SYNOPSIS:
1Lt. George I. Mims was the pilot of an F4C Phantom jet which was one of
four F4Cs flying "MIG cover" for F105's bombing a bridge on the northeast
railroad out of Hanoi into China. Capt. Robert D. "Bob" Jeffrey was his
bombardier/navigator on the mission.
During the flight, Mims' aircraft took what appeared to be a direct hit
and other flight members felt sure that there was no chance of survival
for either. Only small pieces of the airplane were seen to emerge from
the fireball. George Mims had been married only a month, and Bob Jeffrey
had a baby son.
When 591 Americans were released from Vietnam in 1973, George Mims was
not among them, but his backseater, Bob Jeffrey was. No substantial information
has surfaced on Mims since his plane went down. The Vietnamese deny any
knowledge of his fate.
Since the war's end, the U.S. Government has received thousands of reports
of Americans still in captivity in Southeast Asia. This large volume of
evidence suggests that hundreds are still being held.
Henry Kissinger predicted, in the 50's, that future "limited political
engagements" would result, unfortunately, in nonrecoverable prisoners of
war. This prediction has been fulfilled in Korea and Vietnam, where thousands
of men and women remain missing, and where ample evidence exists that many
of them (from BOTH wars) are still alive today. The U.S. Government seems
unable (or unwilling) to negotiate their freedom. The "unfortunate" abandonment
of military personnel is not acceptable, and the policy that allows it
must be changed before another generation is left behind in some faraway
war.
George I. Mims, Jr. was promoted to the rank of Captain during the period
he was maintained missing.
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