1478 Philip I (the Handsome) 1st Habsburg king of Spain (1506)
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on July 22:
1478 Philip I (the Handsome) 1st Habsburg king of Spain (1506)
1822 Gregor Mendel monk/geneticist, discoverer of the laws of heredity
1844 Rev William Archibald Spooner London, invented "spoonerisms"
1849 Emma Lazarus poet ("The New Colossus"-base of Statue of Liberty)
1784 Friedrich W Bessel, German astronomer (star parallax, Bessel Function)
1822 Hamilton Prioleau Bee, Brig General (Confederate Army) died in 1897
1822 John George Walker, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1893
1834 Daniel McCook Jr, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1864
1887 Gustav Hertz German quantum physicist (Nobel 1925)
1888 Raymond Chandler Chic, mystery writer (The Long Goodbye)
1890 Rose Kennedy mom of JFK, RFK & Ted
1892 Arthur Seyss-Inquart Austrian chancellor (1930s)
1898 Alexander Calder sculptor (mobiles, stabiles)
1898 Stephen Vincent Benét US, writer (The Devil & Daniel Webster)
1908 Amy Vanderbilt authority on etiquette (Complete Book of Etiquette)
1921 William Roth (Sen-R-Del)
1923 Robert Dole (Sen-R-Ks Presidental candidate)
1924 Margaret Whiting Detroit, singer (Kreisler Bandstand, Strauss Family)
1928 Orson Bean actor/comedian (I've Got a Secret, To Tell the Truth)
1930 Yuri P Artyukhin cosmonaut (Soyuz 14)
1932 Oscar de la Renta Dom Rep, designer (Coty Hall of Fame-1973)
1939 Terence Stamp England, actor (The Collector, Alien Nations)
(Question, who was born on this day in 1940?)
Answer, Alex Trebek Sudbury Ontario, TV game host
1941 George Clinton rocker (Testify, Funkadelics)
1944 Estelle Bennett NYC, vocalist (Ronettes-Be My Baby)
1945 Bobby Sherman actor/singer (Seattle)
1947 Danny Glover, SF CA, actor (Lethal Weapon, Operation Dumbo Drop)
1947 Albert Brooks LA Calif, comedian (Broadcast News, Lost in America)
1947 Don Henley drummer (Eagles-Desparado)
1955 Willem Dafoe actor (Platoon, Roadhouse 66, Mississippi Burning)
1958 Sandra Elizabeth Greenberg Spokane Wash, playmate (June, 1987)
1965 Patrick Laborteaux LA Calif, actor (Albert-Little House on Prairie)
1978 Heather Noelle Jones, Miss Oregon Teen USA (1996)
1478 Philip I (the Handsome) 1st Habsburg king of Spain (1506)
PAIGE, GORDON CURTIS
Name: Gordon Curtis Paige
Rank/Branch: O4/US Navy
Unit:
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Los Altos CA
Date of Loss: 22 July 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 191600N 1053800E (WG701299)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Veicle/Ground: RF8G
Refno: 1902
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 April 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: 730329 RELSD BY DRV
SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of
Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North
Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively
by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot
reported shot down on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier
fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The
aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.
The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were
the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie
carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions
as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a
heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were
used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo
version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and
frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF-A models were equipped
for photo reconnaissance. The RF-G were also photographic versions, but with
additional cameras and navigational equipment.
The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar
fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or
destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader
pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and
released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war. In addition,
there were 16 pilots who went down on photographic versions of the aircraft.
Of these 16, seven were captured (six were released, one died in captivity).
Lt.Cdr. Gordon C. Paige was the pilot of an RF8A on a combat mission in Nghe
An Province, North Vietnam on May 22, 1966. As he was about 10 miles
southeast of the city of Nghia Hung, his aircraft was hit by enemy fire and
crashed. Paige was captured by the Vietnamese, and held prisoner until his
return in Operation Homecoming in the spring of 1973. The U.S. had not known
he was captured.
Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing,
prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S.
Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified
information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive
today. These reports are the source of serious distress to many returned
American prisoners. They had a code that no one could honorably return
unless all of the prisoners returned. Not only that code of honor, but the
honor of our country is at stake as long as even one man remains unjustly
held. It's time we brought our men home.
Gordon Paige retired from the United States Navy as a Commander. He lives in
Arizona.
