Name: Lawrence Gerald Evert
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 15 March 1938
Home City of Record: Cody WY
Date of Loss: 08 November 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 211500N 1054100E (WJ721508)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F105
Other Personnel In Incident:
(none 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.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS:
The F105 Thunderchief (or "Thud") performed yoeman service on many
diversified missions in Southeast Asia. F105s flew more combat missions over
North Vietnam than any other USAF aircraft and consequently suffered the
heaviest losses in action. They dropped bombs by day and occasionally by night
from high or low altitude and some later versions (F105D in Wild Weasel guise)
attacked SAM sites with their radar tracking air-to-ground missiles. This
versatile aircraft was also credited with downing 25 Russian MiGs.
Capt. Lawrence G. Evert was the pilot of an F105 aircraft assigned a combat mission over North Vietnam on November 8, 1967. As his aircraft was just northwest of the city of Lang Tao (about 50 miles north of Hanoi), it was hit by enemy fire and crashed. It was not determined if Evert survived. He was declared Missing In Action, and the U.S. believes there is a good chance that the enemy forces knew his fate.
Nearly 2500 Americans were lost in Southeast Asia during our military involvement there. Since the war in Southeast Asia ended in 1973, thousands of reports of Americans still in captivity have been received by the U.S. Government. The official policy is that no conclusive proof has been obtained that is current enough to act upon. Detractors of this policy say conclusive proof is in hand, but that the willingness or ability to rescue these prisoners does not exist.
Lawrence G. Evert, if one of those hundreds said to be still alive and in captivity, must be wondering, "Where ARE you, America?" Where are we, America, when the life of even one American is not worth the effort of recovery? When the next war comes, and it is our sons lost, will we then care enough to do everything we can to bring our prisoners home?
Lawrence G. Evert was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during the period he was maintained missing.
