Unbroken Will

In this, the last of my articles on the Code Of Conduct and Vietnam, we read about a true hero who gave up his life at the tender age of 25 to protect South Vietnam and our country. This is his story.

Lance P. Sijan

Lance P. Sijan was born on April 13, 1942, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There he graduated from Bay View High School in 1960, then left for Bainbridge, Maryland to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School.

Sijan was big—6 feet 2 inches, 210 pounds—and athletic. He was an all-city football player during high school in Milwaukee. He had been on the swim and track teams as well.

There were other sides to Lance Sijan as well. He had been president of the student government association at Bay View High School. He was interested in photography and drama.

He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserve on June 30, 1960, and attended the U.S. Naval Academy Prep School from July 21, 1960, to March 31^st, 1961. Sijan entered the U.S. Air Force Academy in June of 1961 and graduated and was commissioned a 2Lt in the U.S. Air Force on June 9, 1965.

He played two years of varsity football at the Air Force Academy. 

At the academy, he had demonstrated a flair for sculpture. Photos show him as a good-looking, muscular young man with a friendly smile.

A photograph of Lance P. Sijan and his younger sister Janine Sijan Rozina.

He graduated from the Air Force Academy and was commissioned in June 1965. After pilot training at Laredo, Texas, Captain Sijan was assigned to jet fighter duty at George Air Force Base, California.

He next entered Undergraduate Pilot Training and was awarded his pilot wings in August 1966. Sijan completed combat crew training in the F-4 Phantom II at the 479th Tactical Fighter Squadron, George AFB, California, and began flying combat missions in Southeast Asia with the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Da Nang AB in the Republic of Vietnam in July 1967.

Vietnam

In July 1967 he was assigned to Danang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. In November, his F-4C Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam. Captain Sijan was declared missing in action until his death in captivity was confirmed.

In the fall of 1967, traffic was surging on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the lifeline by which North Vietnam sustained the war in the south. The trail ran down the western side of the Annam Mountains, through the Laotian panhandle and Cambodia, into South Vietnam.

Truck convoys departing from the supply hub at Vinh in North Vietnam gained access to the Ho Chi Minh Trail through the Mu Gia and Ban Karai Passes in the mountains. The passes were heavily defended with anti-aircraft artillery.

Traffic on the trail moved mostly at night. During daylight hours, the trucks hid under camouflage or in concealed parking areas in the jungle.

In a renewed effort to interdict the flow of troops and supplies, the Air Force, in November 1967, doubled the number of attack sorties flown against the trail. The targets included not only the truck convoys but also the choke points, like the passes.

Among the units taking part in the intensified operation was the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, which flew the Air Force’s newest fighter, the F-4C. The wing was located at Da Nang, the northernmost of the Air Force’s principal bases in Vietnam.

A photograph of an F4C Phantom II operating over North Vietnam in the 1960s.

First Lt. Lance Peter Sijan, a 25-year-old pilot from Milwaukee, had been stationed at Da Nang since July. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1965 and went from there to pilot training, F-4 fighter crew training, and survival school. Da Nang was his first duty assignment.

Sijan was flying as a backseat pilot in the F-4C. He was crewed with Lt. Col. John W. Armstrong, commander of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, to which Sijan was assigned. So far, he had flown 66 combat missions. He was looking to upgrade to the front seat of the F-4 before his tour was over.

In an F4C Phantom fighter jet during the Vietnam War, the backseater, also called a "Weapons Systems Operator" (WSO), primarily managed the aircraft's radar and weapons systems, acting as a second set of eyes to identify targets, control fire, and navigate during combat, essentially serving as a vital decision-making partner to the pilot in the front seat; their role was crucial for effective aerial combat and mission execution.

The Ban Loboy Ford

On November 9, 1967, Lt. Sijan was serving as GIB—guy in back, or in the rear cockpit—on a bombing mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail with squadron commander Lieutenant Colonel John W. Armstrong. It was Sijan’s 52nd combat mission.

On that day Armstrong and Sijan briefed for a night attack mission. The target was the Ban Loboy Ford, a river crossing on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, just inside Laos at the Ban Karai Pass.

It was a two-ship flight. The call sign for Armstrong and Sijan was AWOL 01, with the second aircraft, AWOL 02, flying on their wing. It was dark when they took off from Da Nang at 8 p.m.

Central Vietnam is narrow. Not very far inland, the landscape rises to form the Annam Cordillera chain, which divides Vietnam from Laos. The Ban Karai Pass cuts through the mountains close to what was, in 1967, the border between North and South Vietnam.

The Armstrong-Sijan Phantom crossed the Laotian border to a pass called Ban Loboy Ford.

Over the pass, the F-4s linked up with a forward air controller, who marked the Ban Loboy Ford for them with flares. Each F-4C was carrying six 750-pound bombs. At 8:39 p.m., AWOL 01 rolled in on the target and released the bombs.

Suddenly, the aircraft exploded and was engulfed in a ball of fire. It plunged into the jungle below.

Initial reports attributed the explosion to ground fire, but there is considerable belief now that defective fuses caused the bombs to detonate prematurely, exploding within 50 feet of the airplane.

A map of Indochina showing the locations Day and Sijan were shot down.

Neither AWOL 02 nor the forward air controller saw a parachute, but there was a survivor. AWOL 01 Bravo—Sijan—had gotten out. Armstrong was not heard from again and is presumed to have been killed in action.

Sijan struck the trees and then the granite slope in the darkness. The combination of the explosion, the ejection, and impact with the mountain left him badly injured. He had a compound fracture of his left leg, a skull fracture, and a concussion. His right hand was mangled, with the fingers bent backward. He lay on the mountainside, amid high trees, about three miles northwest of the Ban Loboy Ford.

Aircraft circled above, listening for a signal, but heard nothing. That night and all the next day, Sijan was unconscious or delirious.

A Signal From Sijan

At first light on Nov. 11, however, F-4s from Ubon and F-100s from Phu Cat picked up a signal from Sijan. They made voice contact with him and were soon joined by other aircraft.

Sijan identified himself as AWOL 01 Bravo. One of the pilots asked him several prearranged authentication questions to be sure it was really Sijan and not an English-speaking enemy, using his radio to lure the rescue aircraft into a trap.

One of the questions, chosen by Sijan ahead of time, was, “Who is the greatest football team in the world?” He knew the answer to that: “The Green Bay Packers.”

The search and rescue team assembled rapidly. It included a C-130 airborne command post, code-named Crown, Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopters, A-1 Sandy escorts, O-2 forward air controllers, F-4s, and F-100s. Sijan had expended his flares early, signaling to the fighter aircraft before the Sandys and the Jolly Greens got there.

The attempt to locate Sijan and get him off the mountain went on all day. Eventually, 108 aircraft were involved in the rescue operation on Nov. 11. Anti-aircraft guns, some of them as large as 37 mm, were firing from all directions. Nine of the rescue aircraft were hit by ground fire, and one, an A-1 Sandy, went down in the jungle.

Sijan was difficult to find in the triple-canopy jungle. The rescuers couldn’t see him, and he couldn’t see them. They tried homing in on Sijan’s beeper signal as well as having him tell them when the aircraft engines sounded loudest. The best chance for success came late in the day when a Jolly Green helicopter got a fix on his approximate location.

Sijan told the Jolly to send down its jungle penetrator cable but not to put a pararescue jumper on the ground, where North Vietnamese Army patrols were moving.

“There’s bad guys down here,” Sijan said. “Just drop the penetrator.” Then: “I see you, I see you. Stay where you are, I’m coming to you.” The helicopter dropped the penetrator and hovered for 33 minutes, but could not raise Sijan again on the radio. Finally, with ground fire increasing, the Jolly Green pulled out.

The search and rescue effort resumed the next morning, but there was no further signal from Sijan. The rescue aircraft returned to base.

Sijan was listed as missing in action for the next seven years. He was promoted to captain in 1968, posthumously as it turned out. The Air Force and his family did not learn what had become of him until the prisoners of war returned from North Vietnam in 1973.

Captured

The precise physical skills of the jet pilot were useless now, but courage and resourcefulness were needed more than ever. Captain Sijan evaded his pursuers for six weeks but paid a high price for his freedom. During this time, he suffered serious injuries to his left leg and right hand as well as a brain concussion and severe lacerations.

Because of shock and weight loss, Lance was emaciated to a state where every bone showed through his weakened body. Finally, around Christmas, he was captured by North Vietnamese soldiers and taken to a holding camp.

Shortly after dawn on Dec. 25, a North Vietnamese truck convoy—able to move in daylight because of a bombing halt for Christmas—found Sijan lying in the road. He was three miles from where he went down on November 9th.

However, Lance found an opportunity, and despite his crippling injuries, he overpowered a guard, knocked him unconscious, and escaped.

Again, a fugitive, he traveled for two kilometers before being recaptured several hours later and taken to another enroute camp. After solitary confinement, Captain Sijan was subjected to long interrogations while being tortured for information. Somehow Lance found the strength to resist, and he continually distracted his captors, refusing to tell them anything except name, rank, and serial number.

After being captured by North Vietnamese soldiers, Captain Sijan was taken to a holding point for subsequent transfer to a Prisoner of War camp. In his emaciated and crippled condition, he overpowered one of his guards and crawled into the jungle, only to be recaptured after several hours.

He was then transferred to another prison camp where he was kept in solitary confinement and interrogated at length. During his interrogation, he was severely tortured; however, he did not divulge any information to his captors. Captain Sijan lapsed into delirium and was placed in the care of another prisoner, Lt. Col. Robert Craner.

On January 6, 1968, the North Vietnamese prepared to move some prisoners, and their commander detailed Lieutenant Colonel Robert Craner to care for Captain Sijan. By then, Lance's physical condition had deteriorated to a point where he could neither stand nor sit erect without help.

The next day the two Americans boarded a truck for the long, punishing trip to Hanoi. During the jolting ride, Colonel Craner often feared that Lance had died, but each time he regained consciousness and declared that he was doing all right. Unbelievably, Lance never complained about the battering and, in fact, talked about escape several times, saying that he was ready for another try.

Captain Sijan was taken to Hoa Lo Prison, where he was kept in the section that the American airmen called Vegas. His wounds were not treated, and Lance was able to take only a few spoonsful of food each day.

He grew steadily weaker but requested aid only to put his body in a sitting position so he could exercise his slack muscles in preparation for another escape. Because his broken leg would not support him, Lance had dragged himself backward on his hips during his flight through the jungle. As a result, both hipbones now jutted through his skin and exercise was excruciatingly painful.

His condition was aggravated by the poor living conditions, inadequate diet and clothing; Captain Sijan contracted pneumonia on January 18. Because the fluid in his air passages would have strangled him, he could not lie down, and on the night of January 21, the North Vietnamese removed Lance from his cell. The next day they reported that he had died.

Till the end the indomitable airman had resisted the enemy, never complaining about his physical deterioration and eagerly anticipating another chance to escape. During Captain Sijan's intermittent periods of consciousness until his death, he never complained of his physical condition and, on several occasions, spoke of future escape attempts.

Due to his extreme weakness, adverse living conditions, insufficient clothing, and an inadequate diet, Captain Sijan contracted pneumonia on Jan. 18, 1968. Removed from his cell on Jan. 21, 1968, he died at the Hoa Lo prison camp, as reported by his Vietnamese captors.

What we know of Sijan after he lost contact with the search and rescue aircraft is from the reports of Robert R. Craner and Guy D. Gruters, with whom Sijan spent three weeks in captivity. 

Today, Gruters lives in Minister, Ohio, and talks often about Lance Sijan. Craner died in 1980, but he was interviewed extensively in 1977 by now-retired Lt. Col. Fred Meurer for Airman Magazine. Meurer made his interview tapes available for this article.

The 46 days were painstakingly reconstructed by Malcolm McConnell in his book, "Into the Mouth of the Cat" (Norton, 1985). 

The Medal Of Honor

The Medal of Honor was presented to his parents on March 4, 1976, by President Gerald R. Ford.

Citation

"While on a flight over North Vietnam, Capt. Sijan ejected from his disabled aircraft and successfully evaded capture for more than six weeks. During this time, he was seriously injured and suffered from shock and extreme weight loss due to lack of food. After being captured by North Vietnamese soldiers, Capt. Sijan was taken to a holding point for subsequent transfer to a prisoner-of-war camp. In his emaciated and crippled condition, he overpowered one of his guards and crawled into the jungle, only to be recaptured after several hours. He was then transferred to another prison camp where he was kept in solitary confinement and interrogated at length. During interrogation, he was severely tortured; however, he did not divulge any information to his captors. Capt. Sijan lapsed into delirium and was placed in the care of another prisoner. During his intermittent periods of consciousness until his death, he never complained of his physical condition and, on several occasions, spoke of future escape attempts. Capt. Sijan's extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty at the cost of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces."

Captain Lance Peter Sijan Memorial at the USAF Academy.

Below you will find a short video about Capt. Sijan - Just Click On The Image To PLay The Video.

U.S. Air Force Portraits in Courage - Unbroken Will - The Capt. Lance P. Sijan Story

Armstrong is presumed dead, but his remains have yet to be recovered. He is listed among those Missing in Action. Capt. Sijan is buried in the Arlington Park Cemetery, Greenfield, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of aviation. If you enjoyed this trip, and if you are new to this newsletter, sign up to receive your own weekly newsletter here: Subscribe here!

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!