SCUITIER, JAMES J.
CACCF shows remains returned - date unknown
Name: James J. Scuitier
Rank/Branch: E3/US Army
Unit: Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division
Date of Birth: 14 February 1947
Home City of Record: Summit NJ
Date of Loss: 28 February 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 105203N 1063538E (XT742017)
Status (in 1973): (none)
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: M113 (tank)
Refno: 1064 (NOTE: Refno 1064 is also assigned to an A6A incident on the
same day with a crew of Henry/Stegman. This could be a USG typo and the
refno SHOULD BE 1069, as it is with Hunt.]
Other Personnel In Incident: Robert W. Hunt (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 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: 730127 PRG SAYS DIC
SYNOPSIS: Robert W. Hunt was a gunner on an M41 Tank assigned to Troop C,
3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division. On February 28, 1968, his
unit was engaged in a reconnaissance in force mission just north of Saigon
in South Vietnam.
The enemy launched an attack with rocket propelled grenades and heavy
automatic weapons fire just after the tank commander had stopped to check
the ID of an indigenous person. During the assault, the tank received two
direct RPG hits.
Hunt was seen standing in the rear of the tank just prior to the assault.
Because of heavy fighting, the area was not secured until the next day, and
the tank could not be immediately checked for survivors. When search teams
went into the area the following day, Hunt could not be found.
Lost the same day at the same coordinates on ground was James J. Scuitier.
His name disappeared from the lists of missing by September 1978, but there
is reference to his name in Hunt's files from Joint Casualty Resolution
Center (JCRC). JCRC files indicate that both Hunt and Scuitier were
captured, but the Army has nothing on file to indicate that Hunt was
captured.
The Vietnamese stated that Scuitier died in captivity, and although his name
is no longer on the lists of missing, no record can be found of remains
being returned that can be identified as his. According to the Army,
Scuitier was captured in March 1968 and died in March 1968. Other casualty
records show that Scuitier died in February 1968 while on board the tank.
Other files indicate that remains identified as those of Scuitier were
returned in February 1968. Finally, a cryptic data remark states "730127 PRG
SAYS DIC" which could either mean that the Vietnamese stated on January 27,
1973 that Scuitier had died in captivity, or that the Vietnamese stated that
he died on January 27, 1973.
Like many of the POW/MIA cases, there are frustrating discrepancies in those
of Hunt and Scuitier. It is little wonder that many POW/MIA family members
have learned to suspect information given to them by the government about
their missing man.
The U.S. Government seems to believe that all Americans left behind in
Indochina are now dead. Critics wonder if that is the case, why are the over
10,000 sighting reports still classified? Why are the complete files of the
men who are still missing denied to their families? What happened to Robert
Hunt and James Scuitier? Are they dead - or alive?
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[ssrep6.txt 02/09/93]
APPENDIX 1
South Vietnam Robert W. Hunt
(1065)
On February 28, 1968, Corporal Hunt was a member of an M-41 tank
crew in combat with hostile forces in Hoc Mon, a suburb of Saigon.
He was last seen standing on the tank when it took a direct hit
from two rocket propelled grenades. The next day friendly forces
recovered the bodies of two tank crewmen, but there was no sign of
Corporal Hunt. He was declared missing.
In January 1973, the Provisional Revolution Government reported the
death of PFC James J. Scuiter while in captivity. However, PFC
Scuiter's remains were located and recovered from the scene of the
combat where Corporal Hunt was declared missing. It was believed
that the PRG had misidentified the remains.
Corporal Hunt was declared dead/body not recovered in September
1978. He was not identified alive in the Vietnamese prison system.
In 1975 U.S. interviewers located a former soldier from the
People's Army 84th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. He described
himself as the individual who had fired the rocket propelled
grenades which disabled the M-41 tank and stated that an African-
American had been captured on that date.
Since 1985, U.S. intelligence has received several reports about an
African-American killed in action and buried in the Hoc Mon area.
While not identified as Corporal Hull, these reports are similar to
the location and circumstances pertaining to his loss.
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