POYNOR, DANIEL ROBERTS
Remains Identified 06/27/95
Name: Daniel Roberts Poynor
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 523rd
Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 12 June 1946
Home City of Record: Enid OK
Date of Loss: 19 December 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 193106N 1031738E (UG176587)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Refno: 1786
Other Personnel in Incident: Leo T. Thomas (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 June 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 2020.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: Throughout the Vietnam War, the Plain of Jars region of Laos was a
contested area between Lao tribesmen and Vietnam's communist allies, the
Pathet Lao. The area was long controlled by the Pathet Lao and a continual
effort had been made by the secret CIA-directed force of some 30,000
indigenous tribesmen to strengthen anti-communist strongholds there. The
U.S. committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the war effort in Laos.
Details of this secret operation were not released until August 1971.
Capt. Leo T. Thomas Jr. was an F4 Phantom pilot sent on a mission over the
Plain of Jars in Laos on December 19, 1971. His bombardier/navigator on the
flight was 1LT Daniel R. Poynor. At a point about five miles north of the
city of Ban Na Mai, Thomas' aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. It
was not believed that either crewmember survived. Both were listed
Killed/Body Not Recovered. However, it was believed that the enemy could
probably provide further information about the two.
Because Laos was "neutral," and because the U.S. continued to state they
were not at war with Laos (although we were regularly bombing North
Vietnamese traffic along the border and conducted assaults against communist
strongholds thoughout the country at the behest of the anti-communist
government of Laos), and did not recognize the Pathet Lao as a government
entity, not one of the nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos was ever released.
The Pathet Lao stated that they would release the "tens of tens" of American
prisoners they held only from Laos. At war's end, no American held in Laos
was released - or negotiated for.
The U.S. Government labels the return of an increasing number of American
remains as progress towards "high levels of cooperation" on the POW/MIA
issue. Although over 10,000 reports regarding Americans in captivity in
Southeast Asia have been received, convincing many experts that hundreds
remain alive there, the U.S. is content to gauge success on the return of
remains. How many will die waiting for the country they proudly served to
come to their defense?
Leo T. Thomas Jr. graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1963.
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02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000toksOEAQ
On June 12, 1995, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now
DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Daniel Roberts Poynor,
missing from the Vietnam War.
Captain Poynor joined the U.S. Air Force from Oklahoma and was a
member of the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. On December 19,
1971, he was the navigator aboard an F-4D Phantom II (serial
number 66-237) on a strike mission against an enemy artillery
site in Laos. The Phantom was shot down during the mission, and
Capt Poynor was killed in the crash. His remains could not be
recovered at the time due to enemy presence in the area. In May
1994, a joint U.S./Laotian team investigated the crash site and
recovered human remains that were eventually identified as those
of Capt Poynor.
Capt Poynor 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.