The Wall › Panel 29E › Wisconsin › Lance Peter Sijan
LANCE PETER SIJAN
Captain · U.S. Air Force
April 13, 1942 – November 9, 1967
Medal of Honor StoryPortrait: USAF Photo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Lance Peter Sijan, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on November 9, 1967, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 29E, Line 62 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Medal of Honor · awarded posthumously
For conspicuous gallantry
Lance Peter Sijan received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for his actions on November 9, 1967. The official citation reads:
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
SIJAN, LANCE P.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air Force, 4th Allied POW Wing, Pilot of an F-4C aircraft. Place and Date: North Vietnam, 9 November 1967. Entered service at: Milwaukee, Wis. Born: 13 April 1942, Milwaukee, Wis.
Citation:
While on a flight over North Vietnam, Capt. Sijan ejected from his disabled aircraft and successfully evaded capture for more than 6 weeks. During this time, he was seriously injured and suffered from shock and extreme weight loss due to lack of food. After being captured by North Vietnamese soldiers, Capt. Sijan was taken to a holding point for subsequent transfer to a prisoner of war camp. In his emaciated and crippled condition, he overpowered 1 of his guards and crawled into the jungle, only to be recaptured after several hours. He was then transferred to another prison camp where he was kept in solitary confinement and interrogated at length. During interrogation, he was severely tortured; however, he did not divulge any information to his captors. Capt. Sijan lapsed into delirium and was placed in the care of another prisoner. During his intermittent periods of consciousness until his death, he never complained of his physical condition and, on several occasions, spoke of future escape attempts. Capt. Sijan's extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty at the cost of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.
/S/GERALD R. FORD
^ "Sijan, Lance P." Home of Heroes. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
Citation text as reproduced in Wikipedia’s article on Lance Peter Sijan; Medal of Honor citations are official U.S. government records. See also the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and all Medal of Honor recipients on the Wall.
On the Wall
Panel 29E · Line 62
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
Did you know him? Family members and friends are invited to share a photograph or a memory. Nothing is posted until it has been reviewed.
Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115R)
- Born
- April 13, 1942
- Home of record
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Milwaukee County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- November 9, 1967
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Captured / prisoner of war
Context · from the records
What was happening
46 names on the Wall carry the date November 9, 1967. In November 1967, 1,133 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
Also on Panel 29E, Line 62
- GARY LEE REHNCorporal · November 9, 1967
- PETER ANTHONY SCHRADERCorporal · November 9, 1967
- DONALD MELVIN SEWELLColonel · November 9, 1967
- LARRY DOUGLAS SHARPPrivate First Class · November 9, 1967
From Milwaukee
- TOM JOSEPH CRESSLieutenant · January 6, 1961
- ROBERT BURGERTSergeant · February 13, 1963
- PETER MATTHEW FEIERABENDPrivate First Class · February 16, 1964
- THADDEUS ZAJACSpecialist Four · September 27, 1965
- JAMES CALVIN WARDPrivate First Class · October 11, 1965
- TIMOTHY HOLTON JOHNSONPrivate First Class · November 6, 1965
- RICHARD WILLIAM SCHWENDLERCorporal · November 16, 1965
- MICHAEL ALFRED GRUBERPrivate First Class · December 5, 1965
- RICHARD JOSEPH BRUNKEPrivate First Class · December 14, 1965
- MICHAEL PETER MORANPrivate First Class · January 9, 1966
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. The Medal of Honor citation above is the official account of his actions. See something wrong? Report a correction.