Remains of Green Beret missing since 1971 to be buried in Texas

The remains of a Green Beret from Texas who was missing in action since 1971 have been recovered and a service will be held Friday for the Vietnam War veteran. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Monday announced the remains of 32-year-old Army Maj. Donald G. Carr of San Antonio are being returned to his family. Burial will be at San Antonio National Cemetery, on May 1th. .

Records show Carr on July 6, 1971, was on a reconnaissance flight when the plane crashed during bad weather. A ground team failed to immediately locate the crash site. Carr was declared missing in action.

The narrative below is from the POW Network

On July 6, 1971, U.S. Army Capt. Donald G. "Butch" Carr, while assigned to the Mobile Launch Team 3, 5th Special Forces Group, was serving as an aerial observer aboard an Air Force OV10A Bronco aircraft flown by U.S. Air Force Lt. Daniel W. Thomas when the aircraft disappeared 15 miles inside Laos west of Ben Het. The aircraft had been on a visual reconnaissance mission over central Laos when it was lost. Thomas' plane was detailed out of the 23rd Tactical Aerial Surveillance Squadron and bore the tail number of 67-14634.

The Bronco was among the aircraft most feared by the Viet Cong and NVA forces, because whenever the Bronco appeared overhead, an air strike seemed certain to follow. Although the glassed-in cabin could become uncomfortably warm, it provided splendid visibility. The two-man crew had armor protection and could use machine guns and bombs to attack, as well as rockets to mark targets for fighter bombers. This versatility enabled the plane to fly armed reconnaissance missions, in addition to serving as vehicle for forward air controllers.

At 1530 hours, Thomas radioed to the Army support facility that he was in his target area, but that he was unable to observe because of weather conditions. This was his last known radio contact. Thomas and Carr were due to depart the area at 1700 hours, and should have radioed then. Search efforts were conducted through July 10, with no results.

A ground reconnaissance team later reported hearing an impact or explosion at 1600 hours on July 6 in their vicinity, but they did not report seeing the aircraft.

A source reported that in early July 1971, he had seen an American POW in that area. The source learned from a guard that the POW was a pilot of an OV10 that had been downed a week prior. This information was thought to possibly correlate to either Carr or Thomas. Carr and Thomas became two of nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos during the Vietnam War. Although Pathet Lao leaders stressed that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, no American held in Laos was ever released. In America's haste to leave Southeast Asia, it abandoned some of its finest men. Since the end of the war, thousands of reports have been received indicating that hundreds of Americans are still held captive.

In April 2014, a Vietnamese citizen contacted U.S. officials about possible American remains found in Kon Tum Province. The wreckage yielded personal items from Carr, who also was identified through DNA.

Article from the Army Times