POW/MIA Affairs Committee Update November/December 2020
BY GRANT COATES, CHAIR
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced September 25 that U.S. Air Force Maj. Paul A. Avolese, 35, of East Meadow, N.Y., was accounted for on September 21. On July 7, 1967, Avolese was a radar navigator assigned to the 4133rd Bombardment Wing. That day he was part of the crew of a B-52D Stratofortress conducting a bombing mission in Vietnam from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. During a maneuver over the South China Sea, Avolese’s plane collided with another B-52, and both aircraft fell into the sea. Four crew members from his aircraft were rescued, but Avolese was not. He was declared dead on July 24. No further information was released.
DPAA reports that as of October 21, 1,585 still are missing from the Vietnam War.
The USS Oklahoma Project has made an additional 29 identifications since August 10, bringing the total to 284. Efforts to complete the USS Oklahoma Project over the next several months are continuing and DPAA is helping U.S. Navy genealogical teams locate families to collect Family Reference Samples.
The Veterans Initiative Program needs your help. Objects taken from the battlefields of Vietnam are more than souvenirs or war trophies. Maps, stories, after-action reports, pictures, and military items could help locate missing war dead. Contact the Veterans Initiative at vi@vva.org or:
Veterans Initiative Program
Vietnam Veterans of America
8719 Colesville Rd., Suite 100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
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