Ellison, John Cooley, CAPT

This Sailor has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA


In 1967 Attack Squadron 85 (call sign BUCKEYE), operating the A-6A INTRUDER, deployed aboard USS KITTY HAWK. On 24 March, LCDR John "Buzz" Ellison and LTJG Jim Plowman launched in A-6A BuNo 151587 as part of a strike force directed against the Bac Giang thermal power plant in North Vietnam. The target was heavily defended by SAMs and a full spectrum of conventional anti-aircraft weaponry. Ellison and Plowman were tasked with SAM suppression for the bombers. After the strike was completed, friendly radar flight following tracked the BUCKEYE aircraft as it headed toward the Gulf of Tonkin, but the track terminated in the vicinity of Ha Bac Province near the Vietnam/China border. Combat SAR was initiated. Voice contact was achieved with LCDR Ellison, but neither he nor Plowman was rescued. Both men were placed in "Missing in Action" status.

The North Vietnamese never acknowledged capturing either Ellison or Plowman, nor did they report that either man had been killed. However, there is evidence that both men survived. Even so, the two men were never placed in POW status, and on 5 Sep 1975 the Secretary of the Navy approved a Presumptive Finding of Death for now-Captain Ellison, changing his status to "Died while Missing". While I had only a slight acquaintance with these two men -- I joined VA-85 after their loss -- they are not forgotten. 

Ken Davis, A-6 Aircrewman, Attack Squadron 85

LCDR Ellison was promoted to Captain while in a MIA status.