REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On 13 October 1966, 1Lt. Eugene T. Meadows and 1Lt. Murray L. Borden departed their base at Da Nang, South Vietnam on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. The aircraft was one in a flight of two F4C Phantom fighter jets.
(NOTE: most U.S. Government records list Meadows as the pilot and Borden as the navigator of the aircraft, but U.S. Air Force records indicate that Borden is the pilot of the aircraft.)

The flight of two F4's was to make four passes over its target in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam, about 10 miles north of the eastern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). On its fourth pass, the Meadows/Borden aircraft failed to radio in, and crew members of the other aircraft observed a large explosion while on a down run. They circled the area, but heard no emergency radio signals ("beepers"). Shortly thereafter, however, a beeper was heard by search aircraft, but neither the crew nor the aircraft could be located. The two First Lieutenants were declared Missing in Action. It was strongly felt that the enemy knows their fates.

When 591 American POWs were released from Vietnamese prisons in 1973, Meadows and Borden were not among them. Military authorities expressed their dismay at the time that, "hundreds" expected to return, did not return, nor did they appear on any list provided by the Vietnamese of American POWs.

Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports have been received relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Most authorities agree that Americans are still alive, being held prisoner. Few agree on the best way to bring them home.

Whether Borden and Meadows are among those thought to be still alive is not known. What is certain, however, is that as long as one American remains alive, we must do everything possible to bring him home.

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