THE WALL OF FACES

I have not forgotten you. I chair the Adoption Committee for The National League of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. We will always remember the 1,889 Americans still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and the thousands of others that lost their lives. We will not stop our efforts until all of you are home where you belong.

We need to reach the next generation so that they will carry on when our generation is no longer able. To do so, we are attempting to locate photographs of all the missing. If you are reading this remembrance and have a photo and/or memory of this missing American that you would like to share for our project, please contact me at:

Candace Lokey
PO Box 206
Freeport, PA 16229
[email protected]

If you are not familiar with our organization, please visit our web site at :

www.pow-miafamilies.org

I was one of the guys waiting for your plane to come back. Still waiting. Johnny Griffith was our division officer. He was one of the handful of naval officers that would take the time to know the enlisted men reporting to him.

COMMANDER


GLENN EDWARD KOLLMAN


and


LIEUTENANT


JOHN GARY GRIFFITH


served with


ATTACK SQUADRON 35

USS ENTERPRISE ( CVA(N) - 65 )



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CDR KOLLMAN WAS AN A6A PILOT AND COMMANDING

OFFICER OF VA35 AND WAS VERY POPULAR IN THE

SQUADRON AND REGARDED AS A CAPABLE MAN WITH A

WEALTH OF AVIATION EXPERIENCE.

ON MARCH 12, 1968

HE AND HIS BOMBARDIER / NAVIGATOR LT GRIFFITH

LAUNCHED FROM THE USS ENTERPRISE AND WERE LOST

DUE TO MALFUNCTION AND NOT HOSTILE FIRE OR MISSILES.

THE WEATHER WAS TERRIBLE BUT PERFECT FOR AN A6

MISSION. THERE WERE FOUR PLANES LAUNCHED FOR

A MISSION OVER NORTH VIETNAM. ON THE CATAPULT

LAUNCH SQUADRON MATES LISTENED BY RADIO AS A

MALFUNCTION CAUSED THEIR AIRCRAFT TO DITCH

RIGHT OFF THE CATAPULT. THE THREE OTHER AIRCRAFT

CONTINUED ON THEIR MISSION AND ONBOARD SEARCH

AND RESCUE TRIED TO RECOVER THE DOWNED CREW

BUT THESE FLYERS WERE NEVER LOCATED DUE TO A

LARGE PART BECAUSE OF THE POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS.

THEY WERE OFFICIALLY CLASSIFIED AS BEING

KILLED / BODIES NOT RECOVERED.



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COMMANDER

GLENN EDWARD KOLLMAN


and


LIEUTENANT

JOHN GARY GRIFFITH


were both posthumous recipients of the



NAVY CROSS



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YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE



** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **



CITATION


FOR AWARD OF THE


NAVY CROSS


TO


LIEUTENANT COMMANDER


JOHN GARY GRIFFITH



For extraordinary heroism in aerial flight on 24 February 1968 as

a naval flight officer in Attack Squadron 35 embarked in USS

ENTERPRISE (CVS (N) - 65). As leading bombardier / navigator,

Lieutenant Commander (then Lieutenant) Griffith flew on a night

air strike against a vital and heavily defended port facility in

the heart of North Vietnam. Navigating his aircraft at perilously

low altitudes in the monsoon weather, he successfully penetrated

intense and accurate enemy defenses en route to the target.

Disregarding the threatening surface-to-air missiles and

antiaircraft artillery defending the target area, Lieutenant

Commander Griffith maintained a steady radar tracking of the

target until bomb release, thereby ensuring an optimum bombing

solution. Because of his daring and highly professional navigation

and radar-bombing skill, his bombs found their mark, inflicting

heavy damage upon the port facilities. By his technical competence,

courage, and loyal devotion to duty in the face of intense enemy

opposition, Lieutenant Commander Griffith contributed materially

to United States efforts in Southeast Asia and upheld the highest

traditions of the United States Naval Service.