On December 2, 1966, in the dense Savannakhet Province of Laos, a U.S. Special Forces reconnaissance patrol faced a sudden and fierce enemy attack. This team, composed of American and Vietnamese soldiers, was deep within enemy territory when they were ambushed near grid coordinates (GC) XD 630 630. The patrol leader was quickly wounded, possibly fatally, in the initial assault. In the chaos, the assistant patrol leader urgently called for immediate extraction.
The first attempt to rescue the team by helicopter tragically failed. Intense enemy ground fire forced the helicopter to abort its landing, and moments later, it crashed nearby. A friendly forward air controller (FAC) aircraft maintained radio contact with the assistant patrol leader, whose last communication from vicinity (GC) XD 634 633 reported seeing smoke from a crash, but no mention of survivors. Due to the heavy enemy fire, further rescue or search operations were impossible at that time.
Among the brave men on the ground was Sergeant Russell Peter Bott, serving with Detachment B-52, 5th Special Forces Group. As the assistant patrol leader, Bott was in a critical position when the attack occurred. Following this incident, Sergeant Bott was listed as missing in action (MIA). While in this status, the U.S. Army recognized his dedication and promoted him to Master Sergeant (MSG).
Today, Master Sergeant Bott’s sacrifice is honored at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on the Courts of the Missing. His name is also etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, alongside his fallen comrades. Despite the years that have passed since 1966, the question of what happened to Master Sergeant Bott remains unanswered. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) continues to analyze his case, currently categorized as Deferred, in the ongoing effort to account for all service members.
For family members seeking further information and detailed analysis of this case, DPAA encourages reaching out to their casualty office representative. The passage of time does not diminish the commitment to remembering and seeking answers for those who served.
