In Loving Memory ... Col. Paul Oswald Meder.
*** Lieutenant Colonel Meder was a member of the 16th Special Operations Squadron, Ubon Airbase, Thailand. On December 21, 1972, he was the infrared sensor operator of a Spectre Attack Aircraft Gunship II (AC-130A) on an interdiction mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire and was attempting to return to base, but the aircraft was going to crash so the order to bail out was given. His remains were recovered on February 21, 1985 and identified on July 1, 1985. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in your family and those who knew you and loved you. You will live on because we remember you!

PAUL OSWALD MEDER - Air Force - COL - O6
Age: 40
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Dec 29, 1931 - Born in Manhattan, NY.
From: JAMAICA, NY
Religion: CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Marital Status: Married - Jane M. Meder, Daughter, Erin L. Meder. Sons, Kerry M. Meder and Tracey L. Meder. Parents: Father, Paul D. Meder, Born Dec. 1, 1902 and Died Sept. 11, 1987 at the age of 85 years old and Mother, Maria T. Meder, Born Aug. 2, 1905 and Died Feb. 1982 in Queens, NY at the age of 77 yrs. of age.. Your Brother, Paul Michael Meder, Born April 13, 1958 and Died Feb. 1, 1976 and buried with your parents - FAG # 111023800.
Paternal Grandparents: Grandfather, Paul Meder Born in Hungary and Grandmother, Kate Meder Born in Hungary. Your Great Aunt, Laura Meder Born in Hungary(2 years older than Paul, your Grandfather).

***** Today we honor Paul Meder of Jamaica, New York, who fell on this day in 1972. He is remembered by his second cousin, Steven:
"Paul was more like a brother to my mother than a cousin. In early 1972, he visited us in Florida on his way to jungle training. He assured us that by the time he went through this training and he was deployed, that the war would be over. Unfortunately it wasn’t, as he and the crew of Spectre AC130 were shot down over Laos on 12/21/72. May God bless Paul, and the rest of the crew lost that day. Also, Lord please bless all those who have given their lives for our country."
Brandon O'Rear

***** "United States Census, 1940"
Name: Paul Meder
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1940
Event Place: Assembly District 16, Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Birthplace: Hungary
Birth Year (Estimated): 1903
Last Place of Residence: Same Place
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head Paul Meder M 37 Hungary - Dad
Wife Maria Meder F 34 Germany - Mom
Son Paul Meder M 8 New York - YOU..


COL - O6 - Air Force - Regular
Hs tour began on Dec 15, 1972
Casualty was on Dec 21, 1972
In LZ, LAOS
Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND

Body was recovered
Panel 01W - Line 101

Its crew of 16 was comprised of Capt. Harry R. Lagerwall, pilot; Major Francis A. Walsh, Jr., fighter pilot who was listed as an additional crewman for this mission; Capt. Stanley N. Kroboth, co-pilot; Capt. Thomas T. Hart III, table navigator; TSgt. James R. Fuller, flight engineer; TSgt. Robert T. Elliott, aerial gunner; A1C Charles F. Fenter, aerial gunner; A1C Rollie K. Reaid, aerial gunner; 1st Lt. George D. Macdonald, sensor operator; 1st Lt. Delma Dickens, sensor operator, 1st Lt. Robert L. Liles, sensor operator; Major Paul O. Meder, infrared sensor operator; TSgt. John Q. Winningham, illuminator operator; TSgt. Carl E. Stevens, illuminator operator; TSgt. Richard Williams, aerial gunner; and Capt. Joel R. Birch, sensor operator. With the exception of Major Walsh who was a member of the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron, all members of this aircrew were assigned to the 16th Special Operations Squadron. Both Squadrons were stationed at Ubon Airbase, Thailand.

On 21 December 1972, the crew of a Lockheed AC130A gunship named "Thor," tail number 56-0490 and call sign "Spectre 17," departed Ubon, Thailand on an interdiction mission to interrupt enemy movement along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.

During the flight to the target, Spectre 17 inexplicably broke altitude descending to a lower level according to crewmen aboard other gunships taking part in the same mission, and was hit by enemy ground fire. After evaluating the amount of battle damage sustained by Thor, the decision was made to attempt to return to base. After 10 minutes of stable, level flight, fuel accumulated ankle deep in the cargo area igniting an explosion that severely damaged the aircraft, but did not cause it to disintegrate.

According to reports provided by other aircrews who monitored radio communications between the crew of Spectre 17, along with communications between aircraft, none of the 16 crewmen were injured by the ground fire that initially damaged the gunship.

The crewmen were preparing for a possible bailout by putting on their parachutes, and those men not necessary for flying it were moving to the rear of the aircraft. The jump bell was heard over the headsets of those monitoring communications between the aircraft 5 to 10 seconds before Spectre 17 exploded. Further, once the men hit the ground, many emergency beepers were heard "going off all over the place."

TSgt. Richard Williams parachuted just before the explosion and TSgt. Carl E. Stevens did the same immediately afterward. Both men evaded enemy patrols and were rescued hours later.

According to US intelligence reports that vary somewhat in content in as much as each gives bits and pieces of the story, once Carl Stevens and Richard Williams were rescued -and within 24 hours of the incident - the crash site was visited by either friendly indigenous forces and/or a US Search and Rescue (SAR) team who found and photographed 2 piles of bloody bandages and 5 deployed parachutes.

The partial remains of Capt. Joel R. Birch, were later identified through fingerprints. He was listed as Killed in Action/Body Recovered because of this positive identification.

Other than TSgt. Stevens and TSgt. Williams who were rescued, no other crewmen could be located.

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13 MIAs Killed in Laos in 1972 Are Identified
July 03, 1985|DON SHANNON | Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The remains of 13 U.S. servicemen killed in Laos--the first to have been discovered in that nation in nearly a decade--have been identified and are being returned to the United States, White House spokesman Larry Speakes announced Tuesday.
The bodies were recovered last February by a joint U.S.-Laotian search team from the wreckage of a 1972 plane crash. They are scheduled to be flown to Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento on Friday.
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were barred from receiving U.S. economic aid after the end of American involvement in the region 10 years ago. In 1976, the Laotian government had released a few bodies of Americans missing in action, but it had since balked at cooperating until last winter.
A team of American and Laotian military and civilian officials searched the jungle site near Pakse in Sedone province where an AC-130 gunship crashed Dec. 21, 1972.

Two men had parachuted to safety after the plane was struck by anti-aircraft fire, and the body of another crewman who died in an attempt to bail out of the plane was found the next day. The plane stayed airborne for 10 minutes after it was hit and crashed in a nearly inaccessible location.
Because the remains were not recovered until 12 years later, the men who went down with the plane were classified as missing in action.

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