MEYER ALTON BENNO
Name: Alton Benno Meyer
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Fredericksburg TX
Date of Loss: 26 April 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 213500N 1051600E (WJ448773)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105F
Other Personnel in Incident: John F. Dudash (remains returned)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 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: 730304 RELSD BY DRV
SYNOPSIS: The F105 Thunderchief ("Thud"), in its various versions, flew more
missions against North Vietnam than any other U.S. aircraft. It also
suffered more losses, partially due to its vulnerability, which was
constantly under revision. Between 1965 and 1971, the aircraft was equipped
with armor plate, a secondary flight control system, an improved pilot
ejection seat, a more precise navigation system, better blind bombing
capability and ECM pods for the wings. While the D version was a
single-place aircraft, the F model carried a second crewman which made it
well suited for the role of suppressing North Vietnam's missile defenses.
Eighty-six F-105Ds fitted with radar homing and warning gear formed the
backbone of the Wild Weasel program, initiated in 1965 to improve the Air
Force's electronic warfare capability. Upon pinpointing the radar at a
missile site, the Wild Weasel attacked with Shrike missiles that homed on
radar emissions. The versatile aircraft was also credited with downing 25
Russian MiGs. Thirteen of these modified F's were sent to Southeast Asia in
1966.
Most of the F105s flown by the U.S. Air Force were based in Thailand, their
flights into North Vietnam guided by ultra-secret U.S.-operated radar
installations in Laos. During the mid-sixties, both Navy and Air Force jets
descended on military targets in North Vietnam as part of Operation Rolling
Thunder.
Major William M. Meyer was an F105D pilot dispatched on a mission to destroy
a supply bridge near Hanoi on April 26, 1967. During the mission, his
aircraft was struck by enemy fire. Meyer went down less than five miles
northeast of Hanoi at the city of Yen Vien. There existed the possibility
that Meyer safely ejected his crippled aircraft, and he was classified
Missing in Action.
Meanwhile, at the coastal city of Haiphong, Navy bombers were running
successful bombing missions aimed at vital supply stores and storage
facilities. One bomber was flown by Michael Estocin, who was shot down on
this mission and who was awarded the Navy's only Congressional Medal of
Honor for his valor on this mission and those of days previous over
Haiphong.
The same day Meyer was shot down, another F105 was lost northwest of Hanoi.
Flown by Capt. John F. Dudash, with Major Alton B. Meyer in the rear seat,
this F105F was hit by enemy fire in northwest of Hanoi in Vinh Phu Province.
Meyer, as the rear-seater, ejected first and was captured immediately. He
landed about 45 miles northwest of Hanoi, and the aircraft continued in a
southeasterly direction with Dudash still at the controls. Although the Air
Force later located the precise location of the downed aircraft, the fate of
Dudash is uncertain. The aircraft continued another five miles or so before
it finally crashed. Whether Dudash successfully ejected is uncertain, but he
was classified Missing in Action, and it was felt that the Vietnamese could
account for him.
[NOTE: Some records indicate that Dudash was aboard an F105E and that Meyer
was aboard an F105F. This is probably an error as Dudash and Meyer are
definitely on the same aircraft and it is the F model which is a
two-seater.)
In the spring of 1973, 591 Americans were released from POW camps and Alton
B. Meyer was among them. The Vietnamese denied any knowledge of William M.
Meyer and John F. Dudash. William Meyer had landed in a heavily populated
area near Hanoi and it seemed incredible that the Vietnamese would not know
what happened to him. Dudash's loss occurred in a less populated area, but
the fact that his backseater was captured indicated that the enemy was in
the area. They would not fail to notice the aircraft crash and investigate.
Sixteen years later, the Vietnamese "discovered" and returned the remains of
John F. Dudash. The U.S. accepted this humanitarian gift without question.
Eighteen years after the two F105s were downed, the Vietnamese returned the
remains of William M. Meyer.
For nearly two decades, the Vietnamese denied knowledge of the fates of
Dudash and Meyer. Disturbing testimony was given to Congress in 1980 that
the Vietnamese "stockpiled" the remains of Americans to return at
politically advantageous times. Were Dudash and Meyer waiting, in a casket,
for just such a moment?
Even more disturbing are over 10,000 reports received by the U.S. relating
to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities who have examined
this information (largely classified), have reluctantly come to the
conclusion that many Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia. Were
Dudash and Meyer among them?
Perhaps the most compelling questions when remains are returned are, "Is it
really who they say it is?", and "How -- and when -- did they die?" As long
as reports continue to be received which indicate Americans are still alive
in Indochina, we can only regard the return of remains as a politically
expedient way to show "progress" on accounting for American POW/MIAs. As
long as reports continue to be received, we must wonder how many are alive.
As long as even one American remains alive, held against his will, we must
do everything possible to bring him home -- alive.
SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and
spelling errors).
ALTON B. MEYER Major
United States Air Force
Shot Down: April 26, 1967
Released: March 4, 1973
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Major Alton B. Meyer was born on January 2, 1938 in Fredericksburg, Texas. He
graduated from Fredericksburg High School in 1956 and from Texas A & M
University in 1960.
He is married to the former Bobbie Jean Smith. They have two sons, Robert, 11
and Ronny 7.
Major Meyer entered the Air Force in 1960 and is an electronic warfare
officer. He has been stationed at Moore Air Base, Texas; Vance AFB, Oklahoma;
James Connally AFB, Texas; Mather AFB, California; Biggs AFB, Texas; Duluth
International Airport, Minnesota; and Takli, Thailand. He was flying in an
F-105F when he was shot down on April 26,1967. On March 4, 1973 he was
released.
Presently he is assigned to the Air Force Institute of Technology at Texas A &
M University.
EXPERIENCE
Less than three months after his arrival in Takli, Thailand, his F-105F was
hit by a missile that "just dropped out of the clouds." The ejector from the
aircraft left him unconscious; when he awoke he was stripped of his clothes
and was aware of a bad cut on his head and a broken leg. En route to Hanoi, as
they passed through the little hamlets, the villagers would twist his broken
leg, "just to see me squirm and grunt." When he arrived at New Guy Village
there were so many prisoners that they did not bother with the torture, but
said they would just let him die of his injuries. At Heartbreak Hotel all the
prisoners were placed in stocks and slept on concrete bunkers, but being in a
cast, they just threw him on the floor and left him there for four days. He
received food and water twice a day. "They didn't bother me much while I was
there but the mosquitoes almost carried me off." From the Hanoi Hilton he went
to a camp named the Zoo, which was an old French movie studio. Then over to a
camp near Son Tay and back to the Hanoi Hilton with some 350 prisoners. Here
they waited until peace was declared.
Music and propaganda played 24 hours a day on loudspeakers such that the POWs
could tell what was happening by the mood of the music. They had about 30
songs that they would play. For instance, patriotic songs (North Vietnamese)
were played if something big was about to happen. Even though the men could
sometimes deduce what was happening by the mood music, they would occasionally
be able to get a guard to give them a clue by the way the POWs would ask a
question or make a remark. These were the first hints the POWs had that peace
and their return was imminent.
Confirmation that their release was real came when the first group left the
camp and the remaining prisoners watched the U.S. transport planes fly over
the camp. He describes his departure as "sort of anticlimactic. I was really
just numb. It hit me so hard that there was no feeling at all. Of course, the
first night I was out I didn't sleep at all."
Reflecting back on his experiences, the thing that helped him through it all
was knowing that his family was waiting for him.
PERSONAL MESSAGE
"I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all those who supported the POW-MIA
cause."
Alton Meyer retired from the United States Air Force as a Lt. Colonel. He
and his wife Bobbie reside in Texas.
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