United States Navy Aircrew – 17 August 1972

PENDER, ORLAND JAMES JR
REMAINS RECOVERED NOVEMBER 1994  ID MARCH 1996

Name: Orland James Pender Jr.
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 114, USS KITTY HAWK (CVA 63)
Date of Birth: 23 August 1944 (Atlanta GA)
Home City of Record: Warwick RI
Date of Loss: 17 August 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210100N 1063400E (XJ784247)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J
Refno: 1910

Other Personnel in Incident: John R. Pitzen (missing)

SYNOPSIS:

The USS KITTY HAWK was on duty in Vietnam as early as 1964 and had 131 combat sorties to its credit by the end of 1965, and many more through the remaining years of the Vietnam war. The KITTY HAWK was one of the Forrestal-class “super” carriers, and could operate up to ninety aircraft from her angled deck.

One of the aircraft launched from the decks of the KITTY HAWK was the F4 Phantom fighter jet. The Phantom served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and had a long range (900 – 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the “hottest” planes around.

CommanderJohn R. Pitzen was an F4J pilot and LieutenantOrland J. Pender Jr. a Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) assigned to Fighter Squadron 114 onboard the USS KITTY Hawk. On August 17, 1972, the two were assigned to fly escort protection for A6A Intruder attack bombers against a target near Haiphong, North Vietnam. Their function would be to fly night MIG combat air patrol, protecting the attack aircraft.

Pitzen’s aircraft was about one minute behind the Intruders when they crossed the enemy coastline. The Intruder reported four surface-to-air missiles (SAM) fired from the Haiphong area. Either Pitzen or Pender radioed to the pilot of an A6, “Viceroy 507, are you at point alpha?” The A6 pilot responded, “Affirmative,” indicating that he was at the coast-in point. Pitzen and Pender were still about one minute behind the Intruder flight, and continued north to Hon Gay.

Pitzen’s aircraft reached Hon Gay at 1:40 a.m. and the KITTY HAWK radar lost contact with the aircraft at this time. At 1:44 a.m. another SAM was observed by the A6 in the Haiphong area. The missile flew five to ten seconds in level flight at approximately 11,000 feet and then was observed to explode into two large fireballs. When the F4 did not call “feet wet” indicating its return out to sea long the coast line, an immediate electronic surveillance was initiated which was continued throughout the next day with no results.

Both Pitzen and Pender were declared Missing in Action. Certainly, the possibility exists that the two ejected safely and were captured. The area in which the aircraft crashed was heavily defended and densely populated. But no further information ever surfaced about the two.

For eighteen years, the Vietnamese have denied any knowledge of Pitzen and Pender, although the U.S. continues to present information on them, and others who are missing, in hopes of new information.

ORLAND JAMES PENDER
Navy – LCDR – O4
Age: 33
Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Date of Birth Aug 23, 1944
From: WARWICK, RI
Religion: PROTESTANT
Marital Status: Married
LCDR – O4 – Navy – Regular
His tour began on Aug 17, 1972
Casualty was on Jan 18, 1978
In , NORTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING – CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was recovered

JOHN RUSSELL PITZEN
Navy – CAPT – O6
Age: 43
Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Date of Birth Apr 4, 1934
From: STACYVILLE, IA
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Marital Status: Married
CAPT – O6 – Navy – Regular
His tour began on Aug 17, 1972
Casualty was on Mar 1, 1978
In , NORTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING – PILOT
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was recovered

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard