Terry Alford graduated from Pasadena High School in Pasadena, Texas in 1966. He, his sister Pam, and my wife were good friends. Pam, myself and my wife, remain friends today. Pam has been as active as she could be to find out what happened to her brother. I have been able to put her in touch with a couple of people who can help her when they have information to pass on. I can't think of another MIA I would want to have as my adopted MIA, than Terry. I am sad there are still over 2000 unaccounted soldiers missing in action, but knowing Terry and Pam hits close to home. Please continue to pray that all these brave men and women will be found and returned home soon. Their families need closure and the only way they will get closure is to know the outcome of their loved ones. I am highly involved in finding the outcome of the searches being performed in Vietnam, China, Laos, Cambodia, and Russia. As I am updated on the situation, I will continue to update this site. Further information can be found by going to The All POW/MIA Web Site. This site has current updates and supports veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
Terry, listening to The Beatles Photo Courtesy Of Joe Martin, A Friend Of Terry.
Name: Terry Lanier Alford Rank/Branch: Chief Warrant Officer/US Army Unit: 281st Aviation Company, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade Nha Trang Airbase, VS
Date of Birth: 22 October 1947 (Houston, TX) Home of Record: Pasadena, TX Date of Loss: 04 November 1969 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 123327N 1085304E (BP702890)
Status in 1973: Missing In Action Category: 4 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H "Iroquois" Other Personnel in Incident: James R. Klimo; John A. Ware and Jim R. Cavender (missing)
REMARKS: REMS OF OTHER CREW RECOVERY
On 4 November 1969, then WO1 Terry L. Alford, aircraft commander; WO1 Jim Cavender, pilot; SP4 John A. Ware, crew chief; and SP4 James R. Klimo, door gunner; comprised the crew a UH1H helicopter (serial #67-19512). Their mission assignment entailed flying a series of combat support missions to and around the Central Highlands, Khanh Hoa Province, South Vietnam.
At 1920 hours, the Huey departed a jungle outpost at Duc Lap, located only 9 miles east of the South Vietnam/Cambodian border, for the return flight to their base at Nha Trang, some 102 miles to the east-southeast. During the flight, the aircraft commander radioed the 48th Aviation Company Operations Center at Ninh Hoa reporting their currant location as the Duc My Pass, approximately 82 miles east-northeast of Duc Lap and 24 miles north-northwest of Nha Trang. He further stated they were in clouds and instrument meteorological conditions existed in the jungle-covered mountains. Shortly afterwards, the controller at Ninh Hoa heard a radio transmission from WO1 Alford reporting that they were in trouble and he believed the helicopter was flying upside down. Within minutes all contact was lost.
Search and rescue (SAR) efforts were immediately initiated employing both air and ground forces. Over the next six days they searched along the entire flight path of the Huey from the jungle covered mountains and passes to all villages in the area. These efforts failed to produce any information on the missing helicopter or its crew. At the time formal SAR efforts were terminated, Terry Alford, Jim Cavender, John Ware , andJim Klimo were listed as Missing In Action. Click On Name To Visit At The Virtual Wall.
Later Defense Department personnel informed the families of the Huey's crew that they were on a secondary mission heading toward the buffer zone between Cambodia and South Vietnam, rather than away from it, when the aircraft vanished. However, these officials provided no details regarding the purpose of the secondary mission or the aircraft's destination in the buffer zone. They confused the situation further by adding that the helicopter was in the location of loss in the Central Highlands by mistake, but never provided an explanation for that statement.
During a government program presented to POW/MIA family members, which included showing pictures of unidentified Prisoners of War, Jim Klimo's sister identified her brother as one of the prisoners pictured in a Vietnamese propaganda leaflet shown to them. To date no confirmation of the identity of the man in the photograph has been made by our government.
Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
Pilots and aircrews in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
Special thanks to Jennifer Martinez for sending me this current information about Terry and his crew. The search for the MIA's is alive and well, despite the U.S. government
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POW/MIA Facts and Links
The POW/MIA flag is mandated to Fly from all Federal installations on Holidays... Federal law mandates that the Prisoner of War Flag be flown under the United States flag on federal property on all federal holidays, and permissable to be flown on any date. All veterans are assigned to ensure that the POW/MIA flag is flown.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia POW-MIA Flag
Awarded by U.S. Public Law 101-355 Type Special Flag Eligibility All Awarded for On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress passed U.S. Public Law 101-355, recognizing the National League of Families POW/MIA Flag and designating it "as a symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation." Beyond Southeast Asia, it has been a symbol for POW/MIAs from all American Wars. Status Continuing Statistics First awarded 1990-08-10 The POW/MIA flag is an American flag designed as a symbol of citizen concern about United States military personnel taken as prisoners of war (POWs) or listed as missing in action (MIA). The POW/MIA flag was created by the National League of Families and officially recognized by the Congress in conjunction with the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, "as the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation."
The original design for this flag was created by William Graham Wilkin III. National League of Families President and POW wife Evelyn Grubb also played a major role in conceptualizing the flag and gaining its widespread acceptance and use by the United States government and also local governments and civilian organizations across the United States.[1][2]