog/2017/06/19/underwater-recovery-team-searches-for-mias-in-vietnam/

June 19, 2017

PO1 Blake Midnight
Northern Vietnam

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) deployed an Underwater Recovery Team (URT) comprised of Department of Defense civilians and U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force servicemembers to northern Vietnam in search of two U.S. Navy aviators who went missing during the Vietnam War, May 2-June 18.

The two men were on a nighttime reconnaissance mission over northeastern Nghe An and southeastern Thanh Hoa provinces when their F-4B Phantom aircraft vanished from radar, Sept. 21, 1966. To this day, the two men remain unaccounted-for.

This is not DPAA’s first mission to this site; in 2008 an underwater investigation team used remote sensing equipment to identify possible wreckage on the bottom, and then employed divers to verify what was detected. This technique led to the discovery of the aircrafts’ wreckage site.....

Remains of pilot identified, but his Bakersfield crewman still unaccounted for

The Bakersfield Californian 10/20/17

... rather than drifting with currents over the many decades, said a spokesperson with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, which conducts global ...

...Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that a fragment of bone — a femur — had been found in June near the crash site. A test matched its mitochondrial DNA to a sample submitted years earlier by Bauder’s younger sister, Jane, the Times reported.

More than a half-century after his plane disappeared, the pilot had been found. Understandably, it was not a discovery that set off celebration. Such finds are mixed blessings.....

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180526/constable-vietnam-bracelets-still-make-bold-statement

Constable: Vietnam bracelets still make bold statement

Chicago Daily Herald 05/25/18

She dropped out of college to work full time on the bracelets and other POW-MIA programs. The group sold some bracelets on consignment to ..

08/14/18

I was informed today that remains of my brother, CDR James B. Mills, USNR,
listed as MIA over North Vietnam on September 21, 1966, were recovered
during an underwater operation this past May-June. Formal paperwork will
soon come from the US Navy. Jim was on his second tour as a Radar
Intercept Officer (RIO) in a Phantom F-4B, flying off the USS Coral Sea at
the time of loss. His first tour was flying off the USS Midway.

Our family never anticipated receiving concrete answers, having never known
anything specific until the accidental discovery a few years ago of
aircraft wreckage in shallow water along the coastline of northern Vietnam.
In May-June 2017, remains of the pilot of his aircraft, Captain James
Bauder, USN, were recovered and identified almost exactly a year ago. Only
once each year is the visibility sufficiently clear in that coastal area to
maximize recovery efforts. Now, as it turns out, the month of
identification for Jim Mills is the same as for Jim Bauder. Special
thanks is offered to Rich Wills, the underwater archaeologist whose talents
were key to the success of this recovery.

Having never expected this outcome due to unknown circumstances, it is
miraculous that this has occurred and we are most grateful to the
specialists who have worked long and hard, to President Ronald Reagan and
his team of mostly Vietnam Veterans who served in senior policy positions
when the accounting mission became the priority effort now evident.
Suffice to say, the entire Mills Family is grateful to all who contributed
to the many positive results achieved over these last four decades and in
this specific instances, to the scientific advances that allowed
increasingly sophisticated underwater recoveries and identification
capabilities that continue to advance at a rapid pace.

In the late 1970s, when the POW/MIA Issue was being written off for
political and economic reasons, no one thought that we, collectively,
would bring home 1,050 US personnel, now 1051, previously missing from the
Vietnam War. I can name the names and remember the excuses used by some to
dismiss the POW/MIA issue. Thank God so many good people refused to give
up, continued to press for answers and had the courage to counteract
conspiracy and cover-up theories with hard work and determination.

You know who you are, as do I, and someday soon I will have the time to
write* "In Search of a Brother,"* not a story about my life or that of my
MIA brother, but the truth about our Nation's search for answers in the
face of many challenges, even obstructionists. In the interim, I'm as
determined as ever that much more can and will be accomplished and many
more Americans still missing from the Vietnam War will come home..

Interment will be arranged at Arlington National Cemetery, likely on June
18th or 19th, 2019, just prior to the League's 50th Anniversary Annual
Meeting to which you're all invited. I'll certainly let you know and hope
you can join us for both celebrations.

Gratefully,

*Ann Mills-Griffiths*

*Chairman of the Board/CEO*

*National League of POW/MIA Families*

Subject:	Re: Remains recovered
Date:	Tue, 21 Aug 2018 20:58:44 +0000 (UTC)
From:	J G

Sirs, yesterday our forensics team identified the remains of USN LT James B.

Mills, a F-4B radar intercept officer shot down over the Gulf of

Tonkin, Vietnam, in 1966. Posthumously promoted to CDR, he is the

brother of Ann Mills-Griffiths, who heads the largest, and most active

and influential, family group, and has been a staunch advocate on the

POW/MIA issue for four decades. She is well known by USG senior

officials so the Secretary and his front office staff will have interest.

USN has notified Ann and burial arrangements at Arlington will likely

be next Jun in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the National

League of Families. Also, the 21 Sep POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony

the Secretary will be hosting, is also the day, 62 years ago, her brother went missing.

Case Summary: After multiple underwater investigations over many

years, CDR Mills' rear canopy was found in 2011. Subsequent surveys

and excavations led to the remains of the pilot, CAPT Bauder, being

recovered in 2017; he was identified later that year. The May-July

2018 DPAA underwater recovery team found CDR Mills' remains and our

labs made the ID utilizing DNA and material evidence.

From: Duus, Kristen L SFC USARMY DPAA EC (US) <kristen.l.duus.mil@mail.mil>
Sent: 28 August, 2018 12:04
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: California Naval Aviator Accounted For From The Vietnam War

Dear Sir/Ma'am,

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the

remains of a U.S. serviceman, killed during the Vietnam War, have been

identified as those of Navy Cmdr. James. B. Mills. Mills was accounted for

on August 20. On Sept. 21, 1966, Mills, a Naval Radar Intercept Officer

(RIO), and the pilot, Capt. James R. Bauder, USN, were assigned to Fighter

Squadron Twenty One, aboard the, USS Coral Sea, flying in an F-4B in a

flight of two aircraft on a night armed reconnaissance mission over

then-North Vietnam. During the mission, the other aircraft lost contact

with Mills' aircraft, and his plane did not return to the ship. No missiles

or anti-aircraft artillery were observed in the target area and no

explosions were seen. An extensive search was conducted with negative

results. Based on this information, Mills was declared missing in action.

Between 1993 and 2003, the loss of the Bauder/Mills aircraft was

investigated a total of 15 times, with no success. In 2006, during Joint

Field Activity 86, the investigation led to a possible underwater crash

site. Five underwater investigations were required in order to determine

the aircraft wreckage correlated to Bauder/Mills' loss. In 2011, the Air

Force Life Science Equipment Laboratory, now an element of DPAA, was able to

positively identify the recovered wreckage as the Bauder/Mills aircraft.

Between 2010 and 2017, Underwater Recovery Teams (URT) from DPAA conducted

excavations of a submerged aircraft crash site in the waters immediately off

Quynh Phuong Village, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province, Vietnam. During

the excavations, numerous pieces of aircraft wreckage, consistent with the

Bauder/Mills aircraft, were found, as well as possible osseous material.

The remains found were identified as Mills' pilot, Bauder.

In June, 2018, a DPAA Joint Recovery Team conducted another excavation,

finding additional remains.

To identify Mills' remains, DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner

System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis and anthropological analysis,

as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam for their partnership in this

mission.

Today, there are 1,594 American servicemen and civilians still unaccounted

for from the Vietnam War. Mills' name is recorded on the National Vietnam

Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, and the Courts of the Missing at the

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who

are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to

his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For information on funeral services, contact the Navy Service Casualty

office at (800) 443-9298.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account

for missing Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the

DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Mills' personnel profile can be viewed at

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTe8EAG

Local veteran found after 52-year long search

KERO 23ABC News

... at East High and he went back to Washington D.C., and he was one of the first directors of the National Families of the POW/MIA,” said Taber.