Veterans' Day, 2000 Barry Allmond was a member of the Class of '68 at the Citadel. We remembered each of our fallen classmates at our 30th re-union at the Citadel in 1998. All will be remembered as friends and classmates. Our lives are all much the better for having known and loved you. Rest in peace, dear friends. You will always be remembered. Jim Chappelear 8412 Forest Creek Rd, Waldorf MD 20603 Class of 1968 The Citadel REMEMBERING OUR VIETNAM LOSSES FROM THE CLASS OF 1968 Barry Allmond John Bradman Chris Clearwaters Johnny Fuller Carl Peterson Buddy Suprenant Bob Woodhouse

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall According to the POW Network "Allmond, an Air Force Captain, was reported missing in South Vietnam on May 11, 1972. The Department of Defense maintained him in Prisoner of War status from at least July 1972 until October 1973, but declined to discuss his case at that time with interested POW/MIA accountability groups. "By 1978, Allmond's name had disappeared off all U.S. Government lists without public explanation. In 1991, Allmond's name appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial without POW/MIA designation." But it isn't quite that simple. On 11 May 1972 the city of An Loc, SVN, was under attack by North Vietnamese forces during the so-called Spring Offensive. US air power was used extensively in defense of the city, and five aircraft were lost that day: A-37B serial 69-6345, 1st Lt Michael J. Blassie, 8th SOS O-2A serial 68-11000, Capt Barry K. Allmond, 21st TASS O-2A serial 68-11004, 1st Lt John H. Haselton, 21st TASS AH-1G serial 68-15009, Cpt Rodney L. Strobridge and Cpt Robert J Williams, F/79th ARA A-1 Skyraider, RVAF, pilot and circumstances unknown Blassie's aircraft was observed from the time it was hit by 23mm AAA fire until impact in a jungled area, where it exploded; Blassie did not eject before impact. Allmond's aircraft too was observed from the time it was hit by AAA until it crashed; he did not bail out of his aircraft. Haselton was hit about four hours later, and he too rode his aircraft into the ground. Strobridge and Williams were hit by AAA fire and lost their tail boom; the aircraft went into a flat spin and crashed, but the actual crash was not observed by anyone else. At the time, the four US losses were outside the An Loc defensive perimeter and ground search and rescue simply was impossible. Airborne SAR was restricted due to heavy AAA fire and the absolute necessity of allocating available resources to support of the ground troops defending An Loc. Since the downing of the three Air Force pilots had been observed and there was no evidence that any of them had been able to leave their aircraft, they were classed as Killed in Action/Body not Recovered. Strobridge and Williams were classed as Missing in Action. After the NVA gave up on the Spring Offensive it was possible to search for the downed aircraft. In October 1972 an ARVN patrol located a crash site, recovering fragmentary human remains and aircrew items, including 1st Lt Blassie's identification card - but the card was stolen before the remains reached the mortuary in Saigon, and only a tentative identification could be made. By 1980, this had been downgraded and the remains were classed as "unidentifiable". In 1984 the remains were buried with full honors in Arlington Cemetery as the Vietnam War's Unknown Soldier. In 1998, President Clinton directed that the remains be disinterred for DNA examination, which proved beyond doubt that they beonged to Michael Blassie. At his family's request, 1st Lt Blassie was buried with honors in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. During the period between their loss and the fall of South Vietnam, the wreckage of both O-2s was located and the remains of Captain Allmond and 1st Lt Haselton recovered, confirming that they died on 11 May 72. Neither the AH-1G wreckage nor the remains of Strobridge and Williams have been located; they remain among the missing. Contrary to the POW Network biography, Allmond, Blassie, and Haselton were carried as Missing in Action only for the length of time necessary for Air Force reviews to determine that all evidence indicated they died in the respective incidents, whereupon all three were reclassed as KIA/BNR. In all three cases, their remains were recovered before the fall of South Vietnam three years later - although Blassie's remains were not identified until 1998. 1st Lt Blassie was carried in the MIA listings made public after 1975 because his remains had not been identified; Captain Allmond and 1st Lt Haselton were not in those listings because by that time they had been recovered and brought home for burial.

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