- John was born in Texas.
He was a very quiet guy.
If you were having a conversation with him,
you would have to perk your ears up.
He loved taking me on adventures, skiing and so forth.
Teaching me and especially stretching my skills,
I think that was important to him.
Our father was a medical doctor during World War II.
We grew up in Denver, but he attended grade school,
Mullin High School, and Colorado State University.
He was one of the five ROTC students
selected to become pilots.
They took him to pilot school while he was still in college.
When my mother heard this, she exclaimed,
but you haven't even flown in an airplane yet,
how do you know you want to be a pilot?
My father and mother found a friend
who was an instructor pilot.
John was sent off to go fly with him.
As a side point she said to John, take Tommy with you.
And so I was with him on his first flight.
There's nothing scarier than to have your older brother
take over the controls of a Cessna
while you're sitting in the back wondering,
I've seen him drive, how can he fly?
By all accounts he was an excellent pilot.
Graduated and was commissioned
into the reserve office as a reserve officer.
He went to helicopter school.
During his first tour in 1967 and 68
he was wounded in action
and he also received the distinguished flying cross.
The focus of that incursion into Cambodia,
the Army was in support of the South Vietnamese
who were doing the ground troop movements.
And they were intent on capturing
and destroying the supply depot
that was at the terminus of the three branches
of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia.
It was along the highway that goes from Penan Pen to Saigon.
And so that was their road of attack.
The North Vietnamese.
- Captain John E. Swanson distinguished himself
by acts of bravery on February 26th, 1971
while flying in 086 alpha aircraft in support
of AR VN task force 333 and the kingdom of Cambodia.
With two well-equipped enemy regiments known to be
in the area, Captain Swanson was tasked
with pinpointing the enemy's precise positions.
Captain Swanson flew at treetop level at a slow air speed
making his aircraft a vulnerable target.
The advancing ARVN unit came
under heavy automatic weapons fire from enemy bunkers
100 meters to their front.
Exposing his aircraft to enemy anti-aircraft fire
Captain Swanson immediately engaged the enemy bunkers
with concussion grenades and machine gun fire.
After destroying five bunkers and evading intense ground
to air fire, he observed a 51 caliber machine gun position.
With all his heavy ordinance expended on the bunkers
he did not have sufficient explosives
to destroy the position.
Consequently, he marked the position
with a smoke grenade and directed a cobra gunship attack.
After completion of the attack
Captain Swanson found the weapon still intact
and an enemy soldier crawling over to man it.
He immediately engaged the individual and killed him.
During this time his aircraft sustained several hits
from another 51 caliber machine gun.
Captain Swanson engaged the position
with his aircraft's weapons, marked the target,
and directed a second cobra gunship attack.
He volunteered to continue the mission
despite the fact that he was now critically low
on ammunition and his aircraft was crippled by enemy fire.
As Captain Swanson attempted to fly
toward another 51 caliber machine gun position
his aircraft exploded in the air
and crashed the ground causing his death.
Captain Swanson's courageous actions resulted
in at least eight enemy killed
and the destruction of three enemy anti-aircraft weapons.
Captain Swanson's extraordinary heroism and devotion
to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions
of military service and reflect great credit upon himself,
his unit, and the United States Army.
- When the Army major came to my door early
in the morning of March two, 1971, my whole world collapsed.
I was doubled over in pain, not wanting to hear the words.
On February 26th, 1971 John's helicopter was shot down,
crashed, and burned, missing.
I didn't know what to do.
And I sat there cuddling our two baby daughters
thinking this can't be happening.
As the days wore on
I became determined there had been a mistake
that John had managed to get away
but there was no information coming
from the Army until April 28th, 1971.
When the Army casualty officer visited me to say
that they were changing John's status from missing
in action to killed in action.
Distraught from not knowing
I kept asking the Army casualty officer for more details.
He finally told me, Sandee
I have to work through Army channels
and I haven't been able to get any more information.
I then decided to call the general
of the Army in Washington, DC.
I tried calling him at the Pentagon but was unsuccessful.
I finally reached him at home
at night and told him what I knew about John.
And I also told him that
if he did not give me more information
I would fly to Washington, DC.
And if he still wouldn't give me information
I would fly to Vietnam to find my husband.
He called me the next day
and said that he had just reviewed the after action
testimonials given by the men who had been flying with John.
And it was his belief that the decision to change his status
to KIA was based on the testimonials of these eyewitnesses.
He asked
if I would like to receive copies of the testimonials.
And when I said yes,
he said he would send them out immediately.
On May 27th, 1971 we held a memorial service for John
at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado
where a Memorial marker was placed to signify his death.
(sad music)
- My mom I've just realized
like how strong she was as a single mom raising two girls.
We were living in Boulder.
So we were not on an Army base when we found out.
She had to absorb that news all by herself.
- My mom has always been a hero of mine and it was
in the way that she traveled around the world
before getting married.
And she was in the Peace Corps.
I learned very early on not to ask about my dad, mainly
because it would bring a tear to my mom's face
but I had all these questions.
And so I used to sneak downstairs
because she had so many filing cabinets
with all their love letters
from all the years.
And I think when I was growing up,
I was always a little bit angry.
Why did you have to put yourself further out into danger?
Your job was to come home.
That's a little girl looking up.
When I finally, I think sort of saw all of this
I started to put it into a different perspective
as in he had friends, colleagues who were in harm's way
and he had to do what he had to do to protect them.
- Sometime in the nineties, like 98
we would go back for the government
MIA POW briefings every year.
Each year when we would come out
they would declassify more and more information.
That file kept growing over the years
because there would be more
and more information that had been declassified
even though it was still quite redacted.
In this particular year
I remember meeting with the Army.
They said we found something in his file
as things were being declassified that he had been nominated
and signed off all the way up the chain
of command for the medal of honor.
It had been downgraded by committee
and they didn't know what that was about
but they said the family has to ask
for this to be re-reviewed.
- It must have been 98 just before I left Capitol Hill
that I had handed the letter to representative Spence.
They looked at what I showed them
and they said, oh my goodness,
this one is one that we definitely need to put forward.
I think it was in late 2001, when we got a call saying
hey,this is gonna be moving forward.
The Department of Defense wants to do something.
- These two events were kind of happening at the same time.
Medal was on one track
and the burial was on another track.
98 I think when they first provided the information
to circumstantially identify the remains.
- And then about Christmas time, my sister, they came
to her and they said the remains have been identified.
And if you will accept these
then we would like to have a burial for your father.
We accepted them.
And then we said to the Pentagon, well, okay
but we've got the medal of honor.
And they said, wait, what?
They had no idea arm A and arm B
were both working on their own things.
And after so many years
for these two events to be so close
yet so far apart was amazing.
- The medal ceremony ended up being on Wednesday, May 1st
which was my dad's 60th birthday.
Three days later
we were able to do the burial at Arlington.
- President Bush changed his schedule to be there
and it all magically came together.
- And so today on what would've been his 60th birthday
the medal of honor is presented
to the family of John Edward Swanson.
(applause)
- We sat in the very front row
and watched the medal ceremony.
My brothers and sisters were there.
- How many people were there to represent all
of the men that he served with, it just spoke volumes.
- Having him be pulled in the horse drawn carriage
with so many people stopping and putting their hearts
on their chest.
It was such a different feel than we ever had
the first time.
And I loved that for my mom.
When we were going through this, it was almost
like reliving it.
It was the first time that I think I ever really
allowed myself to grieve.
Growing up it just became sort of a hidden secret.
Don't ask questions.
I think I always assumed he was missing
in action, but presumed dead, but we never will know.
- She had to absorb that information
about her husband being classified as missing in action
in a place where she couldn't talk to people about it.
To be going through that essentially all
by herself with two small babies,
that was a lot
- When I discussed it with some of the men in his squadron
they were totally amazed at the heroism
he showed that day.
(happy music)