Samuel Fantle

19 Nov 1939 - 5 Jan 1968

• BIRTH: 19 Nov 1939, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
• DEATH: 5 Jan 1968, North Vietnam

• MARRIAGE: 5 Feb 1962, Waldorf-Astoria, Houston, Texas, USA

1.  Gregory Fantle
2.  Melissa Ann Fantle

                                             _Charles Fantle _____+
                                            | (1833 - 1908) m 1862
                       _Samuel Fantle ______|
                      | (1865 - 1935) m 1912|
                      |                     |_Regina Gregor ______+
                      |                       (1842 - 1919) m 1862
 _Samuel J. Fantle ___|
| (1913 - 1986) m 1935|
|                     |                      _____________________
|                     |                     |                     
|                     |_Helen Cohen ________|
|                       (1875 - 1929) m 1912|
|                                           |_____________________
|                                                                 
|
|--Samuel Fantle 
|  (1939 - 1968)
|                                            _____________________
|                                           |                     
|                      _Meyer Nachlas ______|
|                     | (1880 - ....) m 1908|
|                     |                     |_____________________
|                     |                                           
|_Evelyn Nachlas _____|
  (1917 - ....) m 1935|
                      |                      _____________________
                      |                     |                     
                      |_Rose _______________|
                        (1888 - ....) m 1908|
                                            |_____________________
                                                                  

[8654]
FANTLE, SAMUEL III
Remains Returned 770930

Name: Samuel Fantle III
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 357th Tactical fighter Squadron, Takhli
Date of Birth: 19 November 1939
Home City of Record: Sioux Falls SD
Date of Loss: 05 January 1968
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 213300N 1060327E (XJ061841)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105F
Refno: 0969

Other Personnel in Incident: James C. Hartney (remains returned)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 1998.

REMARKS: CHUTES BEEPERS - 1 SEEN ON GRND

SYNOPSIS: The F105 Thunderchief ("Thud"), in its various versions, flew more
missions against North Vietnam than any other U.S. aircraft. It also
suffered more losses, partially due to its vulnerability, which was
constantly under revision. Between 1965 and 1971, the aircraft was equipped
with armor plate, a secondary flight control system, an improved pilot
ejection seat, a more precise navigation system, better blind bombing
capability and ECM pods for the wings. While the D version was a
single-place aircraft, the F model carried a second crewman which made it
well suited for the role of suppressing North Vietnam's missile defenses.

Eighty-six F-105Ds fitted with radar homing and warning gear formed the
backbone of the Wild Weasel program, initiated in 1965 to improve the Air
Force's electronic warfare capability. Upon pinpointing the radar at a
missile site, the Wild Weasel attacked with Shrike missiles that homed on
radar emissions. The versatile aircraft was also credited with downing 25
Russian MiGs. Thirteen of these modified F's were sent to Southeast Asia in
1966.

Major James C. Hartney, pilot, and Capt. Samuel Fantle III, co-pilot, were
dispatched in their F105F on a combat mission over North Vietnam on January
5, 1968. They were the lead plane in a flight of four, and their mission
took them over the Hanoi region.

At a point about 35 miles northeast of Hanoi, near the Kep Airfield, (at
about the border of Lang Son, Ha Bac and Vinh Phu Provinces), Maj. Hartney's
aircraft was struck in the left wing by hostile fire from a MiG17, causing
the plane to go out of control and forcing the crew to eject. Aircrew in the
area picked up the beeper signals from two emergency radios. (Note: Some
accounts say that only one beeper was heard.) The wingman saw Fantle landing
on the ground, and Hartney about to land, but no voice contact was made with
them. Intense hostilities prevented rescue.

In July 1969, Sam Fantle's parents requested George McGovern meet with North
Vietnam's Xuan Oanlt in Paris. Word came back to them from the Vietnamese
that Sam had hit a rock on bailout, but no word was given on Jim Hartney,
who had landed right beside Jim. The North Vietnamese gave Sam's parents the
aircraft ID number, Jim's serial number, and the time and date of shootdown.

Samuel Fantle, the first to eject from the aircraft, was classified Prisoner
of War, then later Killed in Captivity. Hartney, for unknown reasons, was
not declared prisoner of war, but Missing in Action. It cannot be determined
why two individuals landing side by side were not classified the same.

When the war ended, neither Fantle nor Hartney were released as prisoners.
It was over four years later when the Vietnamese "discovered" the remains of
Samuel Fantle III and returned them to U.S. control. It was at this time
that U.S. agencies initiated a "Special Change" notation on Hartney's
records with no further explanation. (NOTE: As most POW/MIA cases contain
classified portions or are entirely classified, and ALL are unavailable to
the public in any detail, it cannot be determined what the "Special Change"
notation means in this incident.)

Since the war ended, reports continued to mount related to Americans
prisoner, missing, or otherwise unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. By 1989,
nearly 10,000 reports had accumulated, convincing many authorities that
hundreds of Americans were still alive in captivity in Southeast Asia.

Eleven years after his backseater's remains were returned, Hartney's remains
also were returned by the Vietnamese. On November 20, 1989, the U.S.
announced that a positive identification had been made of these remains. At
last Hartney's family could begin their grieving process, no longer were
tortured by the thought that he could be among those thought to be still
alive.

For thousands of other families, however, the wait continues. It's long past
time we brought all our men home from Vietnam.


-------------------------------------------------------------------


Samuel Fantle III
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minnehaha County
November 19, 1939 -- January 5, 1968
Killed in Action in North Vietnam

Samuel Fantle III was born November 19, 1939, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Samuel Jr. and Evelyn (Mochlas) Fantle. He had three siblings: Stephanie, Steve, and Susan. The family owned, among other successful business ventures, a chain of department stores in the Midwest. Samuel attended grade school in Sioux Falls and graduated from Washington High School in 1957. Among his high school activities, Sam was a straight- A student, active in Science Club, Pep Club, Boy's State, chorus (including All-State) Spanish, track, debate, and was student manager in football. In addition to being a "handsome, popular boy" he was described as a "big, strong guy," who stood 6'4. Samuel attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He went on to finish his degree at the University of Ohio with a degree in applied mathematics.

Samuel Fantle III first entered the service in September 30, 1960, at Harlingen Air Force Base, Texas. Although he wanted to be a pilot, his asthma, his height, and his superior educational background were factors in his placement as a radar interceptor operator instead. On February 5, 1962, in Houston, Texas, at the Houston Waldorf-Astoria, Samuel married his wife, Mary Louise, whom he had met while he was in flight school. Later Samuel and Mary had two children, Gregory and Melissa. In December 1965, the Air Force approved orders for Sam to attend Stanford University to obtain a Ph.D. in applied mathematics. Samuel, Louise and son Greg were in the process of moving to California when Sam received a temporary reassignment to go to Vietnam to fly the "100" missions requirement. They were redirected to go to Nellis AFB at Las Vegas, NV where Samuel trained for his war mission. Greg was three when his father was first sent overseas to Takhli AB, Thailand in May 13, 1966. In 1967, Louise went into labor with Melissa; while she was at the hospital, a category-5 hurricane, Beulah, destroyed their home. Louise, Greg, and newborn Melissa had no possessions until the Red Cross provided some relief. Shortly afterward, Samuel came back on leave and bought a house for his family in Alamo, Texas.

Stationed in Thailand as an Electronics Warfare Officer in the U.S. Air Force, 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Captain Fantle flew aboard an F-105 "Thud" Thunderchief. Called the Wild Weasels, these two-seater aircrafts' job "was to precede a strike force into the target area, entice enemy surface-to-air missile and antiaircraft radars to come on the air, and knock them out with bombs or with missiles that homed on the radar's emissions. Often they were in a high-threat area for half an hour while the strike force attacked its targets and withdrew," according to the Air Force Magazine Online.

The following details about Captain Fantle's death were at www.pownetwork.org. On January 5, 1968, Captain Samuel Fantle III, co-pilot of an F-105, went on a combat mission over North Vietnam from the Air Force Base at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base. As the lead plane of four, "at about 35 miles northeast of Hanoi" Fantle's plane was hit by enemy fire "causing the plane to go out of control and forcing the crew to eject." A witness saw Samuel landing but "intense hostilities prevented rescue." At that time, he was officially listed as missing in action and his family was notified.

This was Samuel's 99th mission and he was set to rotate back to the United States and his family after his 100th. His wife, Louise, remembers clearly the day the three military men drove up to her house. Since they were not living close to the Air Force base, she also knew immediately why they were there. After a long period of waiting, when no further word was received, in January of 1969, Samuel's parents asked Senator McGovern to meet with North Vietnamese officials who claimed Samuel had "hit a rock on bailout." Although other plausible scenarios exist as to the fate of Captain Fantle, the official record states that he was considered missing in action until December 9, 1969, "the date on which evidence received in the Department of the Air Force was considered sufficient to conclusively establish the death." Sometimes after the war was over, Samuel's remains were "discovered" and returned to U.S. authorities. He was buried with military honors at the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1976.