Gordon Wenaas photo

Vietnam
-
MIA
Fallen

Mayville, ND


County:
Traill

Date of Loss:

Recovered:
Remains recovered

Branch of Service:
Air Force

Rank:
Lieutenant Colonel

Division / Fleet / Air Force or Equivalent:
314th Tactical Airlift Wing
Listed on/in the:
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington D.C.

Circumstances:

On December 29, 1967, he was a crew member of a Lockheed Hercules Transport Aircraft (C-130E) on a mission in the extreme northwest corner of North Vietnam over Lai Chau Province, when contact was lost. 

DPAA

On March 10, 2000, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Colonel Gordon James Wenaas, missing from the Vietnam War.
 
Lieutenant Colonel Wenaas entered the U.S. Air Force from North Dakota and served with the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing. On December 29, 1967, he was a crew member aboard a C-130E Hercules (tail number 64-0547) that took off from Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam, on a mission over North Vietnam. While flying over Lai Chau Province en route to the target, the aircraft crashed into a mountainside, killing Lt Col Wenaas. His remains were not recovered at the time. Between 1992 and 1995, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team located and investigated the crash site, where they recovered human remains. In 1993, the Vietnamese government also turned over human remains and artifacts associated with this loss. In 2000, U.S. investigators identified Lt Col Wenaas from these remains. 
 
Lieutenant Colonel Wenaas is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

If you are a family member of this service member, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.

Service Members Associated with LT COL GORDON WENAAS's Loss

Showing 1 to 10 of 11 entries

CLAPPER; GEAN PRESTON  PennsylvaniaCMSgtAccounted For
CLAXTON; CHARLES PETER IllinoisColAccounted For
DARCY; EDWARD JOSEPH  MaineCMSgtAccounted For
ECKLEY; WAYNE ALVIN OregonCMSgtAccounted For
FISHER; DONALD ELLIS OregonColAccounted For
MCCRARY; JACK TennesseeCMSgtAccounted For
OSBORNE; EDWIN NELMS FloridaLt ColAccounted For
PARKER; FRANK CLAVELOUX  VirginiaMajAccounted For
VAN BUREN; GERALD GORDON OhioLt ColAccounted For

Biography:

Buried at Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, Virginia. He is also listed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.