My Adopted MIA - Lieutenant Ronnie George Lindstrom - United States Air Force (MIA since 2 January 1970)

Please take some time to read the following information on my adopted POW/MIA. I believe that this is a very noble cause. There is so much information on the subject that it is very difficult to sort through the facts in this matter. The fact that in October 1998, a South Korean Sergeant managed to escape from a North Korean labor camp surely reinforces the possibility of survivors like him from the Korean War and of course Vietnam. I find this cause to be very important and hope that you will agree on the merits of such reports. I have taken the time to read every single MIA case from the Southeast Asia conflict and feel that there is much to be done.

Although it appears that Lt. Lindstrom was killed in Laos, there is always the possibility that he is still out there waiting to return home with honor. We must make every possible effort to find the truth and resolve this tragedy for Lt. Lindstrom and his family. There are literally hundreds of thousands of unaccounted military personnel from countries all over the world and from almost every conflict fought by mankind this century. Please read their stories and try to find it in your heart to do the right thing and support this cause. You will find many of their cases both captivating and heart breaking. Help bring them home.

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA

LINDSTROM, RONNIE GEORGE
Name: Ronnie George Lindstrom
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ubon AB, Thailand
Date of Birth: 14 June 1944
Home City of Record: Duluth Minnesota
Date of Loss: 2 January 1970
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 163400N 1062700E (XD548329)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D Phantom
Other Personnel in Incident: Captain John T. West (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1990 with the assistance of one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,published sources, interviews.

An F-4 that did not make it back

SYNOPSIS: The F-4 Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The F-4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and high altitudes. The F-4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around.

Capt. John T. West and 1^st Lt. Ronnie G. Lindstrom were the aircrew of an F-4D Phantom which departed as second aircraft in a flight of two from Ubon Airfield on January 2, 1970 on an operational mission over Laos. As the aircraft were near the Sepone River in Savannakhet Province, about 10 miles from the border of South Vietnam, West and Lindstrom's aircraft was seen to crash. The flight leader saw the aircraft descend and saw the wreckage on the ground, but observed no parachutes. No emergency radio beeper signals were heard to indicate that Capt West and Lt. Lindstrom safely ejected from the aircraft.

West and Lindstrom became two of nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos during the Vietnam War. Although Pathet Lao leaders stressed that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, they stated that those captured in Laos would be released in Laos, hoping to gain a seat at the negotiating table in Paris where the U.S. and Vietnam were negotiating an end to the war. The U.S. did not include Laos in the Paris Peace Accords, and no American held in Laos was ever released. In America's haste to leave Southeast Asia, it abandoned some of its finest men. Since the end of the war, thousands of reports have been received indicating that hundreds of Americans are still held captive.

Image designed by Lt. Greg Barteluk (1998)

For more information on POW and MIA issues, or to adopt your own MIA, Please contact the MIA/POW Archives and show your support to this honorable cause.