The United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron Blue Angels remembered the loss of their former flight leader 50 years ago. CDR Harley Hall was shot down over South Vietnam on the last day of the war.
CDR Hall and his Radio Intercept Officer (RIO) LCDR Philip A. Kientzler catapulted off the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise on 27 January, 1973. Flying over the Quang Tri Province, their F-4J Phantom took heavy anti-aircraft fire. Hall attempted to fly the damaged aircraft towards the sea but when the engine caught fire, the two men were forced to eject over territory controlled by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army.
Their wingman, Lt. Terry Heath, saw both men land safely and escape into the jungle. Emergency beepers were heard throughout the night but there was no radio contact and the search was called off.
North Vietnam notified U.S. officials that the RIO had been captured but Hall’s fate was unclear. Kientzler, told by his captors that Hall was killed and buried in a trench grave, was returned during Operation Homecoming (February-April 1973), but Hall’s name was missing from Hanoi’s official records.
Kientzler recalled that both men safely ejected and landed in a clearing about 100 yards apart. Kientzler, wounded by heavy ground fire, noted that Hall seemed uninjured as they ran towards the jungle for cover.
The Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency had intercepted North Vietnamese radio transmissions that confirmed Hall’s capture.
He had been transferred to the custody of two different brigades while enroute to Hanoi where he may have been interrogated by the KGB, and paraded through the streets as “the famous Blue Angel”.
Hall was well-known as the Blue Angels had completed an Asian tour before he was deployed to Vietnam as the Executive Officer of fighter squadron VF-143 aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Seen in this image (L), Hall poses with children while on tour of the Philippines.
Initially, Hall was listed by the Department of Defense as Missing in Action. However, due to the compiled intelligence, his status was changed to Prisoner of War, and he was retroactively promoted to the rank of Captain.
In 1980, Hall’s status was changed to “presumed” Killed in Action.
In 1993, Hanoi returned three teeth and bone fragments that were identified as the remains of CDR Hall.
Mary Lou Hall, Harley’s wife, insisted that the partial remains were not evidence that her husband was deceased. Examination by an independent forensics expert suggested that the last POW of the Vietnam War may have lived in captivity for years after his capture.
In honor of CDR Hall and his family, the Blue Angels invited Harley Hall II to fly along with Blue Angel #7 LCDR Thomas Zimmerman.
Acknowledgements: Images courtesy of United States Navy Blue Angels and United States Department of Defense
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