W2
William John La Grand
United States
Army
William John La Grand was born May 11, 1941. His home city of record is Portland, Oregon. He was killed September 5, 1965 in South vietnam, but his body was never recovered.
Army Chief Warrant Officer William John La Grand was a passenger onboard an A1G which departed Bien Hoa on September 5, 1965. The pilot of the plane was Air Force Capt. Richard C. Marchall (MIA).
The Douglas A1 Skyraider is a highly maneuverable, propeller driven aircraft designed as a multipurpose attack bomber or utility aircraft. The A1 was first used by the Air Force in its Tactical Air Command to equip the first Air Commando Group engaged in counterinsurgency operations in South Vietnam, and later used in a variety of roles, ranging from multi-seat electronic intelligence gathering to Navy antisubmarine warfare and rescue missions.
On September 5, 1965 the aircraft was seen to crash and no ejections were observed from the aircraft prior to impact. The area in which the aircraft went down was under hostile control at the time, and recovery and excavation attempts at the time were thwarted because of heavy enemy activity in the area and hostile presence. Both La Grand and Marshall are among 2500 Americans still prisoner, missing, or otherwise unaccounted for in Vietnam. Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports have been received relating to America's missing in Southeast Asia.
As of 1973, the status of La Grand is that of killed, body not recovered, but it is not known for certain that he died and was not a prisoner of war.
All Biographical and loss information on POW/MIAs provided by Operation Just Cause have been supplied by Chuck and Mary Schantag of POWNET. Please check with POWNET regularly for updates.
POW/MIA Graphic by Ron Fleischer.