Douglas Lee O’Neill was born on August 3, 1948. His home of record is Bayonne, NJ. He had two brothers, Robert and Daniel and a sister, Ellen.

O’Neill entered the US Army and attained the rank of Chief Warrant Officer (CWO).

As a boy, Douglas always wanted to fly. He enlisted in the US Army in November 1968. He was sent to flight school to become a helicopter pilot in March 1969. O’Neill was assigned to the 37th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade. In October 1971, he was sent to Vietnam. While in Vietnam, he served in the honor guard for President Thieu.

O’Neill has been listed as missing in action since April 3, 1972, when his aircraft was shot down in Vietnam.

Synopsis (from the POW Network) as to the circumstances behind being listed as MIA:
On April 3, 1972, O’Neill, pilot of a UH1H Helicopter with a crew of three (CW2 Larry Zich, co-pilot, SP5 Allen Christensen, crew chief, SP4 Edward Williams, Gunner) departed Marble Mountain Airfield, Da Nang on a combat mission. The last reported contact with the aircraft was at 0945 hours by Hue/Phu Bai ground control. At that time, the pilot stated that he was lost and believed that he was in the Quang Tri area. The controller was unable to locate the aircraft by radar and all communications were lost at 1010 hours.

The following day a search was initiated to cover the area around Hue on the south, Highway QL-1 on the west, the coastline on the east, and Quang Tri on the north. There were no sightings of the aircraft or its crew.

O’Neill is listed as missing in action – presumptive finding of death – body not recovered.

Sources: Robert O’Neill (brother), POW Network and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024