Held, John Wayne
Air Force Lieutenant colonel

John Wayne Held, age 31, from Elwood, Indiana, Madison County.

Service era: Vietnam

Parent: John E. Held

Spouse: Laura J. Held

Date of death: April 17, 1968
Death details:  Captain John Wayne Held entered the U.S. Air Force from Indiana and served in the 604th Air Commando Squadron. On April 17, 1968, he piloted a single-seat A-37A Dragonfly (tail number 67-14518) as the lead of two aircraft on an attack mission against an enemy target near Song Be, South Vietnam. After dropping ordnance and napalm on an enemy position and then moving to another target, Capt Held’s aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire. The A-37A lost control and Capt Held ejected before the aircraft crashed north of Song Be near (GC) YU 313 213. The wingman kept Capt Held’s parachute in view until search and rescue teams arrived. The rescue crew sighted the parachute and lowered a pararescueman down to the site, but found no sign of Capt Held, and further efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. Following the incident, the Air Force posthumously promoted Capt Held to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col). Today, Lieutenant Colonel Held is Memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Indianapolis Sar (1975), findagrave.com, Elwood Call Leader (1975)