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Why Harley H. Hall: Prior to returning to Vietnam for a third tour, Harley Hall commanded the famed Blue Angels, the US Navy's precision flight team for two tours in what was the highly prized McDonnell F4 Phantom. On his third tour in Vietnam Cmdr. Hall's F4J "Phantom II" was shot down 8 miles north-northwest of Quang Tri in the vicinity of Dong Ha on 27 January 1973 just a few hours before the Peace Accords were to take effect. Cmdr Hall was last seen discarding his parachute and other flight gear. In May of 1990 JTFFA, (Joint Task Force for Full Accounting), interviewed witnesses who stated that both pilots had landed safely and had engaged surrounding NVA forces in which both pilots were said to have been killed, however, on 25 January 1993, during a repatriation ceremony in North Vietnam, the Vietnamese turned over to US Government officials a baggy containing three teeth and 6 or 7 small bone fragments reportedly belonging to Cmdr. Hall. On September 6 1994 the teeth were formally identified as the mortal remains of Cmdr. Hall. Although he had a dental examination just before he had left for Vietnam and his teeth were in perfect condition, the teeth recovered in Vietnam show severe deterioration that could only be caused by years of lack of care and malnutrition. During the summer of 1993, Mrs. Hall reviewed her husband's classified files, which were being made available for the first time to the POW/MIA families. Those records verified not only that Cmdr. Hall had been captured and moved through a number of holding areas/prison camps from one side of Vietnam to the other, they also confirmed he had been interrogated by the Soviets, and our government knew it. " The Nation Which Forgets It's Defenders Will Itself Be Forgotten" |
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