17 Feb 2006 I recently ordered a POW MIA bracelet with the name of a randomly selected Marine. The bracelet I received was that of 2ndLt Maxim C. Parker. 2ndLt Parker was listed as missing in action. In 2001 Parker's dog tags were recovered in South Vietnam where he and his commanding officer were shot down. 2ndLt Parker's status was changed to KIA. I would just like to remind everyone of the sacrifice that 2ndLt Parker made and say that I will never forget what he did for this country. Semper Fi, LT. E-mail address is not available.

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Marine Air Group 13 deployed to Chu Lai in Sep 1966 and immediately took command of two F-4 squadrons from MAG-11, adding a third in October 1966. The Air Group's purpose was to provide command and support units for the flying squadrons, and of course it had its own officers and men. One of the support units was Marine Air Base Squadron 13 (MABS-13), commanded by Major David W. Morrill. Major Merrill was an aviator, and the Group's aviators routinely flew missions with the flying squadrons. On 18 March 1967 Major Morrill was assigned to fly a ground support mission with VMFA-314; his Radar Intercept Officer was a VMFA-314 officer, 2ndLt Maxim C. Parker. The mission, flown in F-4B BuNo 152271, was as one in a flight of two Phantoms operating in Quang Tri Province. Morrill's Phantom was observed to pull off target on his fourth pass and then visual contact was lost. The pilot of the lead aircraft observed a ground explosion about one and a half miles from the target. No parachutes were seen. According to their respective commands' Command Chronologies for March 1967 both were classed as Missing in Action - a status not reflected in the curent DoD casualty files, which show Killed in Action/Body not Recovered. Major Morrill received a posthumous promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. The wreckage, identifiable by its tail and bureau numbers, was located in August 1967 by Marine Corps engineers building a road near Dong Ha. A search of the crash site turned up 2ndLt Parker's dog tags and two sets of human remains, which were later identified as ground troops killed in earlier fighting. A 1993 investigation of the crash site located Major Morrill's wedding band which, after identification, was returned to his family. Human remains found at the site were repatriated on 09 June 1993, but identification of the remains was not announced until 09 May 2001. At that time DoD announced that remains from both Morrill and Parker had been positively identified using mitochondrial DNA techniques. LtCol David Morrill's remains were buried in Site 7909, Section 60, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. While there is a marker for the two men at Arlington and although the National Cemetery gravesite locator reports 2ndLt Parker is buried in Site 7910, Section 60, Arlington, there is a second entry stating that he is buried in Site 94, Section MA, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California. 2ndLt Parker was from Rolling Hills, California. Arlington Cemetery marker for Morrill and Parker

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