Graffe, Paul Leroy
Army Captain

Paul Leroy Graffe from Shelton, Washington, Mason county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, October 3, 1969
Death details: On October 3, 1969, an OV-1C Mohawk (tail number 61-02679, call sign “Phantom Hawk 01”) with two crew members on board departed Phu Hiep Airfield on an infrared surveillance mission of enemy targets in South Vietnam. During the mission, the Mohawk’s pilot informed another aircraft that he was continuing the mission for thirty minutes and would then return to Phu Hiep. The pilot made no further radio contact. When the Mohawk failed to return to base, attempts at electronic contact were made but were unsuccessful. On October 5, a search and rescue aircraft located the missing Mohawk’s wreckage on a mountain north of Kontum at grid coordinates ZB 109 553. Inclement weather precluded ground searches at the time. Further recovery efforts were prevented by the threat of enemy forces in the area.

First Lieutenant Paul Leroy Graffe entered the U.S. Army from Washington and was a member of the 225th Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade. He was the pilot of the OV-1C when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. After the incident, the Army promoted First Lieutenant Graffe to the rank of captain. Today, Captain Graffe is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency