Name: John Wadsworth Consolvo, Jr. Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps Unit: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212, 1st Brigade, MAG 24 Date of Birth: 08 January 1944 Home City of Record: Ft. Belvoir VA Date of Loss: 08 January 1944 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 164800N 1065700E (YD010555) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 2Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J Other Personnel In Incident: (backseater rescued) Capt. John W. Consolvo was on a combat mission out of Da Nang, South Vietnam when his aircraft was hit by ground fire as he pulled off target. He flew the aircraft about 18 miles to a safer bail-out area before the craft became uncontrollable. Although Consolvo's mission was in South Vietnam near the DMZ, the ground fire that struck his aircraft came from Laos. Consolvo radioed that the aircraft was incapacitated and ordered his radar intercept officer to eject. The officer successfully reached the ground, was rescued and returned to Da Nang. The F4 crashed 3-4 miles from the location the RIO landed, in enemy territory (probably just inside Laos). Although the RIO did not see his pilot eject,he believed he could have easily ejected and probably did. The wingman and forward air controller on the mission did not see him eject, but they had been unable to keep the plane constantly in sight. John Consolvo flew over 150 combat missions on his first tour of Vietnam. He was into his second tour when he was shot down on May 7, 1972. He had been in the Marine Corps since 1966. If John Consolvo was unfortunate enough to be apprehended by the PathetLao,he is among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared without trace. The PathetLao stated on several occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, yet not one man held in Laos was ever released - or negotiated for. Circumstances surrounding his crash indicate that the Vietnamese or Lao could account for his fate - alive or dead. John Consolvo does not deserve the abandonment he has received by the country he proudly served. John W. Consolvo, Jr. graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1966.