The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today
that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been
identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Lt. Col. James H. Ayres, of Pampa, Texas, and Lt. Col. Charles W. Stratton, of
Dallas, Texas, both U.S. Air Force. Ayres will be buried Aug. 10 in Pampa, and Stratton’s burial
date is being set by his family.
On Jan. 3, 1971, these men crewed an F-4E Phantom II aircraft departing Korat Royal
Thai Air Force Base on a nighttime strike mission of enemy targets in Savannakhet Province,
Laos. Shortly after Ayres initiated a target run, the crew of other aircraft in the flight observed a
large explosion. No one witnessed an ejection or heard beeper signals, and communication was
lost with the aircraft. Hostile activity in the area prevented search and rescue attempts.
In 2001, a joint U.S./Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team, led by the Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Savannakhet Province and interviewed
Laotian citizens about their knowledge of aircraft crash sites. One of the men led the team to
what was believed to be the Ayres and Stratton crash site.
Later that year, another U.S./L.P.D.R team began excavating the site. The team recovered
human remains and aircrew-related items. Between 2002 and 2005, joint teams visited the site
six more times to complete the excavation, recovering more human remains and crew-related
items.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from
JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the
identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing
Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.