Contributed by Dave Giboo.
With May here, most of us begin thinking about our plans for the summer. Whether it involves a well-deserved trip, home & garden projects or just a reprieve from shoveling snow May signifies the beginning of an inviting summer season. However, May also signals a time of reflection and remembrance for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, of course I am speaking of Memorial Day.
The concept of a day used to pay tribute to fallen soldiers came after the end of the Civil War and was originally known as Decoration Day. In 1971 it became an official Federal holiday now known as Memorial Day. I would like to tell you about one of these brave individuals we remember, from a single day operation that is rarely remembered by most.
In the spring of 1986, I was a young Air Force airman at Pope AFB in North Carolina. Pope was attached to Fort Bragg, one of the Army’s largest units. The mission at Pope was simple, deliver the 82nd Airborne worldwide. Shortly after the new year began, it was easy to see that something was about to happen, normal flight operations had noticeably changed, a story in itself. The night of April 14, 1986, my wife and I were in our apartment in Fayetteville when a special news bulletin interrupted whatever show we were watching. President Reagan addressed the nation, U.S. Forces had just struck Libya
In the months leading to the strike, terrorist activity had increased, mainly in Europe and increasingly targeting American military personnel and establishments they frequented. In March, the U.S. Navy retaliated against Libyan forces after they launched surface to air missiles (SAM) at naval aircraft. In April, a bomb went off on a TWA flight over Greece killing four onboard (fortunately the plane landed safely), then the final straw came when a bomb exploded at La Belle Discotheque in West Berlin on April 5th killing one U.S. soldier and wounding more than 200 others. In his address, President Reagan stated that the United States had “direct, precise and irrefutable” evidence of Libyan involvement.
Operation El Dorado Canyon was approved to respond to Libyan involvement in these and other terrorist activities. The plan involved F-111F fighter-bombers from RAF Lakenheath and EF-111 electronic warfare planes from RAF Upper Heyford along with a fleet of KC-10 and KC-135 aerial refueling planes from various locations. Additionally, two Navy aircraft carriers, the USS Coral Sea and the USS America, would also launch A-6E, F/A-18 and A7 strike aircraft. The Air Force contingent was to target sites in and near the capital of Tripoli while the Navy assets targeted sites to the east in Benghazi.
One of the F-111F aircrews on this grueling 6400-mile round trip mission (France and Spain refused U.S. requests to enter their airspace) from RAF Lakenheath was piloted by Capt. Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci along with his Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) Capt. Paul F. Lorence, their call sign was Karma-52. During the approximately 11-minute mission over Libyan airspace other pilots in the area reported seeing a fireball in the sky that then crashed into the sea, the belief was that one of the U.S. warplanes had been hit by Libyan SAMs.
Once the operations had been completed all aircraft began forming to return to their respective groups, it was then confirmed that one F-111F had not rejoined their group as planned. The Navy immediately began a search and rescue mission to retrieve the downed pilots, but their efforts did not turn up anything, the mission was later called off. Days after the mission, Libya claimed to have recovered the bodies affiliated with the fallen aircraft. Footage from Libyan television appeared to show some items that had washed up onshore included a helmet clearly showing the name “LORENCE” on it. Almost three years later, under pressure from both the U.S. government and the Vatican, Libya released the remains of one of the lost airmen. Autopsy results confirmed that it was the pilot Capt. Ribas-Dominicci.
As we near the 37th anniversary of Operation El Dorado Canyon Capt. Paul F. Lorence remains the only serviceman still unaccounted for from this mission. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Capt. Lorence is still listed among the more than 81,000 Americans missing since World War II (including 108 Coloradans).
By now you may be asking yourselves why am I highlighting this one serviceman out of all that are still unaccounted for? First, I am not related to nor ever met Capt. Lorence. However, as I mentioned at the beginning, I was in the Air Force stationed in North Carolina when this particular mission took place but a couple months later, I received orders to be reassigned, to RAF Lakenheath, home base for Capt. Lorence where he and Capt. Ribas-Dominicci departed, and never returned. A few months after arriving at Lakenheath they held a briefing open to only those with a high enough security clearance to which I was able to attend. There I met people that planned, supported, and even flew the mission and heard not only unknown facts about the operation but firsthand stories from some that in fact flew the mission. In my job as a Fuels Specialist, I worked with people that were there in support leading up to the departure of the aircraft involved and of course many other people directly and indirectly involved in other capacities. Needless to say, this little-known chapter in history left an indelible mark and remains a prominent memory today. Recently I followed the lead of one of my supervisors at Lakenheath who wears a POW/MIA bracelet to remember another fallen servicemember and had one made to honor and memorialize Capt. Lorence.
In closing, when Memorial Day comes, I ask that among your other activities that you consider taking a moment (traditionally at 3 PM) to think about all those still missing. Until they all come home.
Thank you.
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