|  FLYNN, ROBERT JAMES Name: Robert James Flynn Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy, pilot Unit: Attack Squadron 196, USS CONSTELLATION Date of Birth: 15 September 1937 (La Crosse WI) Home City of Record: Houston MN Date of Loss: 21 August 1967 Country of Loss: China Loss Coordinates: 213300N 1073200E (YJ519957) Status (in 1973): Released Prisoner Of War Category: Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A Missions: 71 Other Personnel in Incident: Jimmy L. Buckley (ashes returned); from other A6s: Forrest G. Trembley and Dain V. Scott (both missing); Leo T. Profilet and William M. Hardman (both released POWs); on USAF F105s: Lynn K. Powell and Merwin L. Morrill (both remains returned) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project with the assistance of Task Force Omega from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Date Compiled: 15 March 1990. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK. REMARKS: 730315 RELEASED BY RED CHINA SYNOPSIS: On August 21, 1967, four aircraft launched from the USS CONSTELLATION with the assignment to strike the Duc Noi rail yard four miles north of Hanoi. The aircraft flew from Attack Squadron 196, based on board the carrier. The route from the coast-in point was uneventful with the exception of some large weather cells building up. Further along their route they received indications of launched Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) and observed bursting 85mm anti-aircraft fire. Lieutenant Commander "J" Forrest G. Trembley, bombardier/navigator of one Intruder, reported he had been hit and he was advised to reverse course and return to the coast. He transmitted that he was experiencing no difficulty and would proceed to the target rather than egress alone. Commander Jimmy L. Buckley was the pilot of this aircraft. Several SAMs had been launched at this time and a transmission was made "Heads up for the Air Force strike" which was being conducted in the vicinity of the A-6 target. An aircraft was hit which was thought to be an Air Force aircraft. Two F105D aircraft, flown by Air Force Major Merwin L. Morrill and 1Lt. Lynn K. Powell, were shot down at this approximate location on August 21, 1967. It is believed that one of these is the aircraft referred to in Navy information concerning this incident. The remains of both Air Force crewmen were repatriated on June 3, 1983. While Morrill had been classified Missing in Action, it was believed that he was dead. Powell was classified as Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered. The division leader was hit while in the target area and two good parachutes were observed. The crew of this A6, Commander William M. Hardman and Capt. Leo T. Profilet, were captured by the North Vietnamese. Both men were released from captivity on March 15, 1973. The other three aircraft began their egress from the target. Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) were in flight everywhere and the aircraft were maneuvering violently. A large weather cell separated them from the coast which precluded their egress further north than planned. Another transmission was heard -- "Skipper get out" -- and the voice was recognized as that of Lieutenant Commander Trembley. A SAM detonated between two of the other aircraft, two parachutes and flying debris were observed. Lieutenant Commander Trembley transmitted, "This is Milestone 2, Milestone 1 was hit, 2 good chutes, 2 good chutes." The multitude of SAMs along with deteriorating weather may be the reason for the flight to ultimately stray well north of their planned egress track. It was believed that Lieutenant Commander Trembley's aircraft was shot down in the vicinity of the Chinese boarder. Trembley and his BN, Dain V. Scott, were placed in a Missing In Action casualty status. Their case was discussed with the Chinese government by then Congressmen Hale Boggs and Gerald Ford, with very little information being obtained. In their navigation around the weather, one of the remaining two A-6 aircraft observed MIGS in a run out of the overcast above Lieutenant Commander Flynn's aircraft. Requests for assistance were radioed but went unanswered. The tracking of the aircraft by airborne early warning aircraft showed them crossing the Chinese border. The maximum penetration was about eleven miles. A visual search could not be conducted due to poor weather in the vicinity of the last known position. Later that day Peking Radio reported "two U.S. A-6 aircraft were shot down when they flagrantly intruded into China airspace and one crewman was captured". Lieutenant Commander Flynn was held prisoner in China, his pilot, Commander Jimmy L. Buckley, was reportedly killed in the shoot down. On March 15, 1973 Lieutenant Commander Flynn was repatriated to U.S. jurisdiction in Hong Kong and returned to the United States. The ashes of Commander Jimmy L. Buckley were returned by the Chinese in December 1975. Two Air Force bombers and three of the four Navy aircraft on the strike mission on August 21, 1967 were shot down. Trembley and Scott, of the eight Americans shot down on August 21, 1967, are the only two who remain Missing in Action. When American involvement in the Vietnam war ended by means of peace accords signed in 1973, Americans held in countries other than Vietnam were not negotiated for. Consequently, almost all of these men remain missing. During the Nixon Administration and following administrations, relations with China have eased, but the U.S. seems reluctant to address the years-old problem of the fate of her men in China. Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports have been received relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia. Many authorities believe there are hundreds who are still alive, held captive. Whether Trembley and Scott could be among them is not known. What seems certain, however, is that they have been abandoned for political expediency. In 1997, Commander Flynn provided the P.O.W. NETWORK with detailed information regarding his career. Flynn attended the University of Minnesota from 1955-58 (pre-law). 6 July 58 - He entered Naval Service as a cadet. 20 June 60 - Designated NFO (TC-N-48) Number 48 (NAO-N) 24 Feb 61 - Designated PAC FLT Bomadier/Navigator number 025. June 1963 - Married Mary Kathryn Commander Flynn and his Pilot, LCDR. Jimmy L. Buckley were shot down on 21 Aug 67. Flynn says, "Neither I nor my aircraft were ever in Chinese airspace or territory! I was removed to China after capture in North Vietnam and incarcerated in RED CHINA - the Peoples Republic of China, in Peking." Jimmy Buckley was killed in the shootdown. Commander Flynn suffered severe spinal compression fractures and severe wrenching of all muscle and skeletal joints during ejection. After arriving in Peking, Flynn endured more than 2,030 days of consecutive solitary confinement. The winter of '67/68 (his first in China) he had no warm clothes. He endured 3 separate incidents of extened handcuff torture - one lasting 7 days, one 30 days and one 60 days. No other serviceman in our Nation's history has ever endured a longer period of solitary confinement. Robert Flynn credits his survival to several teachers - *Father Michael J. Quislie of St. Mary's of Houston, MN. *Frederic Haver, football coach and history teacher, Houston High, Houston, MN. *Gunny Sergeant Gus Aiken, USMC, Drill Instructor for the Pre-flight class 28-58 Drill Team. Flynn returned to U.S. control 15 March 1973. He says "Thank God" and his special helpers - H. Ross Perot, Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. Among his awards and decorations is the Legion of Merit with Combat Distinguishing Device. He returned to school and studied International Relations - China and the Far East, in 76-77. He medically retired as a Naval Commander in 1985 after 27 years of service. He is an avid waterfowl hunter, enjoys fishing, flyfishing, swimming and snorkeling. When not on or in the water, he enjoys bicycling, reading and gourmet cooking. He and his wife of 35 years, Kathy, reside in Florida, where Flynn is involved in a small business venture - "building a unique 23' classic custom open sea skiff with Caribiana Sea Skiffs, Inc." They have a daughter, Elizabeth, married and living on the west coast, and a son, Robert Jr., who also resides in Florida. In May of 1998, the NETWORK had a long conversation with CDR Flynn. He related, in great detail, time in captivity with civilian John T. Downey, captured 11/29/52 and held until 03/12/73. He also spent time with civilian Richard Fecteau, captured 11/29/52 and released from China 12/12/71. He said Richard was a Yale Football player who spent his time in captivity jumping rope. Flynn never understood where the energy came from! One day he said, he noticed him eating the "meal of the day," rice gruel. "I had all I could do to eat one bowl," and he was eating SIX! Fecteau went on, he says, to Harvard, married, and became a lawyer. All three speak about once a year. Flynn is still searching the Guinness Book of World Records for the jump rope record Fecteau should have, he says. John Downey has a book relating his story, on the market.
 
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