OK Obits

© 1997-2015 www.VirtualWall.org Ltd.
Submitted by: Glenn & Jo

Thank You For Your Service!

Wayne Louis Bolte

Colonel
42ND TAC EW SQDN, 388TH TAC FTR WING, 7TH AF
United States Air Force
Claremore, Oklahoma
January 27, 1935 ~ July 20, 1978
(Incident Date April 02, 1972)

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On 02 Apr 1972 two EB-66 electronic warfare aircraft departed Korat RTAFB in Thailand to provide EW support to B-52 bombers operating south of the DMZ. BAT 21 was lead with BAT 22 as number two. The "Easter Offensive" had just begun and very large North Vietnamese forces were moving south through the DMZ.
Although numerous SA-2 missiles were fired at the B-52s, there were no hits ... until BAT 21 was hit while turning south to vacate the target area. The stricken EB-66 broke up at about 18,000 feet, but only one crewman - navigator Lt Col Iceal Hambleton - was able to parachute to safety on the ground.

The safety was illusory, though, since Hambleton landed in the midst of the south-bound NVA forces. SAR and strike aircraft supported Hambleton as he moved south toward a pick-up point, but it soon became apparent that the area was simply too "hot" for SAR helicopter operations. After 11 days of travel by night, Hambleton was able to join up with a South Vietnamese SEAL team led by US Navy Lieutenant Tom Norris and was successfully rescued.

The downing of BAT 21 and the subsequent SAR efforts were costly in terms of aircraft and aircrews:

2 Apr: BAT 21, EB-66C tail number 54-0466, 42nd TEWS:
Lt Col Iceal Hambleton, rescued
Lt Col Anthony R. Giannangeli, KIA
Lt Col Charles A. Levis, KIA
Major Wayne L. Bolte, KIA
Major Henry M. Serex, KIA
1st Lt Robin F. Gatwood, KIA
The remains of BAT 21's crew have not been repatriated.

2 Apr: Army UH-1H tail number 67-17801, F Troop, 8th Cav Rgt
1LT Byron Kent Kulland, pilot, MIA
WO1 John Wesley Frink, pilot, MIA
SP5 Ronald Page Paschall, crew chief, MIA
SP4 Jose M. Astorga, gunner, POW, repatriated 05 Mar 73
The remains of Kulland, Frink, and Paschall were repatriated in 1993 and identified in 1994.

2 Apr: Army AH-1G tail number 68-17033, F Troop, 8th Cav Rgt
Aircraft destroyed; no losses.

3 Apr: USAF OV-10A tail number 68-3789, 23rd TASS
1st Lt William J. Henderson, POW, repatriated 27 Mar 73
1st Lt Mark N. Clark, picked up

3 Apr: Army UH-1H tail number 68-16330, 37th Signal Bn
CW2 Larry A. Zich, pilot, MIA
WO Douglas L. O'Neill, pilot, MIA
SP5 Allen D. Christensen, crewman, MIA
SP4 Edward W. Williams, crewman, MIA
This loss was not directly associated with the BAT 21 incident, but occurred in the same area. Their remains have not been recovered.

6 Apr: USAF HH-53C tail number 68-10365, 37th ARRS
Capt John Henry Call, pilot
1st Lt Peter Hayden Chapman, pilot
TSgt Allen Jones Avery, crewman
TSgt Roy Dewitt Prater, crewman
Sgt William Roy Pearson, crewman
Sgt James Harold Alley, combat photographer, 601st Photo Flight
The HH-53 was hit by ground fire as it approached Hambleton's position, rolled inverted, and exploded and burned on ground impact. The crewmen's remains were repatriated and identified on 25 Sep 1997.

7 Apr: USAF OV-10A tail number 68-3820, 23rd TASS
Captain Bruce C. Walker, USAF, pilot
Captain Larry F. Potts, USMC, observer, 1st ANGLICO
Walker evaded capture for 11 days; his last radio transmission to SAR forces was to not to make a rescue attempt as the enemy was closing in. There are reports that Potts was captured and died in Quang Binh prison. Both men remain unaccounted for.

All told, 26 US aircrewmen were on the ground. Four were rescued: Hambleton, Clark, and the two AH-1G crewmen. Two were repatriated when the POWs returned: Henderson and Astorga. Twenty died or disappeared. Of those men, nine have come home. Eleven have not. Colonel Wayne Bolte is among these eleven men.

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