POW/MIA John R. Henn, Jr.

Name: John Robert Henn, Jr.
Rank/Branch: W2/US Army
Unit: 79th Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Date of Birth: 11 February 1948 (Worchester MA)
Home City of Record: Sutton MA
Date of Loss: 24 May 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 113345N 1063717E (XT768786)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: AH1G
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

SYNOPSIS: On May 24, 1972, WO2 Isaac Y. Hosaka, pilot, and WO2 John R. Henn, aircraft commander, were flying an AH1G Cobra helicopter (tail #67-15836) which was participating in a medivac operation about 8 kilometers south of An Loc, South Vietnam. WO2 Henn's helicopter was in a flight of three Cobras at 4800 feet when the helicopter appeared to break in half.

The aircraft then went into a flat spin, exploded and burst into flames upon impact. The other helicopter pilots concluded that the Cobra had been hit by a SAM (surface to air missile), as they had seen a trail of white smoke from the ground to the aircraft.
The other two Cobras remained over the site, but observed no one leaving the crash. An immediate search in the area was not possible because of the enemy situation, but on June 2 and June 5, brief surface searches were conducted and remains were found which were identified as those of WO2 Hosaka.
A refugee reported that he had witnessed a Cobra helicopter crash and burn near Tan Khai village. Fifteen days later, he saw the bodies of two individuals who had apparently died in the crash. The U.S. Army believes this report may correlate ot Henn and Hosaka.
There was at least some chance that Henn survived the crash of the helicopter to be captured, as the U.S. Army classified him Missing in Action rather than Killed/Body Not Recovered. Whether reports have come in concerning Henn is not information which is included in public record.
As the years have passed since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Many authorities are convinced that Americans are still alive in captivity in Southeast Asia, and that they number in the hundreds. Whether Henn is among them is unknown, but certainly there can be no other honorable end to the Vietnam war than to bring our men home.