Gareth Laverne Anderson (1942 - 1976)

Lieutenant Commander Gary Anderson was a Prisoner of War for 2117 days during the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant Commander Gary Anderson was killed in a flight accident .

Biography

Lieutenant Commander Gary Anderson served in the United States Navy in the Vietnam War
Service started: 1963
Unit(s): VF-33; VF-114, USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63);VF-124
Service ended: 1976

Birth

LCDR Gareth L. Anderson was born on 28 July 1942 in Kane, McKean, Pennsylvania, United States.^[1]

Military Service

On 31 July 1963, Gary started Naval Pre-Flight Training and was commissioned as Ensign on 22 May 1964. After completing Replacement Air Group training he served as an F-4 Phantom II Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) ^[2] with VF-33 before he joined VF-114 and was deployed to Southeast Asia in October 1966. He and his pilot flew off of the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and were credited with destroying a MiG-17 over North Vietnam on 24 April 1967.

Prisoner of War from 19 May 1967 to 4 March 1973.^[3]

On 19 May 1967, flying as the Radar Intercept Officer in the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II with pilot Charles Plumb, the aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile and they were forced to eject just south of Hanoi over North Vietnam enemy territory. They were immediately captured. He was 24 years old.

He was released during Operation Homecoming. There was a brief hospitalization to recover from injuries. He was 30 years old.

After his release from captivity, he retrained at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida in October 1973 and was designated a Naval Aviator in May 1975. He joined F-14 Tomcat Replacement Air Group VF-124 at Naval Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. ^[4]

Honors

Distinguished Flying Cross Citation: For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as a naval flight officer of a jet aircraft in Fighter Squadron ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN, embarked in USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) during an air strike against Kep Airfield in North Vietnam on 24 April 1967. As an integral member of the F-4 combat crew in the Target Combat Air Control Element during an air wing coordinated strike, Lieutenant Commander (then Lieutenant Junior Grade) Anderson engaged approximately seven MIG 17 aircraft threatening the retiring strike group in extremely low altitude aerial combat. In spite of the numerically superior enemy aircraft, he provided invaluable lookout assistance on enemy aircraft disposition and maneuvers which enabled his pilot to evade hard-pressed attacks and enemy air-to-air missiles. Lieutenant Commander Anderson was instrumental in shooting down one MIG 17. His skill, courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

1. Silver Star
2. Legion of Merit with V for Valor
3. Distinguished Flying Cross
4. Bronze Star with V for Valor and 1 Star
5. Purple heart with 1 Star
6. Air Medal with 4 Stars
7. Navy Commendation Medal with V for Valor and 1 Star
8. Combat Action Medal

The full ribbon set is available here.

Death and Burial

Lieutenant Commander Anderson was killed during a training flight on 21 June 1976 at Naval Air Station Miramar, San Diego, San Diego, California, United States at the age of 33. ^{[5] [6]}He was buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery, Kane, McKean, Pennsylvania. Find A Grave: Memorial #85023174

Sources

• California, Death Index, 1940-1997.
• Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012.
• NAM POW, Inc. The Association of Former Vietnam War POWs. [1]
• Veteran Tributes. The entire tribute here.
• Wyatt, Barbara Powers. We Came Home. Toluca Lake, CA: P.O.W. Publications, 1977.
• Find A Grave Index.
• Ruston Daily Leader, Ruston, Louisiana on 23 December 1970, page 8 entitled: List of U.S. Prisoners in North Vietnam. They are broken down by state of record (not birth). Gary is in the Iowa section in Cedar Rapids.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Vet Trib
2. ↑ The United States Navy RIO is a backseatter in a 2 seat aircraft. The F-4B II flown by the U.S. Navy in Vietnam did not have a stick in the back for the RIO.
3. ↑ NAM POW List
4. ↑ Vet Trib
5. ↑ CA Death
6. ↑ Vet Trib

Acknowledgements