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Rank/Branch: Staff Sergeant/US Army
Unit: Company L, 75th Infantry (Ranger), 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile)
Date of Birth: 16 November 1949
Home of Record: Houston, TX
Date of Loss: 24 April 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 161155N 1071930E (YC484923)
Staus in 1973: Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Other Personnel In Incident: Issako Malo (released POW)
SYNOPSIS: On 8 February 1971, South Vietnamese President Thieu announced Lam Son 719, a large-scale offensive against enemy communications and supply lines in that part of Laos adjacent to the two northern provinces of South Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The mission was to interdict the flow of supplies from North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) would provide and command ground forces, while US forces would provide airlift and supporting fire. Phase I, renamed Operation Dewey Canyon II, involved an armored attack by the US from Vandegrift Base Camp toward Khe Sanh, while the ARVN moved into position for the attack across the Laotian border. Phase II began with an ARVN helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along Route 9 into Laos. ARVN ground troops were transported by American helicopters, as the US Air Force provided cover strikes around the landing zones.
After Lam Son, the ARVN all but abandoned western I Corps and the demilitarized zone (DMZ), thereby yielding immense areas to the communists. Ominously, in April Special Operations teams discovered a new road coming out of Laos just north of the A Shau Valley, pointed dangerously toward the populated coastal plain north of Hue. They uncovered the NVA making massive improvements to an existing road pointed directly at the DaNang area. Heavy NVA forces made penetrations all but impossible, and it was as if a curtain were being lowered to conceal their activities.
On 23 April 1971, then PFC James A. Champion and PFC Isaako F. Malo were riflemen assigned to a six-man radio relay team on a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) being inserted into the infamous A Shau Valley to report on NVA activity. After receiving intense enemy ground fire at their primary landing zone (LZ) on the west side of the valley, the team was inserted into their alternate LZ near the village of A Luoi on the east side of it.
The LZ was located in west side of the mountain range that overlooked the east side of the valley. It was also situated between two peaks in what is commonly referred to as a "saddle" approximately 1 miles southeast of the NVA's new road and 2 miles northwest of a river that flowed along the east side of the jungle covered A Shau Valley. This new road ran east-west where it entered South Vietnam north of the A Shau Valley, then ran from the northwest to the southeast along the east side of the valley where it ran next a river that flowed through it. Roughly two-thirds of the way through the valley, the road turned sharply to the northeast where it headed directly toward Hue. The LZ was also located approximately 6 miles northwest of the South Vietnamese/Lao border, 22 miles southwest of Hue, 44 miles southeast of Khe Sanh and 58 miles west-northwest of DaNang, Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam.
The NVA's new road was a major addition to the notorious Ho Chi Minh Trail. When North Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before. This border road was used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle covered mountains. US forces used all assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies from moving south into the war zone.
After disembarking the helicopters at 1500 hours, the radio relay team leader, Marvin Duren, took the point position. Shortly after the team began to move away from the LZ, he was severely wounded by enemy automatic weapons fire, grenade and rifle fire. The team's alternate team leader, John Sly, took command of the patrol. He was hit by enemy fire and killed in a heroic attempt made by the team medic and himself to drag Marvin Duren out of the line of fire.
CWO Fred Behrens, an experienced Medevac helicopter pilot, volunteered to fly the emergency extraction mission to rescue the wounded soldiers, as well as the rest of the team. CWO Behrens volunteered for this mission because he felt his chance of success to extract the team from this hot LZ were better than other less experienced pilots. During his second attempt to extract John Sly his helicopter was shot down. The 4-man aircrew found themselves on the ground with the LRRP team fighting for their lives. Shortly thereafter in the continuing attempts to rescue the embattled Americans, a second helicopter was shot down by the vicious enemy ground fire. The Aero Rifle Platoon, which was being brought in as reinforcements, was forced to withdraw under intense ground fire and regroup. Over the next three days the intense battle around the downed aircraft continued.
At the same time the battle was raging on the ground, a search and rescue (SAR) operation was in full swing to recover both downed aircrews and the radio relay LRRP team. The SAR effort employed both a wide range of ground and air assets.
On 24 April, the Americans on the ground were widely dispersed around their defensive position on the LZ and were engaged in vicious combat with NVA forces. US airstrikes were called in nearly upon themselves in order to force enemy troops away from the American's perimeter. During one of these airstrikes, PFC Malo was wounded by shrapnel from a close-in air strike made by a US Cobra gunship. At approximately 1600 hours on 24 April, Issako Malo disappeared. When the others realized he was gone, they searched the immediate area as best they could while notifying SAR personnel of the situation.
A reaction force from Company L, 75 Infantry was finally inserted into the area and successfully drove the NVA elements away from the embattled American position. The survivors and the dead were evacuated. No one ever told the survivors the size of the enemy force they came up against; however, it was a large enough force to warrant an Arclight strike by B-52 bombers.
From the time both Rangers failed to return to the landing zone through 30 April, an intense and protracted series of ground and aerial searches were made for them. On 25-28 April, a psychological warfare operations aircraft was used to make broadcasts calling for the two soldiers to return to the landing zone for pickup. Unfortunately, neither one came to the LZ. At the time the formal search was terminated, James Champion and Issako Malo were listed Missing in Action.
Later information was received by US intelligence confirming that Issako Malo had been captured and his status was changed from Missing in Action to Prisoner of War. After his release from captivity on 27 March 1973 during Operation Homecoming, PFC Malo stated to his debriefers that he became separated from the other Americans and managed to evade capture until the morning of 25 April. After capture, the NVA moved him north and he was eventually imprisoned in North Vietnam. Further, he reported that at no time during his imprisonment did he see or have any contact with PFC Champion.
If James Champion died during this loss incident, he has a right to have his remains returned to his family, friends and country. Likewise, there is no doubt the enemy could return his remains any time they had the desire to do so. However, if he survived, there is no question he would have been captured by the same NVA troops who captured Issako Malo, and his fate like that of other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, could be quite different.
We Salute These Rangers for going Above and Beyond the call of duty for their country and for us.
They have moved to a higher place now amongst their fellow Rangers....We Salute you Brave men of the 75th. and, "Charlie Mike" were ever you are.
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: Company H, 75th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division (Ranger)
Date of Birth: 12 June 1950 (East Meadow NY)
Home City of Record: Clearwater FL
Date of Loss: 17 June 1970
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 121833N 1071134E (YU386618)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 1634
Other Personnel in Incident: Deverton C. Cochrane (missing)
Source: Compiled 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 in 1998.
REMARKS: HEAD WOUND - 3 RECOV - SERCH NEG - J
SYNOPSIS: On June 16, 1970, SSgt. Deverton C. Cochran was team leader and SP4 Carl J. Laker the assistant team leader of a reconnaissance team from Company H, 75th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division on an area search mission in Cambodia.
1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry was an aerial reconnaissance cavalry squadron operating with an aero-scout ("white") platoon; aero-weapons ("red") platoon, and an aero-rifle ("blue") platoon. The squadron also had a ground cavalry element. Cochrane is listed as attached to "75th Infantry, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division." Laker, however, is listed as assigned to Company H of the 75th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division, which is a Ranger unit. If these unit designations are accurate, then Laker was a Ranger while Cochrane was probably a "blue" assigned to the Company H mission. In 1970, the Company H strength was 198 men. The 75th Infantry ("Merrill's Marauders") had only been organized the beginning of 1969 to provide a parent unit for the separate long-range reconnaissance patrol companies (LRRP). Ranger companies in Vietnam were particularly elite.
The team was operating just inside Cambodia in Mondol Kiri Province due east of the South Vietnam city of Dak Song. After a successful infiltration, the team set up in the vicinity to conduct a trail watch and to establish a night defensive position.
The next morning, the team moved out to conduct reconnaissance until 1535 hours when, upon entering a wood line, the team leader was fired upon by enemy troops. Members of the team saw the team leader fall holding his neck and loin. SP4 Laker tried to crawl forward to assist, and fell on top of another member of the team who later reported that Laker had been hit above the left eye, gravely wounded.
The team finally managed to break contact and one member was able to evade the enemy and return to friendly lines. An extensive search was made of the battle area for several days, but only 2 wounded members of the team were rescued. There was no trace of Cochrane or Laker.
Although the Ranger missions were hazardous, few remain missing from them. Laker was classified as Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered because the extent of his injuries were known, and they were serious. Cochrane's injuries, on the other hand, could not be assessed, and it was felt there was the possibility of survival and ultimate capture. Cochrane was classified Missing in Action.
Laker and Cochrane are among nearly 2500 Americans still prisoner, missing or unaccount for from the Vietnam war. Some, like Carl Laker, are undoubtedly dead. Others were certainly not dead, but in good health the last they were seen. Still others were seen as prisoners or even photographed, only to disappear from the prison system.
Unlike "MIAs" from other wars, most of the missing from Vietnam can be accounted for, if Vietnam chooses to do so. Based on thousands of refugee reports, most authorities now believe that hundreds of Americans are still alive today, held against their will. For the honor of those who died, and for the honor of our country, these men must be brought home.
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