WOZNIAK, FREDERICK JOSEPH

Name: Frederick Joseph Wozniak
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: Udorn AFB, Thailand
Date of Birth: 11 June 1941
Home City of Record: Alpena MI
Date of Loss: 17 January 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 205000N 1053000E (WJ589073)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: RF4C
Refno: 0570

Other Personnel In Incident: Gary G. Wright (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.
Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2020.

REMARKS: A/C DISAP - NO TRACE OF CREW

SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served
a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission
type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and
high altitudes. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes
around.

Maj. Gary G. Wright and his backseater, 1Lt. Frederick J. Wozniak, were
aboard an RF4C aircraft when it disappeared on an unarmed reconnaissance
mission over North Vietnam on January 17, 1967. The plane was lost in Than
Hoa Province.

That same day, Peking Radio announced that three American planes had been
downed over Hanoi on January 17. The announced location coincided with the
intended flight path of Wright's mission. While no names were given, there
is a reasonable possibility that Wright and Wozniak survived.

Wright and Wozniak were not among the prisoners of war that were released in
1973 by the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese deny any knowledge of them, though
circumstances surrounding their incident indicate the strong probability
that enemy forces knew their fates.

Alarmingly, evidence continues to mount that Americans were left as
prisoners in Southeast Asia and continue to be held today. Unlike "MIAs"
from other wars, most of the nearly 2500 men and women who remain missing in
Southeast Asia can be accounted for. If even one was left alive (and many
authorities estimate the numbers to be in the hundreds), we have failed as a
nation until and unless we do everything possible to secure his freedom and
bring him home.

Gary G. Wright was promoted to the rank of Colonel and Frederick J. Wozniak
was promoted to the rank of Major during the period they were maintained
Missing in Action.

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02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KYbSEAW

MAJ FREDRICK JOSEPH WOZNIAK

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On January 17, 1967, an RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 65-0888, call sign "Gigolo") with a crew of two departed Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base on a photo reconnaissance mission of a target in North Vietnam in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q WJ 346 072. The Phantom was not heard from after it left base, and when it did not return after its fuel should have been exhausted, it was declared missing and a search effort was initiated. The search was unsuccessful, and the crew members were declared missing in action.

First Lieutenant Fredrick Joseph Wozniak, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Michigan, served with the 11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. He was the pilot of the Phantom when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered. After the incident, the Air Force promoted 1st Lt Wozniak to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Wozniak is memorialized on then 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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