Operation Just Cause

My father served in the Korean War with the 101st Airborne Rangers of the United States Army. My father-in-law served in the Korean War with the United States Army also. By the grace of God, both men came home to their loving families.

This page is in honor and in remembrance of him and his family.

John Norman Huntley
Rank/Branch: E3/US Army
Unit: 57th Aviation Company, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade
Date of Birth: 01 March 1951 (Spencer, Massachusetts)
Home City of Record: Portland, Maine
Date of Loss: 27 September 1969
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 144351N 1073316E (YB458318)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

PRC John N. Huntley was the door gunner aboard a UH1H helicopter from the 57th Aviation Compahy, 17th Aviation Group on an extraction mission in Laos. The helicopter was to extract a Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) in Attopeu Province.

As the helicopter was lifting from the extraction zone with four men attached by McGuire rigs, they were receiving heavy volumes of enemy fire. When the helicopter reached an altitude of 400 feet, gunfire hit the engine and the helicopter began falling. The pilots were able to slow the descent somewhat by autorotation, but survivors of the incident reported that after the helicopter was hit, it bounced, twisted, and came to rest burning on its right side. The crew members lost consciousness and regained consciousness just as the pilot and copilot were dragging the apparently lifeless body of Huntley from beneath the helicopter. While they were doing this, they were knocked down by the explosion of the helicopter and had to stop their attempts to rescue the door gunner. Because of intense enemy activity, no further attempts were made to recover Huntley, and it was assumed that his body was consumed by the blazing aircraft. He was listed as Killed, Body not Recovered, with a strong probability that the enemy knows his fate.

Huntley is one of nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos. Although his case seems clear, others cannot be resolved so easily. Many of the pilots and men on the ground lost in Laos were alive the last time they were seen. Some were in radio contact with would-be rescuers. A few were photographed in captivity.

Although the Pathet Lao stated publicly that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, the U.S. refused to negotiate with a "government" they did not officially recognize. Consequently, no American held in Laos was ever released.

Although the young door gunner lost on September 27, 1969, is apparently never going to come home, one can imagine him eagerly providing covering fire in an attempt to bring his comrades to freedom.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep pushing this issue inside the Beltway . . . the need to get specific answers is more important now than ever before. If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70's . . . they don't have much time left. We have to demand the answers from the bureaucrats and keep standing on their necks (figuratively speaking) until they get the message that THEY work for US and that we are serious about getting these long overdue responses. Diplomatic considerations aside . . . we can no longer allow questionable protocols established by pseudo-aristocratic armchair strategists to determine or influence the fate of the men who were in the trenches while the diplomats were sharing sherry and canapes and talking about "Their Plans" for the future of SE Asia.

If you'd like to see what some others are doing in addition to writing their congressmen, senators, and the Whitehouse, check out some of these sites

Another remarkable site is by an 11-year-old angel who never even set foot on American soil . . . she not only put up a page . . . she started a major project for an organization of Kids on the Net called KeyPals International. Visit her MIA page. And don't miss her Bring Grandpa Home page. If you come away from that site without a lump in your throat, then you just weren't paying attention.

Thank you, John Norman Huntley, from the bottom of our hearts for your courage and dedication to your Country. May God be with you and yours.

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