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ATIS
KARLIS LIELMANIS
Full Name:
ATIS KARLIS LIELMANIS
Date of Birth: 1/2/1939
Date of Casualty: 11/24/1963
Home of Record: QUAKERTOWN
State: PA
Branch of Service: AIR FORCE
Rank: 1LT
Air Force - 1LT - O2
Age: 24
Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Single
1LT - O2 -
Air Force - Reserve
Casualty was on Nov 24, 1963
In MILITARY REGION 4, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was recovered
- Name: Atio
Karlis Lielmanis
Arrival Date: 24 Nov 1950
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1939
Age: 11
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Bremerhaven, Germany
Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: latvian
Ship Name: General S D Sturgis
General S D Sturgis in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Line: 11
Microfilm Serial: T715
Microfilm Roll: T715_7918
Page Number: 145
- FATHER - KARLIS - Age
44, MOTHER Paulina - Age 46, SISTER Alina - Age 14 - Destination
RFD(?) 2, Quakertown, PA
NAMESAKES FOR HURLBURT FIELD STREETS
(Florida)
Cody Avenue and
Lielmanis Avenue: Named for Capt
Howard B. Cody and 1Lt Atis K. Lielmanis. On November 24, 1963, both were
reported missing in action when their B-26 aircraft crashed near friendly
forces. The B-26 was engaged in a close air support mission and following
their third tactical pass over the target, Capt Cody reported smoke in the
cockpit, asked for air cover, and departed the target area. Other aircraft
operating in the area reported encountering small arms fire. Evidence of
death on Lt Lielmanis was received on November 27, 1963, and on Capt Cody
on December 17, 1963
1STLT Lielmanis, Atis K. Air Force
Air Force Cross
First
Lieutenant Atis K. Lielmanis*
U.S. Air Force
Date Of Action: November24, 1963
Citation:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10,
Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to First
Lieutenant Atis K. Lielmanis for extraordinary heroism in military
operations against an opposing armed force as an Advisor-Navigator of a
B-26B aircraft on 24 November 1963. On that date, Lieutenant Lielmanis
voluntarily exposed himself during a low level flight over hidden Viet
Cong machine gun installations. Their fire badly damaged the aircraft, and
it crashed, but this revealed the Viet co0ng positions and resulted in
their destruction by cover aircraft. Through his extraordinary heroism,
superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, First
Lieutenant Lielmanis reflected the highest credit upon himself and the
United States Air Force.
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The B-26 Invader was a World War
2 vintage twin-engined ground attack aircraft. The 1st Air Commando
Squadron flew B-26s as well as other propeller-driven aircraft like
the A-1 Skyraider and the T-28 Trojan - and these
"antiquated" aircraft proved themselves very well suited to the
air-to-ground operations required in Vietnam.
On 24 Nov 1963, a B-26B (tail number
44-35703) from the 1st ACS provided air support to ARVN troops
operating south of Ca Mau in An Xugen Province. The ARVNs were up
against a well-armed and well dug-in VC force and were making little
progress, impeded particularly by several machinegun emplacements. The
B-26, crewed by Capt Howard R. Cody, 1stLt Atis K. Lielmanis, and a
Vietnamese officer, made several attack runs against the machineguns.
The VC responded by directing their fire against the B-26, thereby
revealing their positions to other supporting aircraft - but 44-35703
was itself hit and on fire. Captain Cody broke off his attack and
headed for the nearest runway, that at Cau Mau, but the B-26 went down
about 24 kilometers south of Ca Mau. Ground impact was into the bank
of a canal, where the forward part of the fuselage buried itself in
the canal wall. Ground searches of the crash site were conducted
between 25-27 Nov 1963 and the remains of two crewmen - 1stLt
Lielmanis and the Vietnamese officer - were recovered. Captain Cody's
body was not found.
The Library of Congress has been
directed to make public certain documents regarding POW/MIA personnel.
A June 1998 message from Joint Task Force-Full Accounting reports on
the excavation of the crash site and the recovery of B-26 aircraft
components and possible human remains. An August 1998 JTF-FA message
reports the prospective repatriation of the recovered remains, while a
July 2001 message provides an analysis of the materials recovered from
the site during in 1998 and during a second excavation in 2001. To
date, though, there has been no public announcement regarding the
recovery and identification of Captain Cody's remains.
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