HARNED, GARY ALAN Group Identification Name: Gary Alan Harned Rank/Branch: E5/US Army Special Forces Unit: SOA (MACV-SOG), CCN, 5th Special Forces Group Date of Birth: 05 July 1950 (Meadsville PA) Home City of Record: Springboro PA Date of Loss: 24 March 1970 Country of Loss: Cambodia Loss Coordinates: 142750N 1071816E (YB484003) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 3 Acft/Venicle/Ground: UH1H Refno: 1578 Other Personnel in Incident: Berman Ganoe; John C. Hosken; Rudy M. Becerra; Michael O'Donnell; John Boronski, Jerry L. Pool (all missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 July 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, including James E. Lake's account found in "Life on the Line" by Philip D. Chinnery, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2001. REMARKS: SURVIVAL UNLIKELY - PER SAR SYNOPSIS: Kontum, South Vietnam was in the heart of "Charlie country" -- hostile enemy territory. The little town is along the Ia Drang River, some forty miles north of the city of Pleiku. U.S. forces never had much control over the area. In fact, the area to the north and east of Kontum was freefire zone where anything and anyone was free game. The Kontum area was home base to what was known as FOB2 (Forward Observation Base 2), a classified, long-term operations of the Special Operations Group (SOG) that involved daily operations into Laos and Cambodia. SOG teams operated out of Kontum, but staged out of Dak To. The mission of the 170th Assault Helicopter Company ("Bikinis") was to perform the insertion, support, and extraction of these SOG teams deep in the forest on "the other side of the fence" (a term meaning Laos or Cambodia, where U.S. forces were not allowed to be based). Normally, the teams consisted of two "slicks" (UH1 general purpose helicopters), two Cobras (AH1 assault helicopters) and other fighter aircraft which served as standby support. On March 24, 1970, helicopters from the 170th were sent to extract a MACV-SOG long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) team which was in contact with the enemy about fourteen miles inside Cambodia in Ratanokiri Province. The flight leader, RED LEAD, serving as one of two extraction helicopters was commanded by James E. Lake. Capt. Michael D. O'Donnell was the aircraft commander of one of the two cover aircraft (serial #68-15262, RED THREE). His crew consisted of WO John C. Hoskins, pilot; SP4 Rudy M. Beccera, crew chief; and SP4 Berman Ganoe, gunner. The MACV-SOG team included 1LT Jerry L. Pool, team leader and team members SSGT John A. Boronsky and SGT Gary A. Harned as well as five indigenous team members. The team had been in contact with the enemy all night and had been running and ambusing, but the hunter team pursuing them was relentless and they were exhausted and couldn't continue to run much longer. when Lake and O'Donnell arrived at the team's location, there was no landing zone (LZ) nearby and they were unable to extract them immeidately. The two helicopters waited in a high orbit over the area until the team could move to a more suitable extraction point. While the helicopters were waiting, they were in radio contact with the team. After about 45 minutes in orbit, Lake received word from LT Pool that the NVA hunter team was right behind them. RED LEAD and RED THREE made a quick trip to Dak To for refueling. RED THREE was left on station in case of an emergency. When Lake returned to the site, Pool came over the radio and said that if the team wasn't extracted then, it would be too late. Capt. O'Donnell evaluated the situation and decided to pick them up. He landed on the LZ and was on the ground for about 4 minutes, and then transmitted that he had the entire team of eight on board. The aircraft was beginning its ascent when it was hit by enemy fire, and an explosion in the aircraft was seen. The helicopter continued in flight for about 300 meters, then another explosion occurred, causing the aircraft to crash in the jungle. According to Lake, bodies were blown out the doors and fell into the jungle. [NOTE: According to the U.S. Army account of the incident, no one was observed to have been thrown from the aircraft during either explosion.] The other helicopter crewmen were stunned. One of the Cobras, Panther 13, radioed "I don't think a piece bigger than my head hit the ground." The second explosion was followed by a yellow flash and a cloud of black smoke billowing from the jungle. Panther 13 made a second high-speed pass over the site and came under fire, but made it away unscathed. Lake decided to go down and see if there was a way to get to the crash site. As he neared the ground, he was met with intense ground fire from the entire area. He could not see the crash site sice it was under heavy tree cover. There was no place to land, and the ground fire was withering. He elected to return the extract team to Dak To before more aircraft was lost. Lake has carried the burden of guilt with him for all these years, and has never forgiven himself for leaving his good friend O'Donnell and his crew behind. The Army account concludes stating that O'Donnell's aircraft began to burn immediately upon impact. Aerial search and rescue efforts began immediately; however, no signs of life could be seen around the crash site. Because of the enemy situation, attempts to insert search teams into the area were futile. SAR efforts were discontinued on April 18. Search and rescue teams who surveyed the site reported that they did not hold much hope for survival for the men aboard, but lacking proof that they were dead, the Army declared all 7 missing in action. For every patrol like that of the MACV-SOG LRRP team that was detected and stopped, dozens of other commando teams safely slipped past NVA lines to strike a wide range of targets and collect vital information. The number of MACV-SOG missions conducted with Special Forces reconnaissance teams into Laos and Cambodia was 452 in 1969. It was the most sustained American campaign of raiding, sabotage and intelligence gathering waged on foreign soil in U.S. military history. MACV-SOG's teams earned a global reputation as one of the most combat effective deep penetration forces ever raised. By 1990 over 10,000 reports have been received by the U.S. Government concerning men missing in Southeast Asia. The government of Cambodia has stated that it would like to return a number of American remains to the U.S. (in fact, the number of remains mentioned is more than are officially listed missing in that country), but the U.S., having no diplomatic relations with Cambodia, refuses to respond officially to that offer. Most authorities believe there are hundreds of Americans still alive in Southeast Asia today, waiting for their country to come for them. Whether the LRRP team and helicopter crew is among them doesn't seem likely, but if there is even one American alive, he deserves our ultimate efforts to bring him home. Michael O'Donnell was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on March 24, 1970. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart as well as promoted to the rank of Major following his loss incident. O'Donnell was highly regarded by his friends in the "Bikinis." They knew him as a talented singer, guitar player and poet. One of his poems has been widely distributed, but few understand that the author remains missing. If you are able, save them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind. Major Michael Davis O'Donnell 1 January 1970 Dak To, Vietnam ============================ Gary Alan Harned-RT Pensylvaina June 19, 2001 From: amcoon@hotmail.com (Anne Coon) My name is Robert Schwab and I am from Meadville, Pennsylvania. I am looking for information on my Uncle, Gary Alan Harned, who was a member of RT Pennsylvania. He was listed as missing in action in March of 1970. I was also told to mention the CCC in this e-mail. I would be very interested in any information that anyone may have about my Uncle from people who knew him personally or through military operations. It is believed that in March of 1970, a helicopter that Gary was on was shot down near Cambodia. Other passengers believed to be aboard were Captain Michael O'Donnell, Officer John Hosken, Rudy Becerra, Berman Grande, Jr., Lieutenant Jerry Poole, and Sergeant First Class John Boronski. Recently the Army has investigated the crash site and has found human remains. Through DNA Testing they have positively identified Captain Michael O'Donnell, Officer John Hosken, Rudy Becerra, and Berman Grande, Jr. The three remaining men, Lieutenant Jerry Poole, Sergeant First Class John Boronski, and my Uncle were not positively identified through testing, due to the condition of the remaining bones. These remaining bones are being offered for a group burial for Poole, Boronski, and my Uncle at Arlington Cemetery later this year. Any information would be very helpful. Thank you for your time. Robert A. Schwab (814) 336-2270 or e-mail amcoon@hotmail.com ======================== July 1, 2001 The Journal Standard Waiting for the turth Freeport resident Darlene Pool holds her husband, Jerry Pool's MIA bracelet marking the date that Jerry was reported missing in action; March 24, 1970. Photo by Steve Ingram Freeport resident still unsure of exactly what happened to her husband in Vietnam. FREEPORT -- "I almost died this time," Darlene Pool said about hearing the latest news on her husband. "Now he's going to be buried twice and there's still no proof he's there." It was the third week in May when Darlene Pool of Freeport said she heard from U.S. Army officials. What they told her was that they had positively identified the remains of her husband, Jerry Pool, a Green Beret Special Forces soldier who went down in a helicopter in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. She was told a short time later, however, that her husband wasn't specifically identified, but that a group identification had been made. In the past, Darlene Pool has suffered from several heart attacks and strokes and is in failing health. This latest news about her husband has almost been too painful for her to bear. "This has been going on off and on for 32 years," Darlene Pool said. "I've been in too much pain and too much suffering ... Only the truth will end it." First, the crash The Pool odyssey officially began on March 24, 1970, with the crash of a Huey helicopter in Cambodia. In that helicopter was Jerry Pool, who was part of a military team sent to Cambodia to extract a U.S. long range reconnaissance patrol. Pool's squad found the patrol and set about leaving the area when they came under heavy enemy fire. On the helicopter at the time with Jerry Pool were seven U.S. Army soldiers and five Montagnard tribesman. The Montagnard are an indigenous people of Vietnam and Southeast Asia who aided the U.S. during the Vietnam War. "Shortly after they picked up these guys, the helicopter was hit by a rocket and it exploded at 200 feet, it crashed and burned," said Larry Greer, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department's POW/MIA Office. "There was no evidence of any survivors. There was heavy enemy activity so (rescuers) couldn't stay in the area." According to Greer, the story then picks up again in November of 1993 when a joint U.S. and Cambodian search team tried but failed to find the crash site. Then, in 1994, several Vietnamese citizens were interviewed regarding human remains they had found consistent with what would be left at the Cambodian helicopter crash site. After years of investigating, a group identification was finally made official on June 20, 2001. Using skeletal, tissue and teeth remains at the crash site, Army officials were able to positively identify four U.S. soldiers who were on the helicopter. Jerry Pool was not one of the four. But since the crash was so severe, Greer said, Pool could not have escaped. Therefore, Jerry Pool is being identified as part of the group of remains that were found. "There are frequently individual remains that can't be sorted and identified," Greer said. "It is just like in some of the large civilian air disasters where they are never able to identify everyone ... Obviously, no one got off (of this helicopter) so they made a group identification." Now, off MIA list "(Jerry) Pool's remains were not individually identified, but he has been identified as part of the group," Greer said. "He is now accounted for so he comes off of our list of MIA (soldiers)." According to Greer, there are currently 1,966 U.S. soldiers still Missing in Action from the Vietnam War. There have been 619 identified so far. To put that in context, there are 8,100 soldiers still MIA from the Korean War and 78,000 from World War II. For Darlene Pool, her husband's inclusion in this group identification is not enough to provide closure on an incident that has haunted her and her family for years. In addition to the fact that Jerry Pool's remains have still not been found, Darlene Pool is also fed up with the numerous false alarms and mistaken identifications that she said have taken place over the years. Darlene Pool said this has caused a great deal of stress within her family, which includes two grown children she had with Jerry, Jerry Lynn Pool and Michele Leigh Pool. "It has hurt me and it has hurt my children," Darlene Pool said. "I am personally tired of suffering with this." As it is, the U.S. Army is in the process of organizing a funeral ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., where the remains recovered from the crash site will be buried. Darlene Pool said she is not sure if she will take part in the Arlington ceremony. She is still not satisfied with the official version of events leading to her husband's identification. Darlene Pool said she will continue to hope that the truth about what happened to Jerry Pool on that fateful day in 1970 will surface some day. "Everybody says I should go (to the ceremony) to pay my respect for the others who were identified," Darlene Pool said. "I don't think I will be going because it's false. I'm a person who hates lies ... I'll fight for my husband until the day I die. He deserves the truth." Travis Morse can be reached at 232-0178 or at tmorse@journalstandard.com. ==================================== Associated Press Newswires Saturday, August 11, 2001 Presumed remains of Crawford County MIA finally coming home EDINBORO, Pa. (AP) - Sgt. 1st Class Gary Harned never had a funeral, because his Crawford County relatives could never be sure he was dead. Harned's family still isn't entirely sure - but they plan to bury remains presumed to be his in a joint ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday. Harned enlisted in the Army in October 1968, when he was 18, and was assigned to the Special Forces a year later. Harned's parents, Roberta and Arnold, who lived in Crossingville, about 18 miles south of Erie, were notified their son was missing in action in 1970. A helicopter Harned and six other soldiers were supposed to be in had been shot down in Cambodia, near the border of Laos. Joyce Schwab, Harned's older sister, still remembers the mix of emotions the family felt - fear that Harned was dead, concern that he was a prisoner of war, and hope that they might receive a telephone call at any time telling them he was still alive. "You're kind of in shock, in limbo; you don't know how to feel," Schwab said. Earlier this year, the Army notified Harned's family that they had found and positively identified the remains of four soldiers aboard the helicopter, although none of the remains were Harned's. The remains of three other soldiers could not be positively identified, but Harned's family agreed to participate in a joint memorial and burial of the unidentified remains at Arlington Thursday. The grave will be marked with the names of Harned and the two other soldiers who were supposed to be in the helicopter. "We feel we're going to bury him with honors," Schwab said. "It's the only thing we can do now. I just wish it could have been done before - before my mom passed away." Roberta Harned died three years ago. Arnold Harned, who now lives in Edinboro, will make the trip along with Schwab, her husband and their children; and Harned's two other siblings and their families, including brother Don - also a Vietnam veteran. The family would prefer proof positive that Harned is dead, but that's unlikely because the Army told them they won't further excavate the crash site and don't expect to find more remains or other clues to the unidentified soldiers' identities. Schwab said the family has never talked much about her brother because it's "pretty upsetting." But she believes the Green Beret has a message for the family: "Put me to rest and quit worrying." ================================ Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 12:04:38 EDT Subject: Soldiers and Airmen Returning Home Greetings, I am .... for the US Army at Fort Myer, Va. I also had the pleasure to serve as ..... for 5th SFG(A) from Dec 91 through Dec 94. Today and tomorow, I have the honor to be part of an escort for the families and remains of 3 Special Forces soldiers and 4 members of the Air Force returned home from Cambodia. These soldiers were lost on 24 March 1970 in Cambodia; REFNO 1578. They are: 1LT Jerry L. Pool SSG John Boronski SGT Gary Harned CPT Michael D. O'Donnel WO1 John C. Hosken SP4 Rudy Becerra SP4 Berman Ganoe Jr. There will be a ceremony at the Old Post Chapel on Fort Meyer at 1300 hours on 16 August. While this was a war before my time, I still feel a deep sense of pride, honor, and esprit de corps in their return. These days are very special for anyone who has every worn a uniform or served in the the defense of their country. I have the deepest pride in my service and the highest regard for my brothers who have fallen before me. I hope their return brings some closure and ease to the minds and hearts of those who care.