LYNN, DOYLE WILMER

Name: Doyle Wilmer Lynn
Rank/Branch: O5/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 111 (in 1964)
Date of Birth: 03 November 1926
Home City of Record: Aliquippa PA
Date of Loss: 27 May 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 184058N 1053957E (WF702657)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F8D
Refno: 0088

Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 1990 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: AAHIT CRASH TGT AREA - NO PARA - J

SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of
Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North
Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively
by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot
reported shot down on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier
fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The
aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.

The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were
the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie
carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions
as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a
heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were
used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo
version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and
frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF models were equipped for
photo reconnaissance.

The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar
fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or
destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader
pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and
released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war.

Commander Doyle W. Lynn was a Navy Crusader pilot. Lynn was not a green
pilot. He had participated in the early Yankee Team operatons in central
Laos in 1964.

In the spring of 1964, Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese forces launched
attacks against Neutralist forces on the Plain of Jars in Xiangkhoang
Province, Laos.

Air Force and Navy photoreconnaissance jets began gathering intelligence
information in May 1964 in Laos, and the result was a number of photos
showing the Plain of Jars bristling with newly installed anti-aircraft guns.

Ambassador Leonard Unger obtained approval from the Johnson Administration
to release the fuses on previously delivered U.S. bombs, for use by the
Royal Lao Air Force. Prince Souvanna Phouma also authorized the use of U.S.
fighters to accompany the unarmed reconnaissance jets over Laotian
territory, and these missions became code-named Yankee Team.

CDR was at that time assigned to Fighter Squadron 111 and on June 7 flew an
F8D as escort on a Yankee Team reconnaissance mission over central Laos. His
aircraft was shot down that day, but fortunately, he was rescued the
following day. The rescue operations of this period laid the groundwork for
the most successful combat rescue missions in history.

The following year, May 27, Lynn was still in combat. During a combat
mission over Nghe An Province, North Vietnam near the city of Vinh, his
aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire while he was in the target area and
crashed. No parachute was seen, and little hope was held that Cdr. Lynn
survived. He was listed Killed/Body Not Recovered.

Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing,
prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.
Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified
information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive
today. Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous
circumstances, and were prepared to be wounded, killed, or captured. It
probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country
they proudly served.

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