LINDAHL, JOHN CARL

Name: John Carl Lindahl
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit: USS Midway
Date of Birth: 28 March 1941
Home City of Record: Lindsbourg KS
Date of Loss: 06 January 1973
Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 170154N 1074616E
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A7B
Refno: 2012
Other Personnel In Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1991 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 1998.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: John Lindahl was looking forward to going home to be with his wife
and 15 month-old daughter Christine. His tour of duty had been extended a
few extra days, and on January 6, 1973, with the war drawing to a close, he
was flying one of his last missions.

Flying from an aircraft carrier is a special science. The limited takeoff
and landing area leaves little room for error. Occasionally, tragic
accidents occur, claiming lives.

When he launched from the USS Midway in his A7B, the launch seemed normal,
yet the plane veered and dove into the ocean shortly after takeoff. The
crash was observed from the ship, and within 45 seconds, helicopters and
divers were on the scene, but it was too late. Lindahl went down with his
aircraft.

John Lindahl is listed with honor among the missing because his remains were
not recovered to return to the country he served. His case seems 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.

When the war ended, refugees from the communist-overrun countries of
Southeast Asia began to flood the world, bringing with them stories of live
GI's still in captivity in their homelands. Since 1975, over 6000 such
stories have been received. Many authorities believe that hundreds of
Americans are still held in the countries in Southeast Asia.

The U.S. Government operates on the "assumption" that one or more men are
being held, but that it cannot "prove" that this is the case, allowing
action to be taken. Meanwhile, low-level talks between the U.S. and Vietnam
proceed, yielding a few sets of remains when it seems politically expedient
to return them, but as yet, no living American has returned.

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