Dan Heller 
Name: William Richard Andrews
Memorials: Find a Grave 1 2 Vietnam Wall Wall of Faces
Rank/Branch: Lieutenant Colonel/USAF
Unit: 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron Ubon Airfield Thailand
Date of Birth: 9 June 1937
Home of Record: Eugene OR
Date of Loss: 5 October 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 211900N 1042100E (YD170220)
Status in 1973: Prisoner of War
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F-4C “Phantom II” Serial No. 64-0702
Other Personnel In Incident: Edward W. Garland (rescued)
REMARKS: VOICE CONTACT-WOUNDED
SYNOPSIS: The McDonnell F-4 Phantom used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings served a multitude of functions including fighter/bomber, interceptor, photo/electronic surveillance, and reconnaissance: 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. It 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.
On 5 October 1966, then Capt. William R. “Bill” Andrews, pilot; and 1st Lt. Edward W. Garland, co-pilot; comprised the crew of an F4C on a strike mission over North Vietnam. His aircraft was #3 in a flight of four. After the mission, the flight was directed to fly escort for a flight of two B-66s. As the flight maneuvered over the extremely rugged mountains of northwestern North Vietnam, two MiG aircraft warning alerts were received. Approximately 30 seconds after the second alert, the #3 Phantom was hit by hostile fire, there was a violent explosion in its tail, and the aircrews fire warning lights lit. Both crewmen ejected and two good parachutes were seen prior to the aircraft’s crash into the heavily forested mountains just west of a north/south flowing river. Bill Andrews and Edward Garland landed approximately 2 miles southeast of a primary road, 38 miles due north of the North Vietnamese/Lao border, 20 miles east-northeast of Na San, 51 miles west-southwest of Yen Bai and the northwest railroad line, and 115 miles west- northwest of Hanoi, Muong La District, Son La Province, North Vietnam.
Search and rescue (SAR) forces located Capt. Andrews standing beside his parachute on their first pass over the area. On a later pass by another aircraft he could not be located. 1st Lt. Garland established radio contact with the SAR aircraft. In his last radio transmission, Edward Garland stated, “I’m hit, and I’m losing consciousness.” Shortly thereafter, rescue personnel recovered the wounded co-pilot.
During his post-recovery debriefing, 1s Lt. Garland said he was in contact on the ground with Capt. Andrews, but did not know his precise location. He added that at one point he heard voices and the sound of small arms fire, but he did not see anyone. According to another report, as the enemy closed in on the downed pilot, Bill Andrews was supposed to have “started shooting it out with ground forces” and “one of his last transmissions was ‘I have taken a hit.’” At the time formal SAR efforts were terminated, Bill Andrews was listed Prisoner of War.
Following the shoot down, US intelligence intercepted enemy communications that stated an unidentified VA unit reported two crewmen had bailed out of their crippled aircraft and one had been captured. In another intercepted report, the unit stated that the captured pilot had not yet recovered. In a third unit report, the enemy stated, “the pilot died.” And finally a fourth NVA unit report, dated 9 October, referred to an American aircraft which was attacked, however there was confusion over how many crewmen had been captured as well as the condition of the prisoner(s).
A later coordination of records showed that Bill Andrews was listed Missing in Action, not Prisoner of War, by Defense Intelligence Agency and the Air Force, while the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC), Bangkok, Thailand carried him as a prisoner, not missing. JCRC was ordered to “delete any references pertaining to POW status” in Capt. Andrews’ case. The reasons behind that order were never made clear.
In July 1972, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird referred to the case of Capt. Andrews as 1 of 14 cases where the Defense Department knew he had been captured and North Vietnam refused to provide information about him. This information was, in part, released in the hope of maneuvering the communists into revealing additional information concerning American prisoners under their control.
In August 1985, Vietnamese officials turned over Capt. Andrews ID card to US officials in Vietnam. Then in March 1990, a joint US-Vietnamese team from the Joint Task Force for Full Accounting was in Son La Province to investigate his loss incident. The team found documentation in the Son La Museum indicating the pilot was killed during a rescue attempt.
Finally on 13 September 1990, Bill Andrews remains were returned to United States representatives without comment and transported to US Army Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CIL-HI) for examination and identification. According to CIL-HI’s final report, his remains were positively identified “by comparison of teeth root canals in the jawbone.” Bill Andrews was buried with full military honors in Phoenix, Arizona on 14 February 1991.
While Capt. Andrews remains were finally returned home to his loving family and grateful nation, and they have the peace of mind of knowing where their love one lies, for other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, their fate could be quite different. Well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for, have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
