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This Sailor has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
While flying BuNo.149999 with VA-72, aircraft was struck by small arms fire. LTJG Joe R. Mossman was a pilot assigned to Attack Squadron 72 onboard the aircraft carrier USS INDEPENDENCE. On September 13, 1965 Mossman launched in his Skyhawk ("Scooter") attack aircraft as the number four plane in a flight of our on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam.
Only the month previous, two A4E's had been the first Navy aircraft to be shot down by surface-to-air missiles (SAM) which were to claim so many American planes in the duration of the war.The target area was near the city of Dong Hoi in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. When the flight was over the target area, Mossman's aircraft was hit by small arms fire. No ejection was observed. The aircraft crashed approximately 12 kilometers west of Dong Hoi, near Route 101.
The wingman spotted what appeared to be a parachute amid the wreckage of Mossman's aircraft and an emergency radio beeper signal was heard. Search and rescue (SAR) was initiated and the crash site was observed by a combat air patrol and other armed reconnaissance aircraft. However, no signs of survival were spotted. SAR efforts were terminated.
LTJG Joe Mossman was initially placed in a status of Missing in Action, which was later changed to Killed In Action/Body Not Recovered (prior to 1973).
On October 14, 1982, the Vietnamese government turned over the the U.S. LTJG Mossman's military ID card and Geneva Convention Card. Clearly, theVietnamese had information it could provide about the fate of Joe Mossman.
During technical meetings in Hanoi with the U.S. Joint Casualty Resolution Center and the Vietnamese in early December 1982 and again in September 1985, the U.S. gave the Vietnamese a "Negotiation Folder" on Joe Mossman. To date, however, no new information has been obtained.
"I was his plane captain the day he took off and never returned. I will never forget being the last one waiting on the flight deck, with his ladder and tie downs, for him to return; and wondering what happened when they said "recovery complete". He was the nicest officer I ever served under in my four years in the Navy."
John P. Marinos
