Melvin Ladewig
MBHS Class of 1962

Information Provided By Joyce O. Hale
Sept 12, 2015
 

Medal awarded 40 years after pilot’s death

A photo of former Englewood resident Melvin Ladewig soon after he received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He went to pilot training and was apparently shot down while flying a combat mission in 1968. On Veteran’s Day, his father received a Distinguished Flying Cross awarded to his son even though it came more than 40 years after Melvin’s death.

A photo of former Englewood resident Melvin Ladewig soon after he received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He went to pilot training and was apparently shot down while flying a combat mission in 1968. On Veteran’s Day, his father received a Distinguished Flying Cross awarded to his son even though it came more than 40 years after Melvin’s death.

Posted Friday, November 20, 2009

Englewood Herald

By Tom Munds

The final chapter of a long story was written on Veterans Day when Air Force Capt. Melvin Ladewig was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Vietnam Service Medal more than 40 years after his death.

The medal was authorized and awarded primarily due to the efforts of the Honoring Forgotten Heroes organization. The organization was formed in 1998 at Veterans of Foreign War Post 1 in Denver. The organization is dedicated to helping military men and women received the medals they earned but never were awarded.

The presentation to the Ladewig family was made as part of a Veterans Day ceremony held at an elementary school in Lakewood."It was an emotional time for our whole family," Earl Ladewig, Melvin’s dad, said of the medal ceremony. "I didn’t cry but there were tears in my eyes as I remembered my son and the sacrifice he made for his country. I have always been proud of him but this medal means I’m prouder than every because it tells me Melvin not only did his job but he did it exceptionally well."

Capt. Melvin Ladewig, was stationed with the 497 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Udorn, Thailand, in 1968 and was assigned to fly combat missions over Vietnam in his F-4 fighter-bomber. He had flown more than 40 missions successfully but, on Aug. 24. his plane didn’t return from a combat mission and he was declared missing in action.

Melvin continued to be listed as missing in action until 1975. That was when a review of records from a Vietnamese unit showed they had shot down an F-4 on the date Melvin’s plane failed to return from the mission. Based on that information, the government officially listed him as killed in action.

The family received all his records and, in the officers evaluation report written not long before he was shot down, his superior recommended he be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

There is no record of the reason for the recommendation but a Distinguished Flying Cross is only awarded to Air Force officers or enlisted personnel who distinguished themselves in actual combat in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement" while participating in an aerial flight.

Roy Ladewig, Melvin’s younger brother, said investigation of unit records showed the officer who wrote up the report was killed soon after he completed Melvin’s performance evaluation, so it is possible the medal recommendation was never forwarded through official channels.

"But, we felt that since his superior officer had planned to recommend Melvin for the medal he should receive it," Roy said. "My dad, my brothers and I kept trying to get members of the Colorado Congressional delegation to follow up on this but it never happened."

However, things changed when Roy was at the Memorial Day Parade in Denver earlier this year and met a man who was associated with the Honoring Forgotten Heroes organization.

The organization took up the issue and Earl Ladewig received the medals for his late son as part of a larger ceremony sponsored by VFW Post 1 and held at O’Connell Middle School in Lakewood.

The Ladewig family has a long history in Englewood. Earl Ladewig is a retired Air Force veteran and as a career airman, he and his family moved quite a bit. They were in the area in 1948 when Melvin was born and they lived in Englewood in the 1950s, when Melvin attended St Louis Catholic School. Last year, his St. Louis classmates dedicated their 50th reunion to Melvin’s memory. He also was recognized in 1976 when a freedom tree was planted in Cushing Park and a plaque in his memory was placed at the base of the tree.

He went on to graduate from Myrtle Beach High School, received a National Merit Scholarship and attended Georgia Tech University. Through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Georgia Tech, Melvin earned an Air Force commission and went on to become a pilot.

LADEWIG, MELVIN EARL Name: Melvin Earl Ladewig Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force Unit: 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron,

SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and high altitudes. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around. Maj. Charles H.W. Read Jr. was the pilot and 1Lt. Melvin E. Ladewig the Weapons Systems Officer onboard an F4D from the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Udorn, Thailand. On August 24, 1968, they were the crew of the number 2 aircraft in a flight of two assigned an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. As the flight was over Quang Binh province about 10 miles southwest of the city of Quang Khe, a bombing run was made and afterwards, Read's aircraft was seen as a large fireball on the ground by the pilots of the lead aircraft. They reported no radio contact with either pilot prior to the crash, nor did they see parachutes or hear any emergency radio beeper signals to indicate Read and Ladewig ejected from the aircraft prior to its crashing. However, Ladewig and Read were not declared dead, so the possibility existed that they safely left the aircraft. Both were listed Missing in Action.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The F4 Phantom II was an all-weather jet fighter/bomber which was frequently called upon to perform a variety of tasks to include air-to-air missions against hostile aircraft, air-to-ground strikes in support of friendly troops, "fast moving" forward air control for air and ground operations, photo reconnaissance and armed reconnaissance missions. Phantoms were flown by various services in Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1974, with the first US Air Force F4's arriving in 1966.

The North Vietnamese railroad system consisted of nine segments, the most important parts of which were north of the 20th parallel. Almost 80% of the major targets were in this area laced together by the rail system. The most important contribution of the system was to move the main fighting weapons from China to redistribution centers at Kep, Hanoi, Haiphong, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa and Dong Hoi. These supplies were further distributed by trucks and boats to designated collection points where porters carried the weapons, food and ammunition on their final leg into the acknowledged war zone.

When North Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before. This border road was used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle covered mountains. US forces used all assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies.

On 24 August 1968, Major Charles H. W. Read, Jr., pilot; and then 1st Lt. Melvin E. Ladewig, co-pilot; comprised the crew of the #2 aircraft in a flight of two that was conducting a night strike and armed reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. The sector in which the flight operated was identified as "Tally Ho" and included the territory of North Vietnam from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to an imaginary line 30 miles north of the DMZ.

When the Phantoms approached the target area, Lead established radio contact with the airborne battlefield command and control center (ABCCC). After providing the flight with current mission information, the ABCCC handed the flight off to the Forward Air Controller (FAC) who would direct the strike mission.

At 2235 hours, the FAC directed the Phantoms onto a secondary target located in a densely populated and heavily defended NVA staging area for troops and supplies destined to enter the Ho Chi Minh Trail through the Ban Karai Pass. The Lead aircraft lit up the target with flares so the number two aircraft could make a second bomb run. According to the official record, "after making a bomb run on a target, the aircraft was seen as a large fireball on the ground."

The area in which the Phantom crashed was on the south edge of a heavily forested mountain less then 1 mile west of the Rao Nay River, approximately 2 miles west of a single-track railroad line, 3 miles north of Route 101 that turned into Route 137 before crossing into Laos, 21 miles northwest of Dong Hoi and 29 miles northeast of the Ban Karai Pass.

Immediately Lead transmitted a report to the ABCCC that they had had no radio contact with either Major Read or 1st Lt. Ladewig prior to the crash. They also stated that they did not see any parachutes or hear any emergency radio beepers emanating from the area of loss. All aircraft onsite conducted a visual and electronic search for the downed aircrew. When no sign of either man was found, the search was terminated and Charles Read and Melvin Ladewig were reported as Missing in Action.