SYNOPSIS: The USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA 31) saw early Vietnam war action. A 
World War II Essex-class carrier, she was on station participating in combat 
action against the Communists as early as August 1964. Her aircraft carried the 
first Walleye missiles when they were introduced in 1967. In November 1970, the 
"Bonnie Dick" completed its sixth combat deployment and was scheduled for 
decommissioning by mid-1971. 

One of the aircraft that launched from the decks of the BON HOMME RICHARD was 
the Douglas Aircraft A4 Skyhawk. The Skyhawk was intended to provide the Navy 
and Marine Corps with an inexpensive, lightweight attack and ground support 
aircraft. The design emphasized low-speed control and stability during take-off 
and landing as well as strength enough for catapult launch and carrier landings. 
The plane was so compact that it did not need folding wings for aboardship 
storage and handling. In spite of its diminutive size, the A4 packed a 
devastating punch and performed well where speed and maneuverability were 
essential. 

The Spirits of VA76, assigned to Air Wing 21, reached the coastal waters of 
Vietnam in January 1967. As the monsoon season faded, the air war's intensity 
rapidly ballooned and sites in North Vietnam that previously had been off-limits 
were opened up for U.S. air strikes. 

CDR Kenneth R. Cameron was a Skyhawk pilot and the executive officer of Attack 
Squadron 76 onboard the BON HOMME RICHARD. On May 18, 1967, he launched in his 
A4C on a mission near the city of Vinh in Nghe An Province, North Vietnam. 
During the mission, as he was about 5 miles north of the city, Cameron's 
aircraft was shot down. Cameron ejected from the aircraft and was captured. 

Cameron spent the next three years and five months in captivity, at which time, 
according to the Vietnamese, he died in captivity.* It was another four years 
before the Vietnamese returned his remains to U.S. control. 

For Kenneth R. Cameron, death is a certainty. For hundreds of others, however, 
simple answers are not possible. Adding to the torment of nearly 10,000 reports 
relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia is the certain knowledge that 
some Americans who were known to be prisoners of war were not released at the 
end of the war. Others were suspected to be prisoners, and still others were in 
radio contact with would-be rescuers when last seen alive. Many were known to 
have survived their loss incidents, only to disappear without a trace. 

The problem of Americans still missing torments not only the families of those 
who are missing, but the men who fought by their sides, and those in the 
general public who realize the full implication of leaving men unaccounted for 
at the end of a war. 

Tragically, many authorities believe there are hundreds of Americans still 
alive in captivity in Southeast Asia today. What must they be thinking of us? 
What will our next generation say if called to fight if we are unable to bring 
these men home from Southeast Asia? 

* DIA Homecoming (Egress Report) 24 April 1973 quotes several returnees saying 
that Cameron was with them until Dec 1969. He was in extremely poor physical 
and mental health shape. When a large group of POWs were to be moved from 
Heartbreak to another part of Ha Lo in 1970, they were told Cameron was in 
the hospital.