| On November 12, 1973, a refugee reported the death of an Airman which occurred in Bo Trach Disrict, Quang Binh province, North Vietnam at about 1500 hours one day in Hune 1967. According to the report, a U.S. F4 jet flying with about five other jets bomboing a bridge on Route 1A was hit by 37mm anti=aircraft fire, crashed into Doi Troc Hill in Chanh Hoi II village. The source further stated that an airman bailed out and landed in a forest near the same village. At about 1530 hours, the refugee went to where the airman landed and saw his body lying in the grass. He was told by villagers that approximately 10 minutes after the airman had landed, militiamen from the village fond him hiding in a bamboo thicket and captured him. The villagers then watched as the militiamen beat the American to death with hoes and bamboo sticks. The reugee said he observed the dead American for about 10 minutes from a distance of aboout 5 meters. He described the airman as a caucasion, about 45 years old, 5' 11" tall, weighing about 220 pounds with a fair complexion, short blonde hair, a moustache about one centimeter long and a heavy beard. He was unable to identify the airman from photos of the missing. JRC correlated the report to the Busch/Apodaca incident. In the spring of 1988, remains identified as Jon Busch, a burned map, three pieces of bone (which were identified as non-human by a Vietnamese anthropologist) and a charred and battered nameplate bearing Apodaca's name were returned to Presidential Envoy General John Vessey. Busch's remains were positively identified by the U.S. Army Central Identification laboratory in Hawaii, based largely on the correlation of the refugee report, which evidently matched information given over by the Vietnamese with the remains. The status of "Box 19", which purportedly hold the effects of Victor Apodaca Jr, are still unknown to his family. There are serious discrepancies in the refugee report as it relates to Busch and Apodaca. Busch has red hair, not blonde. Victor Apodaca has black hair. Both were forbidden by the Air Force to grow a beard. The Hambone flight departed at 5 p.m. in the evening, while the C.I.A. report claimed the airman was killed at 3:30 p.m. just following his landing. The Hambone flight, while armed, was not involved in a bombing mission at all. Jon Busch was declared dead in 1967. Victor A |
