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 ROBERT ARTHUR BELCHER
If any of his family sees this site and would like
his bracelet, contact Michael A. Penwell at penwell@hotmail.com
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MAJ - Air Force - Regular
33 year old Married, Caucasian, Male
Born on Aug 11, 1935
From BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
Rank/Branch: O4/US Air Force
Length of service 10 years.
His tour of duty began on Mar 28, 1969
Casualty was on Mar 28, 1969
Loss Coordinates: 165223N 1064635E (XD892663)
in QUANG TRI, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing
FIXED WING - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Refno: 1417
Status (in 1973): Body was not recovered
Religion METHODIST
Panel 28W - - Line 65

Other Personnel in Incident: Michael A. Miller (missing)
Category: 2



 
 
 
 

REMARKS:
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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. 
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Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around. 
Maj. Robert A. Belcher and 1Lt. Michael A. Miller probably
felt fortunate to fly the F4. The two were assigned a combat 
mission on March 28, 1969 in their F4D. When the aircraft was 
near the city of Bo Ho Su, in Quang Tri Province, South 
Vietnam, about 5 miles from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), it 
was shot down, and both Belcher and Miller were thought to 
have been killed..
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Belcher and Miller are listed among the missing because their
bodies were not recovered to bury in America. Families of those 
classified Killed/Body Not Recovered, Missing in Action  and 
Prisoner of War consider all the men missing to be prisoners
of war - dead or alive. They understand that even the most 
apparent "death" could have meant survival. They write no
American soldier off until there is proof they are dead and their
bodies returned. Sadly, there are many who, like Belcher and
Miller, appear to have died the day they were lost. Even more 
tragic are the cases of hundreds who were last known to be alive,
or known to be a prisoner of war, or who simply disappeared 
with no trace. Nearly 10,000 reports have been received by the
U.S. Government concerning these Americans who are still
missing, including over 1000 eye-witness reports of captive 
americans.  Many authorities believe that there could be hundreds 
of Americans still alive in enemy hands today.
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As long as even one American remains in enemy hands, there can
be no honor in the deaths of Belcher and Miller, nor in the deaths
of the nearly 60,000 young Americans who died in Vietnam.  If
Belcher and Miller, by some chance survived, what would they 
think of their country? It's time we brought our men home.
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  Back to Jon-An's MIA's