TIGNER, LEE M.

Name: Lee M. Tigner
Rank/Branch: USAF, O4
Unit:
Date of Birth: 29 July 33
Home City of Record: Washington, DC
Date of Loss: 22 August 72
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 164518N 1071123E
Status (in 1973): Killed in Action/Body not Recovered
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4E

Other Personnel In Incident: William J. Crockett

Source: Compiled by THE P.O.W. NETWORK 02 February 93 from the
following published sources - POW/MIA's -- Report of the Select Committee
on POW/MIA Affairs United States Senate -- January 13, 1993. "The Senate
Select Committee staff has prepared case summaries for the priority cases
that the Administration is now investigating. These provide the facts about
each case, describe the circumstances under which the individual was lost,
and detail the information learned since the date of loss.  Information in
the case summaries is limited to information from casualty files, does not
include any judgments by Committee staff, and attempts to relate essential
facts. The Committee acknowledges that POW/MIAs' primary next-of- kin know
their family members' cases in more comprehensive detail than summarized
here and recognizes the limitations that the report format imposes on these
summaries." 2020

On August 22, 1972, Major Tigner and First Lieutenant Crockett were
the crew in an F-4H, one in a flight of four on a combat mission
over Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.  Their aircraft was hit by
hostile ground fire in the right wing and the wing separated from
the aircraft.  It rolled and within two to five seconds after being
hit had crashed into the ground at a speed of 450 knots, skipped,
and came to rest in the river at Quang Tri City, Quang Tri
Province.  No one was seen to eject from the aircraft before it
crashed and there were no electronic beepers heard.  Both crewmen
were declared killed in action, body not recovered.

Returning U.S. POWs had no information on their precise fate.
After Operation Homecoming they were declared dead/body not
recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.

In July 1974 the U.S. Army's 500th Military Intelligence Group
forwarded information from the South Vietnamese Army reporting
information that a U.S. jet aircraft had crashed during the war
approximately two kilometers west of Quang Tri City.  Remains of an
American, clothing and boots were observed in the wreckage.  This
report was believed to possibly correlate to this loss incident.
The site was searched on July 26, 1974, and human remains were
recovered.  The area was revisited on November 6, 1974, and more
artifacts, human teeth, and aircraft parts were recovered. 

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02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KY72EAG

LT COL LEE MORROW TIGNER

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On August 22, 1972, an F-4E Phantom II (tail number 68-0477) with a crew of two took part in a combat mission on targets in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. This F-4 was making its second pass on the target when it was hit by hostile ground fire, causing its right wing to separate from the aircraft. The aircraft then rolled over and crashed. No ejections were observed and no rescue beeper signals were received. Search and rescue efforts were unsuccessful in recovering either crew member.

Major Lee Morrow Tigner entered the U.S. Air Force from the District of Columbia and was a member of the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the pilot of this aircraft when it crashed, and attempts to locate or recover his remains have been unsuccessful. After the incident, the Air Force promoted Maj Tigner to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Today, Lieutenant Colonel Tigner 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.

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