Having the facts from Wetzel himself--and the Gulf War POWs official web site, maintained by Larry Slade, plus the documentation and deck logs off the key ships in the Gulf that night, it's pretty clear when they took off and when they were lost. That's why I posted the Wetzel/Zaun details off the 5th Allied POW web site.
This is only factual tidbitting and does not add to the discussion, but if you are going to write that both aircraft were shot down the same night, you better check your sources. Spike was downed the night before, the 16th, and I can produce the initial launch plan from the Saratoga's V-2 that includes his aircraft (its a small keepsake). Maybe I misunderstood you at some point in this discussion, you seem to have done a lot of research and talked, at least to some of, the right folks. but Spikes plane was the only plane lost on 16 Jan 91 (Red Sea Time Zone).
Curious, what class were you, what did you fly, and when did you get out?