Robert Biss

Lt. Col. Robert Biss was a Prisoner of War for 2305 days during the Vietnam War.

Biography

Lt. Col. Robert Biss served in the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War
Service started: 6 Mar 1959
Unit(s): 431st Tactical Fighter Squadron
Service ended: 1 Apr 1973

Birth

Robert Irvin Biss was born on August 2, 1939 In Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the son of Irvin Oliver and Margaret Elizabeth Bostic Biss. He resided at the family farm at Cherry Tree RD 2 (Bowdertown) and graduated from Purchase Line High School in 1957.

Marriage and Family

He married Mary Despres, the daughter of Gerard and Glen Despres of Bangor, Maine; and are the parents of two children, Jerry and Michelle.

Military Career

On November 11, 1966, two F-4C aircraft were shot down about 5 miles west of the city of Vinh Linh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. The crew of one consisted of pilot 1st Lt. Herbert B. Ringsdorf and weapons/system operator 1st Lt. Richard L. Butt. Of this crew, both were apparently captured, but only Ringsdorf was released at the end of the war. The Department of Defense received intelligence that Butt was dead, but evidently did not feel it was compelling enough to declare Butt Killed in Action, as he remained in Prisoner of War status for several years.

On April 10, 1986, Butt's remains were "discovered" and returned by the Vietnamese and positively identified. For twenty years, Richard L. Butt was a prisoner of war - alive or dead.

The crew of the second F-4C to be shot down on November 11, 1966 was 1st Lt. Harold D. Monlux and Capt. Robert I. Biss. Both men were captured and released at the end of the war.

There is some confusion as to the location of the loss incidents of these four individuals. While the loss coordinates place all four in Quang Binh Province, certain records indicate that Biss and Monlux were lost in the next province to the north, Ha Tinh. Their grid coordinates (YD108825 and YD093804) are close enough to be all in Quang Binh Province.

Richard Butt, Herbert Ringsdorf and Harold Monlux were promoted to the rank of Captain during the period they were maintained Prisoner of War. Robert Biss was promoted to the rank of Major.

Personal Statement Upon Return

ROBERT I. BISS Major - United States Air Force Shot Down: November 11, 1966 Released: March 4, 1973

Major Biss was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on August 2, 1939. He was raised in Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania and graduated from the Purchase Line Joint High School in 1957. He attended Penn State University and then joined the Air Force in March of 1959. From there he went to Officer school in Harlingen, Texas as a Navigator Aviation Cadet. Commissioned one year later in March 1960, he was assigned to Radar Intercept Officer School at James Connally Air Force Base, Texas.

After a short training period, Major Biss went to the Dow Air Force Base, Maine. He flew the F-101 B for the 75th Fighter Interceptor Squadron out of the Bangor airstrip. During his stay at Dow he met and married Mary Despres of Bangor. They have two children, Michele age 9, and Jerry age 7.

In 1963 he left for pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. He graduated from the flight school and in June of 1964 was assigned to the 431st Tactical Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base, California. His tour also included a side trip for combat crew training at Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson, Arizona. After a three week tour in Alaska with his squadron, the group left for Southeast Asia where he flew 57 combat missions over North Vietnam.

Major Biss returned to George Air Force Base and was upgraded to the front seat of his F-4C. His experience earned him another assignment in the fighting area at the Cam Ranh Base in South Vietnam. He logged well over 100 missions over North and South Vietnam.

On a strike mission in the southern sector of North Vietnam (there were three planes in the flight. Number 2 was also shot down that day), he was shot down. "I could see him, either a 37mm or 50mm anti-aircraft gun. He was a good shot. I watched the plane go in and it was hit in the belly and in flames. Harold Moniux, a 1st Lieutenant and only on his 11th mission, was flying with me that day. He was also my cellmate and we were released at the same time."

Major Biss, the "war criminal" was issued only the bare essentials. "I had two sets of underwear, a towel, a bar of soap, a toothbrush and two blankets." Aside from the physical tortures that beset him, he could never be comfortable. There were some planks and a reed mat for a bed. "The temperature in the room ran 120-125 degrees for 6 months at a time and the blankets in the winter were not that much help. The cubicles, cells, at first were about 7 x 7 feet in size. Then as things "improved" a few months later they put three of us in a cell 15 x 15 feet."

MESSAGE: I never had any doubts about coming out of it. This is not to say that things weren't bleak and desperate at times after the torturous moments. But I always knew I was coming home.

Now that I have returned home my immediate goal is to enjoy life and to instill a sense of responsibility, awareness and consideration for others in my children. The inhuman treatment can hardly be understood by most Americans. Even though the U.S.A. has problems it is still the best place on earth to live. I really don't have much to say for the people who highlight these problems. It seems that there is a good deal of protesting just for the sake of protest. Maybe we all should just look around a bit, and be more appreciative of what we have.

My immediate plans are to have a 30-year career. If all works out I'd like to go to the Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama. My family will go with me and I hope possibly to return to college for a liberal arts education.

Our family is together again. This is the most wonderful thing that could happen to four people, being brought together after seventy-six months of total separation. Michele and Jerry got their dad back, Mary-her husband, and I feel like I've been born again. This time I step into this life with the benefit of knowing how truly marvelous and great this nation of Americans is. No words can express the joy with which I reunite with my family and greet each and every American with love and thankfulness. Thank you for the prayers and help bestowed so abundantly upon me and my family over the years. Thank you for this magnificent homecoming. But most of all, thank you for the intelligence and courage you had to elect a president who despite the most difficult circumstances also had the courage and wisdom to bring a long and complex war to an end.

While the return of former prisoners of war has captured the attention of the nation, let us not forget those still missing. Please join with me in praying for a safe and speedy return of any MlAs who may be still alive.

Some war veterans have returned maimed, wounded and sick; still others will never return. Help me to say to them, "Thanks Yank!" ^[1]

Honors

His Silver Star Citation

Captain Robert I. Biss distinguished himself by gallantry in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force as an F4C Pilot in Southeast Asia on 11 November 1966. On that date, Captain Biss piloted an F4C aircraft on a strike mission in North Vietnam. Despite known intense defensive reaction, Captain Biss pressed his attack against the target. With complete disregard for his own personal safety, Captain Biss made low repeated passes over suspected antiaircraft gun positions to draw their fire and expose themselves to attacks from the fighter aircraft. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Captain Biss has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

1. Silver Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.
2. Legion of Merit.
3. Distinguished Flying Cross.
4. Bronze Star Medal with V Device and Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.
5. Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.
6. Air Medal with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters.
7. Air Force Commendation Medal.

The full ribbon set is available here.

Post Military

Robert Biss retired from the United States Air Force as a Lt. Colonel. He and his wife Rita reside in Pennsylvania. After leaving the Air Force, he piloted corporate jets for Citibank for 20 years. Robert Biss, class of 1957, was honored in 2014 by the Purchase Line Red Dragon Foundation as its 16th inductee into the Alumni Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Cambria County Military Hall of Fame in 2015 at the War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Sources

• Veteran Tributes. [1]
• [2] POW NETWORK
• [3]MilitaryTimes Hall of Valor.
• Wyatt, Barbara Powers. We Came Home. Toluca Lake, CA: P.O.W. Publications, 1977. Update 9/95 by the P.O.W. Network, Skidmore, MO.
• Combat Area Casualties Returned Alive File. Vietnam War, Casualties Returned Alive, 1962-1979.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Wyatt, BP: All text above reproduced from We Came Home.