This page is dedicated to all the courageous men and women who have given up their lives in the service to their country.

Lawrence B. Tatum graduated from the United States Military Academy (later West Point) in 1953. Following his graduation, he received his Ph.D. at Syracuse University. By 1962, Tatum was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and an instructor of Political Science at the United States Air Force Academy.

1966 found Tatum assigned to the 1st Air Commando Squadron in Vietnam. He had been promoted to the rank of Major, and was pilot of a Douglas A1E Skyraider ("Spad"). The Spad, a highly maneuverable, propeller driven aircraft, was 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. The E model generally carried two crewmen.

On September 10, 1966, Tatum was on a strafing mission just north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) when his aircraft was struck by hostile fire. Tatum was seen to bail out and his descent was followed to the ground where he landed in a tree. People were seen in the area and shortly thereafter, Tatum and his parachute disappeared. Intense ground fire prevented search and rescue. No mention of a second crewman is given in Air Force accounts of this incident.

Tatum was classified Missing in Action since there was the clear possibility that he had been captured. However, when 591 American were released from Vietnam in 1973, he was not among them. Over the years, Tatum was procedurally promoted until his current rank of Colonel. Ten years after he was shot down, Tatum was declared dead, based on the lack of definitive proof that he was still alive.

When the last American troops left Southeast Asia in 1975, some 2500 Americans were unaccounted for. Reports received by the U.S. Government since that time build a strong case for belief that hundreds of these "unaccounted for" Americans are still alive and in captivity.

"Unaccounted for" is a term that should apply to numbers, not men. We, as a nation, owe these men our best effort to find them and bring them home. Until the fates of men like Tatum are known, their families will wonder if they are dead or alive--and why they were deserted.

Send an email to our politians and ask what is being done about bringing our POW/MIA's home. It's time for this issue to be resolved once and for all.

Send email to: President Bush & Vice President
Send email to your: Congressman or Senator

Patriotic Graphics Courtesy of Ron Fleischer.

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