Peoria Illinois

Harold Joseph Alwan, age 32, from Peoria, Illinois.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: February 27, 1967
Death details: Major (Maj) Harold Joseph Alwan, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois, was a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On February 27, 1967, he was the pilot of a single-seat A-4E Skyhawk (bureau number 152051) that departed Chu Lai Airfield in South Vietnam for an operational test flight. During the flight, Maj Alwan made radio contact saying he was looking for a hole in an overcast he was flying through. Soon after, while over the South China Sea in the vicinity of (GC) 49P BT 930 320, all contact with Maj Alwan was lost, and he was not seen again. The exact location of his loss is unknown, and he remains unaccounted for. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Marine Corps promoted Maj Alwan to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol). Today, Lieutenant Colonel Alwan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency