What happened to Bill?
On this date in 1966, Bill Tromp piloted an aircraft on a night bombing run near the city of Vinh in North Vietnam.
Bill located his target near the mouth of a river and dropped his bomb load.
He then radioed his wingman — the secondary aircraft on the mission — not to make his bombing run because he had spotted surface-to-air missiles in the area.
Both aircraft then turned away from the Vietnamese coastline and headed out to sea and the safety of their aircraft carrier.
Moments later, Bill radioed, "I have some kind of emergency..." and asked the
wingman to turn on his running lights.
Bill then radioed, "I have your lights in view," but his radio transmission cut off suddenly.
Search teams went to the area, but they failed to find any traces of Bill or his aircraft.
But, within days, the North Vietnamese government announced the capture of three American pilots.
And Bill was believed to be one of them.
Bill was then twenty-four years old and his parents’ only child.
He had played center on the Fennville, Michigan, high school football team and graduated from a Michigan college in 1963.
When he had shipped out to Vietnam in 1965, he was a newly-wed.
He’d been married for six weeks.
A cousin’s recollection:
“Bill was always playing a joke and full of fun.
“He was an Eagle Scout, and in earning it he was working in the church for our minister.
“One of his duties was to make sure the minister had a fresh glass of water while he was preaching during the service.
“One Sunday, instead of filling the glass with water, [Bill] decided to fill it with vodka.
“The Minister had all he could do to keep a straight face and go on with his sermon.
“We all had a good laugh about it afterwards, even the Minister.”
From a retired naval officer:
“I was a shipmate who was saving you a seat for the evening movie in 1966.
“When you failed to show, I asked and nobody said a word, but all had a solemn look.”
Another:
“Bill,
“You were my father's best friend and served with him in the Navy.
“Dad still speaks of you.”
When 591 American POWs were released in March 1973, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, Bill was not among them.
Vietnamese officials have offered no information about him.
And in October 1973, Bill was declared dead.
At the time of the 1973 POW release, some military experts expressed dismay at the low number, claiming that hundreds more Americans remained in captivity.
And for years after that, POW advocacy groups worked to keep the plight of the unaccounted for in the public spotlight.
But the public clamor for accountability on Americans missing in Vietnam has diminished with the passage of time.
Now, it is rarely mentioned.
The Defense Department says that 1,582 men who served in the Vietnam War still remain unaccounted for, and Bill is one of them.
They also say that Bill’s case is one of ‘active pursuit,’ meaning that DOD officials believe there is sufficient information to justify research, investigation, or recovery operations in the field.
But perspective is everything.
More than 79,000 Americans who served in World War II remain unaccounted for.
Their stories are rarely mentioned either.
There is no happy ending to this story.
In fact, there is no ending at all.
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I’ll see you tomorrow.
— Brenda
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