Today, Memorial Day 2017, I have the honor of writing about a brave airman who hails from my own home town, Gatesville, TX.
William Elmo Powell was born in Gatesville on December 10, 1942. His parents were Charles and Tincy Powell, and his brother was Charles Powell, Jr. I was too young to really know that much about "Elmo" Powell when I resided in Gatesville. It was actually when I attended Kendrick Elementary in Waco that I came to "know" Elmo Powell. Of course I, and pretty much everyone who lived in Gatesville, knew the "Powell Family." Powell Supply and other enterprises were prominent features of Gatesville many years.
I first learned of Elmo Powell when the Kendrick Elementary School music teacher, Mrs. Nadine Baldwin, "introduced" him to me, and the rest of my class, I think in 1971 or 1972. That year (I was in fourth grade, I believe) on the first day of school, Mrs. Baldwin asked each one of us to introduce ourselves and tell where we were from, etc. Upon learning I was from Gatesville, Mrs. Baldwin showed me a peculiar bracelet she was wearing and told me it was a "hope" bracelet or some similar term. The bracelet bore the name Elmo Powell, and the date, August 17, 1968.
Although I did not know (or at least remember) Elmo Powell, I did indeed know members of the Powell family. Mrs. Baldwin explained that she had "adopted" Capt. Elmo Powell is "her" Missing In Action (MIA) soldier. It was during this conversation that I came to know Elmo Powell. Capt. Powell piloted an F-4D Phantom jet, and was the leader of a two-person crew. His navigator/weapons officer was Arthur Hoffson. As Capt. (then 1st Lieutenant) Powell and Hoffson flew in their 96th combat mission, their jet was struck by enemy fire over North Vietnam. Hoffson ejected first. Capt. Powell was supposed to eject next, Hoffson said, but the aircraft took more hits and he did not believe Powell was able to perform the ejection operation. Hoffson watched helplessly as the jet crashed a few minutes later. Hoffson himself barely survived, as soldiers on the ground began firing into his parachute. Hoffson was not hit, but spent the next five years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.
In 1973, Hoffson was released, along with (allegedly) all other American prisoners of war. Hoffson later told American officials that Powell had not been able to eject, but because his body was not found, nor was he listed as a prisoner of war by the Vietnamese, Powell was officially listed as MIA. Mrs. Baldwin took up Captain Powell's cause, and after "adopting" him, was never without his bracelet, even after the war ended. I learned that Mrs. Baldwin was actually a member of a "Peace Delegation" that was instrumental in both ending the Vietnam "Conflict" and holding the North Vietnamese officials accountable for their part of the Peace Accords, that being the full disclosure of all prisoners of war and their locations, as well as the names and locations of American soldiers who had been killed in the fighting and buried, whether in North Vietnam or in South Vietnam.
The North Vietnamese denied any knowledge of Capt. Powell, although both they and American forces had confirmed that exact location where the F-4D had crashed. Post-war searches in the area failed to turn up the Captain's body, which implied that he had not died in the crash, or, if he had indeed died in the crash, his body had been removed and evacuated from the crash site. Either way, it was obvious that North Vietnamese officials should have known the whereabouts of Capt. Powell. But they claimed they did not, and the years dragged on.
The Vietnamese government (North and South were now a unified nation) was well-known for releasing information or even remains of American dead when it was most politically expedient, such as in "bargaining chips" to help move the United States toward normalizing relations with that nation. So every few years the Vietnamese government would announce that more remains of American soldiers had been "discovered." It was not until 1985 that one such "discovery" was identified via DNA tests as positively being the remains of Capt. William Elmo Powell. At last Captain Powell could be returned. His remains were buried in Gatesville, Texas at Restland Cemetery, with full military honors. In the years between the crash and Hoffson's release, both Elmo Powell and Arthur Hoffson were promoted to captains. A headstone at Restland Cemetery and a plaque at Texas Christian University (Elmo Powell completed ROTC there) honor William Elmo Powell as Captain Powell.
It is my great privilege to honor Captain William Elmo Powell here in my humble blog, to remember him and thank him for his service and sacrifice to and for this nation.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM ELMO POWELL
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
LAST MISSION: August 17, 1968
"You gave the last measure of full devotion."
Charles Powell, Jr. TCU - Nov. 12, 2005
William Elmo Powell was born in Gatesville on December 10, 1942. His parents were Charles and Tincy Powell, and his brother was Charles Powell, Jr. I was too young to really know that much about "Elmo" Powell when I resided in Gatesville. It was actually when I attended Kendrick Elementary in Waco that I came to "know" Elmo Powell. Of course I, and pretty much everyone who lived in Gatesville, knew the "Powell Family." Powell Supply and other enterprises were prominent features of Gatesville many years.
I first learned of Elmo Powell when the Kendrick Elementary School music teacher, Mrs. Nadine Baldwin, "introduced" him to me, and the rest of my class, I think in 1971 or 1972. That year (I was in fourth grade, I believe) on the first day of school, Mrs. Baldwin asked each one of us to introduce ourselves and tell where we were from, etc. Upon learning I was from Gatesville, Mrs. Baldwin showed me a peculiar bracelet she was wearing and told me it was a "hope" bracelet or some similar term. The bracelet bore the name Elmo Powell, and the date, August 17, 1968.
Although I did not know (or at least remember) Elmo Powell, I did indeed know members of the Powell family. Mrs. Baldwin explained that she had "adopted" Capt. Elmo Powell is "her" Missing In Action (MIA) soldier. It was during this conversation that I came to know Elmo Powell. Capt. Powell piloted an F-4D Phantom jet, and was the leader of a two-person crew. His navigator/weapons officer was Arthur Hoffson. As Capt. (then 1st Lieutenant) Powell and Hoffson flew in their 96th combat mission, their jet was struck by enemy fire over North Vietnam. Hoffson ejected first. Capt. Powell was supposed to eject next, Hoffson said, but the aircraft took more hits and he did not believe Powell was able to perform the ejection operation. Hoffson watched helplessly as the jet crashed a few minutes later. Hoffson himself barely survived, as soldiers on the ground began firing into his parachute. Hoffson was not hit, but spent the next five years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.
In 1973, Hoffson was released, along with (allegedly) all other American prisoners of war. Hoffson later told American officials that Powell had not been able to eject, but because his body was not found, nor was he listed as a prisoner of war by the Vietnamese, Powell was officially listed as MIA. Mrs. Baldwin took up Captain Powell's cause, and after "adopting" him, was never without his bracelet, even after the war ended. I learned that Mrs. Baldwin was actually a member of a "Peace Delegation" that was instrumental in both ending the Vietnam "Conflict" and holding the North Vietnamese officials accountable for their part of the Peace Accords, that being the full disclosure of all prisoners of war and their locations, as well as the names and locations of American soldiers who had been killed in the fighting and buried, whether in North Vietnam or in South Vietnam.
The North Vietnamese denied any knowledge of Capt. Powell, although both they and American forces had confirmed that exact location where the F-4D had crashed. Post-war searches in the area failed to turn up the Captain's body, which implied that he had not died in the crash, or, if he had indeed died in the crash, his body had been removed and evacuated from the crash site. Either way, it was obvious that North Vietnamese officials should have known the whereabouts of Capt. Powell. But they claimed they did not, and the years dragged on.
The Vietnamese government (North and South were now a unified nation) was well-known for releasing information or even remains of American dead when it was most politically expedient, such as in "bargaining chips" to help move the United States toward normalizing relations with that nation. So every few years the Vietnamese government would announce that more remains of American soldiers had been "discovered." It was not until 1985 that one such "discovery" was identified via DNA tests as positively being the remains of Capt. William Elmo Powell. At last Captain Powell could be returned. His remains were buried in Gatesville, Texas at Restland Cemetery, with full military honors. In the years between the crash and Hoffson's release, both Elmo Powell and Arthur Hoffson were promoted to captains. A headstone at Restland Cemetery and a plaque at Texas Christian University (Elmo Powell completed ROTC there) honor William Elmo Powell as Captain Powell.
It is my great privilege to honor Captain William Elmo Powell here in my humble blog, to remember him and thank him for his service and sacrifice to and for this nation.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM ELMO POWELL
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
LAST MISSION: August 17, 1968
"You gave the last measure of full devotion."
Charles Powell, Jr. TCU - Nov. 12, 2005
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