SYNOPSIS:  The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, 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.

Capt. Gary H. Fors was the pilot, and Lt. Gary Lashlee was his weapons systems operator when the two led an attack mission over Laos in their F4B Phantom. At a point about 5 miles inside Laos in northern Saravane Province, Fors' aircraft was hit and he and Lashlee ejected. Lashlee, the first to eject and still drifting towards the ground, observed Fors as he parachuted safely to the ground near the crash site of the aircraft. As Fors was landing on the ground, communist troops were approaching. Lashlee drifted farther away, and could not determine what happened next.  The Marine Corps concluded that Fors had probably been captured. Lt. Gary Lashlee drifted and was rescued within half an hour.

In 1969, Fors' family identified him in pictures of captured servicemen. The military first ruled the photo unrecognizable, then agreed with an Air Force POW who, after he was released in 1973, said it was a picture of himself.

In 1972, a Pathet Lao defector reported that he had seen someone who looked like Gary Fors chained near a limestone cave in Laos. A photograph of a POW in captivity was correlated to Fors by CIA in 1973.

In 1980, a Seattle refugee resident named Boukeva Phavavont said that in 1976, after his own capture by communist soldiers the year before, he saw five Americans imprisoned in a cave near the site where Fors was shot down.

Fors is one of nearly 600 Americans who were left behind in Laos. Even though the Pathet Lao stated publicly that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, these men were not negotiated for in the Paris Peace Accords which resulted in the release of 591 Americans from North Vietnam.

Nearly 10,000 reports such as those on Gary Fors have been received by the U.S. Government since American involvement in Indochina ended in 1975, yet U.S. policy continues to be that there is not actionable evidence that any
Americans are still alive.

Many authorities disagree, believing that there are hundreds of Americans still alive and being held unjustly and against their will in Southeast Asia. Gary Fors could be one of those thought to still be alive. If so, what must he be thinking of us?

"All Biographical and loss information on POWs provided by Operation Just Cause have been supplied by Chuck and Mary Schantag of POWNET. Please check with POWNET regularly for updates."
 

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