Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project and the P.O.W. NETWORK
27 March 1992 from one or more of the following: raw data from
U.S Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families,published sources,interviews.
Copyright 1992 Homecoming II Project.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 5, 1968, 1st Lt. William T. Potter and
1st Lt. Robert D. Edgar were crew members aboard an RF-4C
reconnaissance aircraft.
Robert Edgar was the navigator of the RF-4C aircraft which
departed Udorn Airfield, Thailand, on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Laos. Upon arrival in the area, which was under
control of the North Vietnamese, the pilot,William Potter
contacted a controller for a specific target assignment. After
being advised on weather and terrain, the pilot notified the
controller that they were under the clouds and had located the
target. He advised that he would position for photos and depart to
the NorthWest. While orbitting in the area, the controller saw an
explosion and immediate attempts to contact the RF-4C brought no
response.
The aircraft crashed on Phakap mountain, four kilometers south of
Bau Phanup, and about 2.5 kilometers east of Napank Village,
Khammouan Province, Laos.
Search and Rescue forces saw no parachutes nor heard any
electronic beacon signals. Resistance fighters in the area gave
reports of investigating the crash site, only to find the aircraft
had burned and the skeletal remains of the pilot were still inside.
Robert Edgar's missing status was changed at a presumptive finding
of death hearing to Dead/Body Not Recovered.
On May 28, 1987, The Joint Casualty Resolution Center passed on to
Mrs. Edgar, information that was received from a former RLA
Sergeant and then Resistance Fighter refugee who had departed Laos
in 1976 that seemingly confirmed the crash and burn of the RF-4C
on the mountain, and the finding of the pilot's skeletal remains
still inside.
What happened to Robert J. Edgar remains a mystery.
The following came with the preceding information from Gunny
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep pushing this
issue inside the Beltway...
The need to get specific answers is more important now than ever
before. If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70s...They
don't have much time left. We have to demand the answers from the
bureaucrats and keep standing on their necks (figuratively
speaking) until they get the message that THEY work for US and
that we are serious about getting these long overdue responses.
Diplomatic considerations aside...We can no longer allow
questionable protocols established by pseudo-aristocratic armchair
strategists, to determine or influence the fate of the men who
were in the trenches while the diplomats were sharing sherry and
canapes and talking about "Their Plans" for the future of SE Asia.
If you'd like to see what some others are doing in addition to
writing their congressmen, senators and the Whitehouse, check out
some of these sites at:
Operation Just Cause MIA Sites
Dear President Clinton, What is being done to determine the fate of Robert D. Edgar, O2, Date of Birth 21 May 1943, United States Air Force? Robert Edgar was the navigator on an RF-4C that was last seen crashing into Laos on February 5, 1968. Resistance fighters searching the area of the crash discovered the burned aircraft and the skeletal remains of the pilot only, inside. What happened to Robert D. Edgar remains a mystery, and he has been listed as MIA since 1973. I, Robert M. Norway, do hereby request under the FOIA 5 U.S.C. 552, information regarding Robert D. Edgar, 1st Lt., United States Air Force, DOB 21 May 1943, listed as a Category 4 MIA since 1973. This is an American airman who has remained on the MIA list for 24 years. Doesn't his devotion to his country award him the privilege and honor of being buried in his own homeland soil if he is in fact deceased? Should, by any miracle, Edgar remain alive, should he be left behind in a foreign country knowing his country abandoned him? Do his family and loved ones not deserve to know the fate of their son, brother, friend and loved one nor be allowed to put a closure to this after so many years? Please advise me of any action that is being taken by you or any other elected or appointed official to determine his fate. In the event there is nothing being done, please explain why not, and tell me how you personally plan to correct this and prevent it from ever happening again. There are many of us who will be glad to lend our services to go back to Vietnam to obtain information needed to finally put a closure on this issue. Just send us the airline ticket and give us an hour to pack. Sincerely, Robert M. Norway
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