Date of Birth: 02 March 1928
Home City of Record: Orlando FL
Date of Loss: 06 July 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 212957N 1054437E (WJ776774)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F105F
Other Personnel in Incident: Charles E. Morgan
(remains returned)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15
October 1990 from one or more of the following:
raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published
sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 1998.
REMARKS: NO CHUTE-BEEPER OR SAR
SYNOPSIS: The F105 Thunderchief ("Thud"), in its
various versions, flew more missions against
North Vietnam than any other U.S. aircraft. It also
suffered more losses, partially due to its
vulnerability, which was constantly under revision.
The F model carried a second crewman which made it
well suited for the role of suppressing North
Vietnam's missile defenses.
Maj. Roosevelt L. Hestle, Jr. was the pilot and
Capt. Charles E. Morgan the backseater onboard an
F105F sent on a mission over North Vietnam on July
6, 1966. The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire
about 35 miles north-northwest of Hanoi, and
evidently hit the side of a mountain. No parachutes
were observed, and no emergency beepers were
detected. Search and Rescue was not initiated.
Although the outlook was grim, neither man was
declared Killed/Body Not Recovered, but instead,
Missing In Action.
One night NBC evening news aired footage from a
press conference held in Hanoi. Hestle's wife
recognized her husband in the footage as the camera
panned across a group of American POWs and
lingered on him. Hestle, a black man, had a bad
case of chicken pox as an adult, and his scarred
face was quite recognizable. Mrs. Hestle went to
the NBC studios in Burbank, California and had them
rerun the film on a big screen so she could make
doubly sure that it was indeed her husband. She was
convinced.
Mrs. Hestle waited, confident that her husband
would return at the end of the war. When the
general prisoner release occurred in 1973, however,
the U.S. received some surprises. Some men whom
intelligence analysts were certain had perished
with their planes had survived to be released. Of
greater surprise, perhaps, was that hundreds of
Americans expected to return had not. Morgan and
Hestle had never been declared prisoners, but it
was thought the Vietnamese could account for both
of them.
The biggest surprise came when Vietnam was overrun
by communist forces, and Vietnamese refugees began
to flood the world. These refugees brought with
them thousands of reports of Americans still in
captivity in their homeland.
In early 1990, the numbers of such reports
amassed to "millions of documents" and resulted in
thousands of interviews. Still, no solution has
been found to secure the freedom of any who may be
still alive.
Mrs. Hestle kept looking for information. Seven
released POWs called her to say they had seen her
husband in camp, and to rest assured he would come
home soon. Still, he didn't show up.
When the prisoner release was over, Mrs. Hestle
approached the Defense Department and inquired
about her husband. She was told that she was
mistaken, that she must have seen one of the other
two black airmen shot down, Cherry or McDaniel.
After all, DOD said, all blacks look alike. When Mrs.
Hestle told them seven POWs had seen her husband,
they said they weould look into the matter.
When DOD recontacted her, they told Mrs. Hestle the
witnesses had changed their stories and now said
they were mistaken. Mrs. Hestle checked with the
seven as well as the other two black airmen, Cherry
and McDaniel. The seven POWs said they had done no
such thing; they maintained Hestle had been held
with them. Cherry and McDaniel said they had not
been present when the newsfilm was shot. Besides,
Hestle was a full six inches taller than Cherry or
McDaniel. His pock marks made him very distinctive
and he did not closely resemble anyone else.
On July 31, 1989, the Vietnamse returned remains
to U.S. control which were subsequently positively
identified as being those of Capt. Charles E.
Morgan. For nearly 25 years, Morgan was a prisoner
of war - dead or alive.
Many authorities who have examined the evidence
now believe there are hundreds of Americans still
alive in Southeast Asia, captives of our long-ago
enemy. Certainly, there are hundreds of Americans
the Vietnamese can account for -- including several
score known to have been prisoners but never
returned.
The Defense Department never acknowledged that
Hestle was captured in spite of seven eye-witness
reports from American POWs and Mrs. Hestle's
identification. Hestle, a talented engineer, would
be a very useful captive to the Vietnamese.
As long as even one American is unjustly held, we
owe him our very best efforts to secure his
freedom. Roosevelt Hestle could still be alive,
wondering why his country has abandoned him.
Charles E. Morgan was promoted to the rank of
Major and Roosevelt L. Hestle, Jr. to the rank of
Colonel during the period they were maintained
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