JOHNNIE C CORNELIUS
VIEW ALL PHOTOS (2)
HONORED ON PANEL 54W, LINE 2 OF THE WALL

JOHNNIE CLAYTON CORNELIUS

WALL NAME

JOHNNIE C CORNELIUS

PANEL / LINE

54W/2

DATE OF BIRTH

05/22/1941

CASUALTY PROVINCE

NZ

DATE OF CASUALTY

06/26/1968

HOME OF RECORD

WILLIAMS AFB

COUNTY OF RECORD

Coconino County

STATE

AZ

BRANCH OF SERVICE

AIR FORCE

RANK

CAPT

Book a time
Contact Details
ASSOCIATED ITEMS LEFT AT THE WALL

REMEMBRANCES

LEFT FOR JOHNNIE CLAYTON CORNELIUS
POSTED ON 6.26.2015
POSTED BY: Curt Carter [email protected]

Remembering An American Hero

Dear Captain Johnnie Clayton Cornelius, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, Sir

Curt Carter
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POSTED ON 2.28.2014
POSTED BY: Tracy Beus, MSgt, USAF retired

Worthy

I proudly wear his MIA bracelet everyday. It is a reminder that someone died for me and I will endeavor to be worthy of that.
Thank you, sir
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POSTED ON 6.2.2011

If I should ie...remebrances for CAPT. Johnnie Clayton CORNELIUS, USAF...who died for our country!!!

If I should die, and leave you here awhile, be not like others, sore undone, who keep long vigils by the silent dust, and weep...for MY sake, turn again to life, and smile...Nerving thy heart, and trembling hand to do something to comfort other hearts than thine...Complete these dear, unfinished tasks of mine...and I, perchance, may therein comfort you.
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POSTED ON 11.27.2010
POSTED BY: Robert Sage

We Remember

John is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. PH
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POSTED ON 12.3.2007
POSTED BY: CLAY MARSTON

TWO USAF PILOTS MISSING IN ACTION FROM VIETNAM WAR ARE IDENTIFIED AND RETURNED FOR BURIAL


U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1364-07

30 November 2007

TWO USAF PILOTS MISSING IN ACTION
FROM VIETNAM WAR ARE IDENTIFIED AND RETURNED

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified.

They are -

Major ROBERT FRANCIS WOODS
of Salt Lake City, Utah

and

Captain JOHNNIE CLAYTON CORNELIUS
of Maricopa County, Arizona

both United States Air Force.

They served with the

8th Tactical Fighter Wing
Ubon Air Base, Thailand

Captain Cornelius was buried with full military honors on 10 November in Moore, Texas, while the burial of Major Woods is being set by his family.

On 26 June 1968, Woods and Cornelius were flying a visual reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, when their 0-2A SKYMASTER aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous area.

The CESSNA 0-2A SKYMASTER was a monoplane with twin tail booms, aft pusher and forward puller engines and retractable landing gear.

It was used for forward air control missions.

Their aircraft was seen to roll in on the target and suddenly go into a steep bank, crash into trees and explode.

The crew of another aircraft in the flight saw no parachutes and reported hearing no emergency beeper signals. Immediate search efforts were unsuccessful.

Between 1988 and 1993, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and surveyed the crash site.

The team interviewed several Vietnamese citizens, two of whom turned over human remains and the pilots' identification tags.

Between 1994 and 1997, joint teams re-surveyed the site two times to find a landing location to support a helicopter and recovery team.

During their survey, one team found additional wreckage and life-support material.

Between 2000 and 2004, joint teams excavated the site four times.

They recovered additional human remains, personal effects and life support materials.

In 2006, a joint team interviewed two former North Vietnamese soldiers who recalled the crash.

The soldiers said that Woods and Cornelius were buried near the crash site.

In 2007, another joint team excavated the burial site identified by the Vietnamese soldiers.

The team recovered additional human remains.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.



==================================================




CESSNA O-2A SKYMASTER

In late 1966 the U.S. Air Force selected a military variant of the Cessna Model 337 Super Skymaster, designated the O-2, to supplement the O-1 BIRD DOG forward air controller (FAC) aircraft then operating in Southeast Asia.

Distinguished by twin tail booms and tandem-mounted engines, it featured a tractor-pusher propeller arrangement.

Having twin engines enabled the O-2 to absorb more ground fire and still return safely, endearing it to its crews.

The O-2 first flew in January 1967, and production deliveries began in March.

Production ended in June 1970 after Cessna had built 532 O-2s for the USAF.

Cessna produced two series -- the O-2A and the O-2B.

The O-2A carried wing pylons for rockets, flares and other light ordnance.

In the FAC role, the O-2A identified and marked enemy targets with smoke rockets, coordinated air strikes and reported target damage.

The O-2B operated as a psychological warfare aircraft equipped with loudspeakers and leaflet dispensers.

It carried no ordnance.





YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE



31 JULY 2001



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