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Name: Stephen Howard Cuthbert Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force Unit: 13th TFS Date of Birth: 19 June 1943 Home City of Record: Oakland CA Date of Loss: 03 July 1972 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 180720N 1054347E (WF778023) Status (In 1973): Missing In Action Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4E Other Personnel In Incident: Marion "Tony" Marshall (Returned 1973) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1991 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK.UPDATE: Remains Returned September 1990
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and high altitudes. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around. The F4J fighter plane piloted by Stephen Cuthbert and navigated by Marion "Tony" Marshall was shot down on July 3, 1972, 70 miles northwest of Dong Hoi in North Vietnam. A September 1972 Radio Hanoi broadcast stated that the North Vietnamese had captured Capt. Marshall and mentioned the pilot, Cuthbert, by name. Marshall was taken prisoner and subsequently released in the spring of 1973. He maintains that he never revealed the correct name of his pilot, although just one week before he was to be released, Marshall's Vietnamese captors returned his personal belongings to him, and included Cuthbert's custom-made wedding band. The Vietnamese deny any knowledge of Cuthbert. They maintain that to "discover" additional information on Americans, they must have increased "cooperation" from the United States so that their people will perceive "good will." Cuthbert is one of nearly 2500 Americans lost in Southeast Asia, and only one of many about whom the Vietnamese have certain knowledge which they are withholding. Stephen H. Cuthbert was promoted to the rank of Major during the period he was maintained Missing in Action. On December 20, 1990, the U.S. announced that remains returned by the Vietnamese the previous September had been positively identified as those of Stephen H. Cuthbert.