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NAME: Charles Edward White
MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observation Group) was a joint-service unconventional warfare task force engaged in highly classified operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces channeled personel into MACV-SOG (although it was not a Special Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided their "cover" while under secret orders to MACV-SOG. The team performed deep penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance and interdiction into Laos and Cambodia which were called, depending on the time frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire" missions.
SFC Charles E. White was a team leader of MACV-SOG reconnaissance team that was inserted into a target area in Ratanokiri Province, Combodia near the border of Laos and Cambdia. The team consisted of White and two indigenous personnel, Nang and Khong. The team came under enemy fire and White called for an emergency extraction.
During the extraction, the team had to use McGuire rigs hung from the helicopter because the dense jungle canopy prevented the helicopter from landing. The device was lowered through the trees and raised up again with the men suspended from it.
According to the helicopter crew, the three personnel on their ropes seemed secure on liftoff. SFC White indicated that he was having difficulty holding onto the rope, then fell. At the time, the helicopter was at an altitude of between 75 and 200 feet above the ground. Due to the time of day and the enemy situation, a recovery team was not inserted until the next day. No evidence that White had been in the area was found except for the path his body made through the trees and bamboo when the incident occured. Neither blood trails nor equipment were found. The area appeared to have been search by the enemy. No fresh grave sites could be located, and it was considered doubtful that the enemy would carry a body any distance before burying it or otherwise disposing of it.
It was noted by the recovery team that the bamboo was thick enough to have cushioned SFC White's path in descent, and that he could have survived the fall. In light of all available information, SFC White was placed in Missing in Action status, with the belief that the enemy could probably account for him, living or dead.
Curiously, the Defense Intelligence Agency added the data note, "POSS DEAD-IMPALED" to data concerning Charles E.White. Neither Army after-action reports nor other public information mention this gruesome possibility. Both clearly state that no trace of White was found. If there is any credence to this remark, perhaps it comes from classified information related to this case.
The missions MACV-SOG teams were assigned were exceedingly dangerous and of strategic importance. The men who were put into such situations knew the chance of their recovery, if captured, was slim to none. They quite naturally assumed that their freedom would come by the end of the war. For 591 Americans, freedom did come at the end of the war. For another 2500, including White, freedom has never come.
Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to missing Americans in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S., convincing many authorities that hundreds remain alive in captivity. Charles E. White could be among them. If so, what must he think of us?
"O' Lord;
Until Charles Edward White is brought home, may his Guardian Angel
keep watch. Keep him wraped in Your loving arms and re-new his strength.
Help him keep the faith that we will bring him HOME to his family and
loved ones. Give him confidence that his fellow Americans are praying and
working for his release. Touch the hearts of more people and give them
the burning desire to join the crusade to bring our boys home. And,PLEASE,
Lord, never let them think that thay have been or ever could be forgotten.
Amen"
The need to get specific answers is more important now than ever before. If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70s...They don't have much time left.
Write to Senators, Congressmen, our President and Vice President, pleading with them to do whatever it takes to obtain the information concerning these men. They were willing to risk their lives for freedom. Don't they deserve that same freedom that you and I enjoy? Can you lay down at night without wondering where and how they are? Can you set down to a good meal without wondering if they have had enough to eat or if they had anything at all? Wake up America!!
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