This is my other adopted POW/MIA. This man possessed the honor and courage to defend our country.It is with deep regret that I have learned that he may be KIA as well. As a result of his bravery he lost his life. His remains were never found, and he was not able to have a proper burial. In Dec 2001, 17 American remains were brought back to the US. If you have any further information other then what is listed on this site, please, feel free toEmail Me
Name
John Bowers Worcester
Rank/Branch
O2/US Navy
Unit
Attack Squadron 195, USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA 31)
Date of Birth
23 April 1941
Home City of Record
Big Rapids MI
Date of Loss
19 October 1965
Country of Loss
North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates
191900N 1052500E (WG437357)
Status (in 1973)
Missing In Action
Category
2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground
A4C
This is a photo of the type of aircraft
that LTCDR Worcester flew when he disappeared
on Oct 19, 1965
To see More about the USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA 31)
, please visit
The History of the USS Bon Homme Richard
and the USS Bon Homme Home page
Other Personnel In Incident
(none missing)
Source
Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 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
RADIO CONTACT LOST
SYNOPSIS
LTJG John B. "Smiley" Worcester was a pilot assigned to Attack
Squadron 195 onboard the USS BON HOMME RICHARD. He had been in the Vietnam
theater for about six weeks, and had flown 14 combat missions. On October
19, 1965, Worcester launched in his A4C Skyhawk attack aircraft as the
second plane in a two-plane section of A4Cs on an armed reconnaissance
mission over North Vietnam.
The route was along a river valley and over rolling hills with peaks
extending up to approximately 1800 feet mean sea level. The weather in the
entire mission area was clear with unrestricted visibility. Some automatic
weapons and anti-aircraft positions were known to exist along the mission
route. The flight was conducted at altitudes between 5,000 and 7,000 feet
above ground level.
At about 5:00 p.m. local time, LTJG Worcester expended part of his ordnance
on a bridge. There was no enemy ground fire observed. The flight leader
called "turning over point" and had visual contact with Worcester. He
acknowledged over the radio that he had visual sight of the leader. The
flight leader called "point 2" and received no response from LTJG Worcester.
Calls were made on both attack primary and guard frequencies. The mission
area was in Nghe An Province, North Vietnam. Worcester's last known location
was about 75 miles northwest of the city of Vinh.
The flight leader retraced the entire route three times, but saw no trace
nor indication of any kind of a crash or anti-aircraft artillery fire. A
fighter pilot in the general area saw an explosion on the ground near the
alternate rendezvous point, but was too far away to determine its origin.
Meanwhile, another section of aircraft circled the alternate rendezvous
point at 10,000 feet looking for Worcester. This point was a prominent
peninsula on the coast clearly visible from the entire mission area. All
aircraft stayed in the area as long as fuel permitted. Search and rescue
units were alerted and began their search efforts at that time. Darkness
precluded further overland search.
The following morning at first light, all pilots who had been in the mission
area when LTJG Worcester disappeared thoroughly searched the route again.
All search results were negative. Photography along the mission route also
failed to reveal any trace of the pilot or his aircraft. Worcester was
declared Missing in Action.
Worcester was not among the prisoners of war that were released in 1973 by
the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese deny any knowledge of him, though
circumstances surrounding his incident indicate the strong probability that
enemy forces knew his fate.
Alarmingly, evidence continues to mount that Americans were left as
prisoners in Southeast Asia and continue to be held today. Unlike "MIAs"
from other wars, most of the nearly 2500 men and women who remain missing in
Southeast Asia can be accounted for. If even one was left alive (and many
authorities estimate the numbers to be in the hundreds), we have failed as a
nation until and unless we do everything possible to secure his freedom and
bring him home.
John B. Worcester graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in
1963.
John B. Worcester was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander during
the period he was maintained missing.
Additional information about LCDR Worcester:
LCDR - O4 - Navy - Regular
34 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born 23 April 1941
From Big Rapids, Michigan
His tour of duty began on 19 Oct 1965
Casualty was on 08 Dec 1975
NORTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing
FIXED WING - PILOT
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion: Protestant
Panel 02E - - Line
As a public outreach effort, over 1 million names were collected and placed on the STARDUST spacecraft,which will visit Comet Wild 2 in 2004. LCDR Worcester is one that is on the list. See here for more details.
UPDATE:On 29 Oct 2003, I received a letter from Mr. Arv Heilman, a fellow roommate and friend of LCDR Worcester in the 1963 Naval Academy. He sent me a picture of the below memorial plaque which was just recently placed in LCDR Worcester's hometown of BigRapids, Michigan. Click on the picture to view a larger view. Thank you Mr. Heilman for sharing this picture with me.
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