VIETNAM POW/MIA BIO: MORRISON, Joseph Castleman - Kentucky From: Margaret Bates Date: Mon 12 Mar 2001 MORRISON, JOSEPH CASTLEMAN Name: Joseph Castleman Morrison Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force Unit: Date of Birth: 13 November 1930 Home City of Record: Lexington KY Date of Loss: 25 November 1968 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 172000N 1061200E (XE270185) Status (in 1973): Prisoner of War Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D Other Personnel In Incident: San D. Francisco (missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project (919/527-8079) 01 June 1991 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Copyright 1991 Homecoming II Project. REMARKS: VOICE CONTACT ON GROUND SYNOPSIS: 1Lt. San D. Francisco and Maj. Joseph C. Morrison were flying an F4D aircraft on a combat mission in North Vietnam when it was shot down November 25, 1968. Both officers safely ejected from the plane and established radio contact on the ground with recovery forces. Their parachutes were spotted with 700 meters of a North Vietnamese encampment. Contact with Francisco was lost within a half hour. Morrison evaded successfully throughout the night, and re-established radio contact on the following day. Recovery was prevented, primarily by weather, and voice and beeper contact was lost. Cryptographic intelligence later revealed that both men had been captured alive by the AAA Regiment that shot them down and were identified by name. It was further revealed that the two were being transferred to the Regiment Command and Control Authority, the 367th Division, operating near the Vinh area, where they would have been interrogated and sent north. Instead, the two were apparently sent south to what is called the "POW pick and shovel brigade." Both Morrison and Francisco were placed in Prisoner of War Status and expected to be released in 1973 when 591 Americans were freed from North Vietnamese prisons. However, neither man was released. A later coordination of records showed that Francisco and Morrison were both listed as Missing (not Prisoner) by Defense Intelligence Agency and the Air Force, while JCRC (Thailand) carried both Francisco and Morrison as Prisoner (not missing). JCRC was ordered to "delete any references pertaining to PW status" in Francisco's case. No order was issued at that time to change Morrison's status. The reasons behind the order are unclear. Over a thousand reports of Americans alive in the hands of the Vietnamese have been received by the U.S. since the end of the war. Many government officials state that they believe Americans are currently being held against their will in Southeast Asia. The question is, who are they, and how will we bring them home? Are Morrison and Francisco among them? San D. Francisco was promoted to the rank of Major and Joseph C. Morrison to the rank of Colonel during the period they were maintained Prisoner of War. ***************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or his legal representative and then contact the listed USGENWEB archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *****************************************************************