STRATTON, CHARLES WAYNE
Remains ID announced 08/03/07
Name: Charles Wayne Stratton
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Korat Airbase, Thailand
Date of Birth: 09 October 1940
Home City of Record: Dallas TX
Date of Loss: 03 January 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 165400N 1055300E (WD940685)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4E
Refno: 1688
Other Personnel in Incident: James H. Ayres (missing)
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: On January 3, 1971, a flight of two aircraft departed Korat
Airbase Thailand for an operational mission over Laos. Both aircraft were
the reconnaissance version of the Phantom fighter bomber aircraft. The crew
aboard the lead aircraft was Major James H. Ayres, pilot, and Capt. Charles
W. Stratton, weapons systems officer.
During the mission, which took the flight over Savannakhet Province, Laos,
Ayres' aircraft was seen to crash and explode in a ball of fire prior to its
second pass over the target area. No parachutes were observed, and no
emergency radio beeper signals were detected. The loss occurred about 8
miles southeast of the city of Ban Muong Sen.
Ayres and Stratton are among nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos. During the
course of American involvement in the war, the Pathet Lao stated on a number
of occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners and that
those captured in Laos would also be released from Laos. Unfortunately, that
release never occurred, because the U.S. did not include Laos in the
negotiations which brought American involvement in the war to an end. The
country of Laos was bombed by U.S. forces for several months following the
Peace Accords in January 1973, and Laos steadfastly refused to talk about
releasing our POWs until we discontinued bombing in their country.
After the war ended, 591 Americans were released from communist prison camps
in Southeast Asia, but NOT ONE American held in Laos was released. Even
though family members of the men still missing did their best to keep their
men's plight in the public eye, these "tens of tens" were largely forgotten.
Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing in
Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government, many of them
relating to men lost in Laos. Tiny steps towards recognition of the
communist Lao government have been taken over the years, but no effort to
negotiate the freedom of any Americans still alive has been made.
In 1988, however, the U.S. agreed to "grease the wheels" for the
humanitarian construction of medical clinics to help improve U.S./Laos
relations. In return, the Lao agreed to excavate crash sites on a regular
basis. Still, no acknowledged negotiations have occurred which would free
any living American POWs in Laos. If, as thousands of reports indicate,
Americans are still alive in Indochina as captives, then the U.S. is
collaborating in signing their death warrants. It's time we found the means
to bring our men home.
=============================
NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense
No. 960-07 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 03, 2007
Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public/Industry(703) 428-0711
Airmen Missing in Action from Vietnam War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced
today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the
Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families
for burial with full military honors.
They are Lt. Col. James H. Ayres, of Pampa, Texas, and Lt. Col. Charles W.
Stratton, of Dallas, Texas, both U.S.Air Force.Ayres will be buried Aug. 10
in Pampa, and Stratton's burial date is being set by his family.
On Jan. 3, 1971, these men crewed an F-4E Phantom II aircraft departing
Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base on a nighttime strike mission of enemy
targets in Savannakhet Province, Laos.Shortly after Ayres initiated a
target run, the crew of other aircraft in the flight observed a large
explosion.No one witnessed an ejection or heard beeper signals, and
communication was lost with the aircraft.Hostile activity in the area
prevented search and rescue attempts.
In 2001, a joint U.S./Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team, led
by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Savannakhet
Province and interviewed Laotian citizens about their knowledge of aircraft
crash sites.One of the men led the team to what was believed to be the
Ayres and Stratton crash site.
Later that year, another U.S./L.P.D.R team began excavating the site.The
team recovered human remains and aircrew-related items.Between 2002 and
2005, joint teams visited the site six more times to complete the
excavation, recovering more human remains and crew-related items.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence,
scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory
also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo
or call (703) 699-1169.
=======================================
"BODY OF VIETNAM AIRMAN FROM COUNTY FOUND:
Former Celeste Resident to be buried with Honors:
The remains of a former Celeste resident who disappeared over Laos
more than 36 years ago while serving in the Air Force during the
Vietnam War are to be returned to Texas. The Department of Defense
reports that the body of Lt. Col. Charles W. Stratton will be
returned to Dallas for burial with full military honors......
You can read this directly from the paper at: www.heraldbanner.com
=========================
[shared with permission]
August 12, 2007
Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:43:17 -0500
Subject: Lt. Col. James Henry Ayres
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=2663112d-373d-47ce-9756-6e2b22
Recovery Efforts Help Write Final Chapter For Missing Pilot's Wife Thu, 04 Dec '08 If This Doesn't Bring A Tear To Your Eye... Sallie Stratton always knew she wanted to write a book, but she just couldn't bring herself to put pen to paper -- until now. It is truly a Texas-sized love story that starts nearly 50 years ago in small record store near Dallas. It chases a pilot's dream around the globe to a foreign land, turns on its end in a fiery jet crash, returns to a grief-stricken widow and three small boys, and ends in a southwestern cemetery just last year...... (Aero-News salutes Fred W. Baker III, American Forces Press Service... who in our experience has a particularly deft touch with stories like this one -- Ed.) |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000oCFg7EAG
On August 1, 2007, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
identified the remains of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Wayne
Stratton, missing from the Vietnam War.
Lieutenant Colonel Stratton entered the U.S. Air Force from
Texas and was a member of the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On
January 3, 1971, he was the weapons systems officer aboard an
F-4E Phantom II (tail number unknown) carrying two crew members
that took off from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, as
the lead of two fighter-bombers on a nighttime strike mission
against enemy targets in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Shortly
after Lt Col Stratton initiated a target run, the aircraft
exploded and crashed to the ground. The crew members did not
survive, and hostile activity in the area prevented recovery
efforts at the time. However, in 2001, investigators recovered
human remains and crew-related items from this Phantom's crash
site, and between 2002 and 2005, joint teams completed
excavations that recovered remains identified as those of Lt Col
Stratton.
Lieutenant Colonel Stratton 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.