This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Sgt Gregory Erickson (Greg)
to remember
Marine Col Lewis Herbert Abrams.
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Montclair, NJ
Last Address Montclair
Casualty Date Nov 25, 1967
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Vietnam, North (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates 30E 083 / Section 64 Site 7138
On 25 Nov 1967 Lt Col Lewis H. Abrams and bombardier-navigator 1st Lt Robert E. Holdeman departed Danang Air Base in A-6A BuNo 152612 on a night strike against the Kien An airfield near Haiphong in North Vietnam. Radar and radio contact with Abrams was lost in the vicinity of Haiphong, and Peking radio later reported that a US aircraft had been shot down that night. The two crewmen were classed as Missing in Action, and in 1978 the Secretary of the Navy approved Presumptive Findings of Death for both men.
Nothing was learned of Abrams and Holdeman for 21 years. In 1988, the SRV repatriated what they believed to be the remains of U.S. service personnel lost during the Vietnam War. Included in the remains was a military identification card fragment with what appeared to be the name Abrams. In 1993 and 1995, joint U.S. and Vietnamese teams investigated and excavated a crash site in Hai Phong Province, recovering aircraft wreckage from BuNo 152612, aircrew equipment, and fragmentary remains. The remains were repatriated on 11 April 1995 and the positive identification of both Colonel Abrams and Captain Holdeman was announced on 16 Jun 1997.
On June 16, 1997, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Lewis Herbert Abrams, missing from the Vietnam War.
Colonel Abrams entered the U.S. Marine Corps from New Jersey and served with Marine All Weather Attack Squadron 242, Marine Air Group 11, 1st Marine Air Wing. On November 25, 1967, he piloted an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 15-2612, call sign "Packard") on a night bombing mission against the Kien An Airfield, Haiphong, North Vietnam. During the mission, the aircraft was shot down near Haiphong, killing Col Abrams, and his remains were not recovered at the time. Between 1990 and 1995, joint U.S/Vietnamese investigative teams traveled to Hai Phong Province and recovered human remains from a site associated with this loss; in 1997, U.S. analysts identified Col Abrams from these remains.
Colonel Abrams is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Comments/Citation:
Name of Award
Navy Cross
Year Awarded
1967
Details behind Award:
Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Colonel [then Lieutenant Colonel ] Lewis Herbert Abrams (MCSN: 0-53788), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of Marine All Weather Attack Squadron TWO HUNDRED FORTY-TWO (VMA(AW)-242), First Marine Aircraft Wing, and as Pilot of an A6A Intruder aircraft in Vietnam. In the early morning hours of 25 October 1967, Colonel Abrams, in the first Marine aircraft to strike at the heart of North Vietnam's Air Force, exhibited outstanding courage and presence of mind in the midst of violent combat action as he successfully completed a high-priority mission by bombing the principal military airfield in North Vietnam. A highly effective integrated complex of hundreds of radar-controlled anti-aircraft weapons, barrage weapons with steel cables extending hundreds of feet into the air, two enemy airfields with MIG interceptor aircraft, and many active surface-to-air missile sites protected every approach to his target. Acting on an urgent fragmentary order, Colonel Abrams personally took charge of the preparations for a multi-plane, multi-squadron attack against the formidably defended Phuc Yen airfield. Barely six hours before takeoff time another fragmentary order was received, modifying the previous plan and requiring Colonel Abrams to make extensive last-minute changes in navigation and attack procedures, which allowed no margin for error. With grim determination, he promptly made corrections in heading, altitude, and airspeed and accurately delivered his bombs on the runway at Phuc Yen. Under the most demanding conditions of degraded systems operation, low-level flight in mountainous terrain in darkness, and in the face of a vicious volume of anti-aircraft and guided missile fire, Colonel Abrams courageously accomplished his mission of devastating the runway at Phuc Yen. His bravery and determination throughout the bitter action were an inspiration to all who were involved and were instrumental in accomplishing this crucial mission. By his intrepid fighting spirit, daring initiative, and unswerving devotion to duty, Colonel Abrams reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Marine Corps and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
General Orders: Authority: Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals
Action Date: October 25, 1967
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: Colonel
Company: All Weather Attack Squadron 242 (VMA(AW)-242)
Division: 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
Description Korea, Summer 1953, 1 May - 27 July 1953. There was little activity anywhere along the front as 1953 began. Then, as spring approached, the enemy renewed his attacks against the Eighth Army 's outpost line. By July these attacks had increased in frequency and intensity until they were nearly as heavy as those of May 1951.
In January 1953 Van Fleet had twelve South Korean and eight U.N. divisions to defend the army front. Total strength of combat, service, and security troops was nearly 768,000. Opposing the U.N. forces were seven Chinese armies and two North Korean corps, totaling about 270, 000 troops. Another 531,000 Chinese and North Korean troops remained in reserve. With service and security forces, total enemy strength in Korea was estimated at more than a million men.
Other than a few patrol clashes, little fighting occurred during January and February 1953. On 11 February Lt. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor took command of the Eighth Army as Van Fleet returned to the United States for retirement. The enemy increased his attacks during March, striking at outposts of the 2d and 7th Divisions and the 1st Marine Regiment. During the period 9-10 March the Chinese were successful in ambushing several U.N. patrols, inflicting heavy casualties in each instance. After these flare-ups the front quieted down until late May, when the enemy struck at the outposts of the U.S. 25th Division that were guarding the approaches to the Eighth Army's western positions. Although the enemy was successful in occupying three of the division outposts, he suffered nearly 3,200 casualties.
On the night of 10 June three Chinese divisions struck the ROK II Corps in the vicinity of Kumsong, attacking down both sides of the Pukhan River. Several attacks forced these units to withdraw about two miles. Both sides lost heavily; the Chinese suffered about 6,000 casualties and the ROK units about 7,400. By 18 June the attacks had subsided. By the end of the month, action along the entire front had returned to routine patrolling and light attacks.
Operation LITTLE SWITCH, an exchange of Allied and Communist sick and wounded prisoners, began on 20 April. When it was completed in the latter part of the month, 684 Allied prisoners had been exchanged for more than 6,000 Communists.
Armistice negotiations were resumed in April. The prisoner-of-war question was settled by providing each side an opportunity to persuade those captives who refused repatriation to their homeland to change their minds. By 18 June the terms of the armistice were all but complete; but on this date President Syngman Rhee ordered the release of 27,000 anti-Communist North Korean prisoners of war unilaterally, in protest against armistice terms which left Korea divided. U.N. officials disclaimed any responsibility for this action; but the enemy delegates denounced it as a serious breach of faith and delayed the final armistice agreement for another month. Enemy forces took advantage of this delay. On 13 July the Chinese launched a three-division attack against the left flank of the ROK II Corps and a one-division attack against the right flank of the U.S. IX Corps, forcing U.N. forces to withdraw about eight miles to positions below the Kumsong River. By 20 July, however, U.N. forces had counterattacked, retaken the high ground along the Kumsong River, and established a new main line of resistance. No attempt was made to restore the original line, as it was believed that the armistice would be signed at any time. Enemy casualties in July totaled about 72,000 men. Out of the five Chinese armies that had been identified in the attacks, the enemy had lost the equivalent of seven divisions.
By 19 July the negotiators at Panmunjom had reached an accord on all points. Details were worked out within a week and the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed at 1000 hours 27 July 1953.