RUSSELL PETER BOTT
E6/US Army Special Forces
Date of Loss: 02 December 1966

Name: Russell Peter Bott
Rank/Branch: E6/US Army Special Forces
Unit: Detatchment B-52 DELTA, 5th Special Forces Group
Date of Birth: 05 September 1936 (North Easton MA)
Home City of Record: Worchester MA
Date of Loss: 02 December 1966
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 165048N 1063158E (XD634633)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground

Other Personnel In Incident:
Willie E. Stark (missing with Bott)
Daniel Sulander
Irby Dyer (missing from UH1D exfiltration aircraft)

SYNOPSIS

In late November 1966, Russell Bott and Willie Stark were inserted about 1 1/2 miles into Laos west of the DMZ along with a number of Vietnamese Special Forces (LLDB) "strikers". The team, a long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP), was soon discovered by a superior North Vietnamese force, members of the 325B NVA Division. A two day running battle ensued.

Near the end, Bott radioed that he was down to one grenade ond one magazine of ammunition. He also stated that several of the Vietnamese members of his team were dead or wounded. Willie Stark was wounded in the chest and leg, but was alive. Bott requested exfiltration at that time. He refused to leave his wounded teammate to seek safety, and in his last radio message, Bott indicated that he was going to destroy his radio, that he felt capture was imminent.

Two gunships working the area were hit by enemy fire. Also, the exfiltration helicopter from 281st Assault Helicopter Company was hit, and crashed and burned, killing the crew of four and Irby Dyer, a medic from Det. B-52 Delta who had gone in to help treat the wounded. The wreckage of the plane and all five remains were found in searches conducted December 10-13. The remains, which had been horribly mutilated by the enemy, were left at the site. When a team returned to recover the remains, U.S. bombing and strafing activities had destroyed them further. The identifiable remains of three of the crew were recovered, but those of Daniel Sulander and Irby Dyer were not.

Searches for Bott and Stark were unsuccessful. Vietnamese team members who evaded capture reported that they had heard North Vietnamese soldiers say, "Here you are! We've been looking for you! Tie his hands, we'll take him this way."

Sgt. First Class Norman Doney, who was Operations Sergeant at that time at B-52 headquarters at Khe Sanh, overheard the Intelligence Sergeant on the "52 Desk" reviewing intelligence about Bott. Doney states that it was reported that Bott was seen with his arms tied behind his back going through a village, and that he was alive 3 days after he became missing.

PLEASE HELP

Bott, Dyer, Sulander and Stark are among nearly 600 Americans lost in
Laos during the Vietnam war. Although the Pathet Lao stated on several
occasions that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, not one man held in
Laos was ever released...or negotiated for. Dyer and Sulander died for their
country. Stark's fate is unknown. He may have died from his wounds or
survived to be captured. Bott, at least, could be one of the hundreds of
Americans experts believe to be alive today. He was loyal to his comrades and to
his country. If he is alive, what must he be thinking of us?

The need to get specific answers is more important now than ever before.
If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70s...They don't have much
time left. We have to demand the answers from the bureaucrats and keep
standing on their necks (figuratively speaking) until they get the
message that THEY work for US and that we are serious about getting
these long overdue responses. Diplomatic considerations aside...
We can no longer allow questionable protocols established by
pseudo-aristocratic armchair strategists, to determine or influence the
fate of the men who were in the trenches while the diplomats were
sharing sherry and canapes and talking about "Their Plans" for the
future of SE Asia.