POW/MIA

OUR MIA/POW’s
belong here,
at home,
not in some
God-forsaken
place where they
despair of ever returning!

Name:
Jack Wolpe

Rank/Branch:
E4/US Marine Corps

Unit:
A Company, 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division

Date of Birth:
15 January 1942

Home City of Record:
Newburgh NY

Date of Loss:
03 August 1967

Country of Loss:
South Vietnam

Loss Coordinates:
160622N 1072247E (YC545820)

Status (in 1973):
Killed/Body Not Recovered

Category: 3

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: CH46A

Other Personnel In Incident: Thomas A. Gopp; John B. Nahan; James P. McGrath (all 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.

REMARKS: SURVIVS EXTRACT SAY DED - J

SYNOPSIS: In early August, 1967, a nine-man team from A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division began a night reconnaissance patrol in the A Shau Valley that was spotted by a Montagnard tribal woman and child, who alerted a nearby North Vietnamese unit.

North Vietnamese troops slowly surrounded the Marine patrol and another that had joined it, trapping them for two days in hopes of luring a helicopter rescue.

The following day (August 3), the first of two helicopters arrived and loaded some men from the patrols, but was hit by a bazooka shell and crashed during takeoff. The pilot was killed by small-arms fire. The nine passengers were believed to have perished, but all of their bodies could not be recovered because of hostile fire.

John Nahan and Jack Wolpe were passengers aboard the aircraft. They were two of the A Company Reconnaissance patrol. Thomas Gopp was crewchief of the helicopter. James McGrath was a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman attached to H & S Company accompanying the Recon team. These four were listed as Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered (KIA/BNR).

The men of the CH46A shot down on August 3, 1967 are listed with honor among the missing because no remains were found. Their cases seem quite clear. For others who are listed missing, resolution is not as simple. Many were known to have survived their loss incident. Quite a few were in radio contact with search teams and describing an advancing enemy. Some were photographed or recorded in captivity. Others simply vanished without a trace.

Reports continue to mount that we abandoned hundreds of Americans to the enemy when we left Southeast Asia. While the men aboard the CH46 may not be among them, one can imagine their proud willingness to fly one more mission to help bring them to freedom.

Dr. Phillip B. Hill (Grey Wolf), USMC 1953-1956, Korea in 1953-54 POW/MIA Adoption Staff Operation Just Cause