At 1845 hours, the helicopter was declared missing. Extensive searches were conducted that night, aided by artillery flares and aircraft mounted searchlights, but no trace of the aircraft or crew was found. In the next few days several crash sites were reported and searches made, but all efforts were fruitless.

Gillory, Lemmons, and McKittrick were classified as Missing in Action. There is reason to believe the enemy knows their fate. They are among nearly 2500 Americans still missing in Southeast Asia.

When the war ended, and 591 Americans were released in Operation Homecoming in 1973, military experts expressed their dismay that some "hundreds" of POW's did not come home with them. Since that time, thousands of reports have been received, indicating that many Americans are still being held against their will in Southeast Asia. Whether the crew of the OH23 is among them is not know. What is CERTAIN, however, is that if only one american remains alive in enemy hands, we own him our best efforts to bring him home.