Picher Oklahoma

Owens, Fred Monroe
Army Sergeant 1st class

Fred Monroe Owens, age 31, from Picher, Oklahoma, Ottawa county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, June 10, 1965
Death details: On June 10, 1965, a UH-1B Iroquois (tail number 63-38557) with a crew of four and three passengers took off from Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, on a mission to extract personnel from the Dong Xoai Special Forces Camp, South Vietnam. The camp was under attack, and as the helicopter was disembarking its three passengers at the landing zone, it came under heavy mortar and small arms fire from enemy forces in the area. The helicopter took off and began climbing, but crashed shortly thereafter near Thuan Loi Airfield. One of the passengers radioed that everyone else on board was killed in the crash, and that he was taking heavy mortar and small-arms fire. The crew of another helicopter flying the same mission saw mortar rounds exploding in the area from where the passenger was last heard. Because of enemy activity in the area, a search and rescue mission could not be conducted. The four crew members and three passengers remain unaccounted for. Sergeant First Class Fred Monroe Owens entered the U.S. Army from Oklahoma and was a member of Detachment SD5891, Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. He was a passenger aboard the UH-1B when it crashed on June 10, 1965, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Sergeant First Class Owens is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Owens, Fred Monroe
Army Sergeant 1st class

Fred Monroe Owens, age 31, from Ottawa County Picher, Oklahoma .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, June 10, 1965
Death details: On June 10, 1965, a UH-1B Iroquois (tail number 63-38557) with a crew of four and three passengers took off from Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, on a mission to extract personnel from the Dong Xoai Special Forces Camp, South Vietnam. The camp was under attack, and as the helicopter was disembarking its three passengers at the landing zone, it came under heavy mortar and small arms fire from enemy forces in the area. The helicopter took off and began climbing, but crashed shortly thereafter near Thuan Loi Airfield. One of the passengers radioed that everyone else on board was killed in the crash, and that he was taking heavy mortar and small-arms fire. The crew of another helicopter flying the same mission saw mortar rounds exploding in the area from where the passenger was last heard. Because of enemy activity in the area, a search and rescue mission could not be conducted. The four crew members and three passengers remain unaccounted for. Sergeant First Class Fred Monroe Owens entered the U.S. Army from Oklahoma and was a member of Detachment SD5891, Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. He was a passenger aboard the UH-1B when it crashed on June 10, 1965, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Sergeant First Class Owens is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Randolph, William P.
Army 2nd lieutenant

William P. Randolph, age 26, from Ottawa County Picher, Oklahoma .

Parents: George W. Randolph

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, December 15, 1944
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Second Lieutenant William P. Randolph entered the U.S. Army from New Mexico and served with the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines at the time of the Japanese invasion. He was captured by enemy forces and interned in the Philippines until December 1944, when he was put aboard the ship Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate 2LT Randolph was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. 2LT Randolph’s remains could not be identified following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Randolph is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Daily Oklahoman (1945)

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