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James Michael Lyon, Jihad Jane, Coming Home, Old Bracelets

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Nothing funny here, no satire.....

9 years ago, my wife and I re-found a POW bracelet from 1970 in our basement that had not been disgarded by my sweetie. She was 6 years old when she bought it and had kept it since then, all these years. Each year at this time since it was re-discovered, myself and my friends ask Vietnam if he could come home.

Then 6 years ago 9/11 happened. To raise a fund for a memorial to Flight 93, the bracelet idea was brought back to life.

Here's both, side by side -

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For the past 9 years, myself, my friends, and who knows who else, have been trying to bring Capt. Lyon home.

Maybe Jihad Jane, John Kerry, or John McCain could make a special phone call to Hanoi and have Capt. Lyon can home 37 years later.

The Captain's birthday is March 8th.

I've had 40 to 50 friends during these past eight years make hundreds of emails to the Vietnamese Embassy with only one response: "American Lies".

https://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/

LYON, JAMES MICHAEL

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Name: James Michael Lyon
Rank/Branch: O3/US Army
Unit: HHC, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
Date of Birth: 08 mARCH 1948
Home City of Record: Indianapolis IN
Date of Loss: 05 February 1970
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 163045N 1072824E (YD494093)
Status (in 1973): Prisoner of War
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H

Other Personnel in Incident: Tom Y. Kobashigawa, John W. Parsels, Daniel H.
Hefel (returned POWs)

REMARKS: 700206 DIC; MERCY KILLING

Source: Compiled by HOMECOMING II and the P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

SYNOPSIS: At 1530 hours on February 5, 1970, Capt. James M. Lyon, pilot, Capt. John W. Parsels, copilot, SP5 Tom Y. Kobashigawa, crew chief, and SP4 Daniel Hefel, door gunner, were flying a UH1H helicopter (serial #68-16441) on a maintenance mission from Hue to Phy Bai, South Vietnam.

When the aircraft was about 18 miles northwest of Hue City, the helicopter
caught fire and crashed (due to a malfunction). Capt. Lyon was thrown clear of the aircraft and was burned extensively over his body and part of his right leg. His leg was severed four inches below the knee. The other crew members were also injured and could not take evasie action. They were captured at 1630 hours by NVA troops and spent the night near the crash site.

Throughout the night, the crew members heard their pilot yelling and moaning in pain. At 0600 hours, Capt. Lyon moaned and then a shot was heard from his position about 30 feet from the aircraft wreckage. No other outcry from Capt. Lyon was heard, and the others believed that he had been killed by the guard.

Two weeks later, Capt. Parsels was told by 1Lt. Lee Van Mac (an NVA
commander at "Camp Farnsworth") that Capt. Lyon died from his wounds and was buried at the crash site. 1Lt. Lee Van Mac gave Capt. Parsels the personal effects of Capt. Lyon, including his ID card and several photos which appeared to be of Lyon's wife.

In late March, 1973, Parsels, Hefel and Kobashigawa were released from prisons in North Vietnam. In their debriefings, all three concurred on the story that Lyon had apparently been shot. They considered it a mercy killing, because their pilot had been so seriously injured that they doubted
that he could survive.

Curiously, the Vietamese have not returned the body of Capt. James M. Lyon, nor have they been forthcoming with information concerning him. Tragically, Capt. Lyon has been a prisoner of war for nearly 20 years - alive or dead.

Even more tragic are the thousands of reports that continue to flow in indicating that some hundreds of Americans are still prisoner in Indochina.
It's long past time we brought our men home.

LYON, JAMES MICHAEL
Name: James Michael Lyon
Rank/Branch: Captain/US Army

Unit: Headquarters, Headquarters Company,
2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Date of Birth: 08 March 1948

Home of Record: Indianapolis, IN

Date of Loss: 05 February 1970

Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 163045N 1072824E (YD494093)
Click coordinates to view maps

Status in 1973: Prisoner of War

Category: 2

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1 "Iroquois"

Other Personnel In Incident: Tom Y. Kobashigawa, John W. Parsels, Daniel H. Hefel (returned POWs)


REMARKS: 700206 DIC; MERCY KILLING

SYNOPSIS: By early 1967, the Bell UH1 Iroquois was already the standard Army assault helicopter, and was used in nearly every "in-country" mission. Better known by its nickname "Huey," the troop carriers were referred to as "Slicks" and the gunships were called "Hogs." It proved itself to be a sturdy, versatile aircraft which was called on to carry out a wide variety of missions including search and rescue, close air support, insertion and extraction, fire support, and resupply to name a few. It usually carried a crew of four.

On 5 February 1970, Capt. James M. Lyon, pilot; Capt. John W. Parsels, co-pilot; SP5 Tom Y. Kobashigawa, crewchief; and SP4 Daniel Hefel, door gunner; comprised the crew of a UH1H helicopter (serial #68-16441) on a maintenance mission from Hue to Phu Bai, South Vietnam.

When the Huey failed to arrive at its destination on schedule, a ramp check of all the bases and airfields in the area where it could have diverted to was conducted. However, none of them could provide information on the missing aircraft. A search and rescue (SAR) mission was immediately initiated, but found no trace of the Huey or its crew. At the time the formal search effort was terminated, James Lyon, John Parsels, Tom Kobashigawa and Daniel Hefel were listed Missing in Action.

Meanwhile, at 1530 hours, when the aircraft was approximately 18 miles southwest of the city of Hue, the helicopter caught fire due to a malfunction and crashed into the rugged jungle covered mountains. Capt. Lyon was thrown clear of the aircraft and was burned extensively over his body. Further, his right leg was severed four inches below the knee. The other crewmembers were also injured in the crash, but not as seriously as Capt. Lyon was. Because of their injuries, none of the men were capable of taking evasive action. At 1630 hours, NVA troops reached the crash site and immediately captured the Huey's crew. Probably because of the hour, they spent the night near the crash site.

Throughout the night, the other Americans heard James Lyon yelling and moaning in pain. At 0600 hours the next morning, one of the crew heard Capt. Lyon moan and then heard a shot from his position, which was 30 feet from the aircraft wreckage. No other outcry was heard from Capt. Lyon, and the other Americans believed that a guard had killed him at that time.

Two weeks later, Capt. Parsels was told by 1st Lt. Lee Van Mac, the NVA commander of their POW camp, nicknamed "Camp Farnsworth" by the prisoners, that Capt. Lyon died from his wounds and was buried at the crash site. 1st Lt. Lee Van Mac gave Capt. Parsels the personal effects of Capt. Lyon, including his ID card and several photos that appeared to be of James Lyon's wife.

Over the next 3 years, Capt. Parsels, SP5 Kobashigawa and SP4 Hefel were held in several POW camps from their place of capture to those in North Vietnam. On 27 March 1973, John Parsels, Daniel Hefel and Tom Kobashigawa were returned to US control during Operation Homecoming. In their debriefings, each man reported they believed the NVA shot James Lyon and that it was a mercy killing. Further, the survivors said they doubted that the seriously injured pilot could have survived with his injuries.

While Capt. Paul Lyon apparently mercifully died at the hands of the NVA, he has the right to have his remains returned to his family, friends and country. Likewise, there is no question the Vietnamese know where James Lyon was buried and could return his remains any time they had the desire to do so. For other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, their fate could be quite different.

Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE America Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.

Pilots and aircrews were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.


Let us bring Capt. Lyon home.

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Ten-hup!

OK Maggots!

Yer scratching yer heads and hopefully not yer balls (but, hey, that's Ok if you got a pair) and you don't know what to do?

Email addresses:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected] <vietnamembassy>

Phone numbers:
Name Title Telephone
H.E. NGUYEN Tam Chien E & P Ambassador (202) 861 0737
Mr. VU Dang Dzung Minister Counselor - Deputy Chief of Mission (202) 861 0737 x223
Mr. DANG Dinh Quy Minister Counselor (Political) (202) 861 0737 x230
Ms. NGUYEN Nguyet Nga Minister Counselor (Congressional Liaison) (202) 861 0737 x225
Ms. NGUYEN Cong Dzung Counselor (Consular) (202) 861 0737 x222
Mr. CAO Tran Quoc Hai Counselor (Economic) (202) 861 0737 x241
Mr. NGUYEN Van Trung Counselor (Political) (202) 861 0737 x335
Mr. HO Xuan Phong Counselor (Education & Science) (202) 861 0737 x227
Mr. BUI Quoc Trung Counselor (Investment) (202) 861 0737 x231
Mr. TRAN Minh Dzung Counselor (202) 861 0737 x337
Mr. TRAN Dinh Chien First Secretary (Administrative) (202) 861 0737 x 235
Mr. LE Dan First Secretary (202) 861 0737 x226
Mr. PHAM Van Dinh First Secretary (Consular) (202) 861 0694
Mr. PHAM Duc Thanh First Secretary (202) 861 0737 x236
Ms. LE Linh Lan First Secretary (202) 861 0737 x224
Mr. PHAM Truong Giang First Secretary (Consular) (202) 861 0737 x235
Mr. VU Viet Dzung Second Secretary (Consular) (202) 861 2293
Ms. PHAM Phuong Anh First Secretary (202) 861 0737 x221
Mr. Nguyen Sy Tue Third Secretary (202) 861 0737 x338
Mr. TRAN Thanh Tam Second Secretary (202) 861 0737 x244
Mr. NGUYEN The Cuong Press Attache (202) 861 0737 x228
Ms. LE Lan Huong Attache (Administrative) (202) 861 0737 x233
Ms. NGO Kim Chi Attache (Consular) (202) 861 2293 x243

Do something, just don't sit on yer ass.
How many emails do you send a day?
I'm asking one.
How many phone calls do you make a day?
I'm asking one.

Do your duty.

At ease.

Laika

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https://www.flyarmy.org/K11247.HTM

https://www.flyarmy.org/incident/70020524.HTM

https://www.taskforceomegainc.org/l058.html

https://www.scopesys.com/cgi-bin/bio2.cgi?bio=L058

Name LYON, JAMES MICHAEL
Reference Number 1556-0-01
Date 700205
Rank O3
Status KK
Country VS/
Service A
Return Date
Race C
Coordinates (Latitude/Longitude) 162111N1072005E
Aircraft/Vehicle Type UH1H

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Vietnam was a perfect example of how politicians can screw up a war when they try to control it instead of the generals.

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Yes....

Another year has gone by.
Capt. Lyon would have been 61 on March 8th

Here's the new Vietnamese Embassy Directory
<br>Here's McCain's contact form

We have a bunch of new Cubist members who are active, retired, and ex-military. Please take the time to send a few emails.

Why Capt. Lyon remains there is a mystery to me. This should be a no brainer.
The government has THE EXACT Co-ordinates.
With all the emails sent over the years I have been doing this, I've never gotten a reply, but a few friends have received emails from the Vietnamese embassy telling my friends (and they've all been female friends....weird...) not to believe American propaganda.
I guess they might be ashamed that it was a mercy killing. God knows I'd want somebody to put me out of my misery if I was in the same condition. Mercy is still mercy.

Take the time, email, and report back here.

Thanks,
Laika

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Emails sent to the Vietnamese embassy and to Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and James Webb (S-VA).

--
ZB


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Good work men.

Ladies....c'mon.....like I said, for some strange reason, the Vietnamese will respond to women.


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Comrade Laika,

This Air Assault Comrade doesn't like this one bit. I have some contacts with JPAC. I'm amazed that we could have this much info but no recovery. Lemme run this one through my channels and see what I can find out.

-COV


 
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