WASHINGTON –
Army Staff Sgt. Marshall F. Kipina, missing from the Vietnam War, has now been accounted for.
On July 13, 1966 Kipina was assigned to the 131st Aviation Company, serving as an observer aboard an OV-1C aircraft, on a night surveillance mission from Phu Bai Airfield over Attapu Province, Laos People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.). Visibility was poor due to heavy thunderstorms. Radar and radio contact were lost with the aircraft, which was not uncommon due to the mountainous terrain in that part of Laos. When the aircraft did not return as scheduled, search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found.
DPAA is grateful to the government and people of Laos for their assistance in accounting for Kipina.
Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.
Kipina's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For more information about DPAA, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call 703-699-1420.