Osan observes POW/MIA Remembrance Week
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea – Seventh Air Force dedicated a permanent POW/MIA heritage display at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Sept. 18, 2026. The display honors two Air Force officers who disappeared during a combat mission over North Vietnam more than five decades ago.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Ronald D. Stafford and Capt. Charles J. Caffarelli disappeared Nov. 21, 1972, while flying an F-111A Aardvark.
The two were conducting a low-level strike mission against a transportation target in the southern portion of North Vietnam when the aircraft failed to return.
Stafford's daughter, Dawn Pedersen, was 5 years old when her father disappeared. Caffarelli's son, Craig Caffarelli, was 3.
"I have no memories of my father—zero," said Pedersen. "But I miss him, I miss not knowing him."
Pedersen said her family was changed by the uncertainty surrounding her father's disappearance. She recalled ending meals and bedtime prayers with the words, ‘and keep our daddy safe and well.’
"These are real human lives and dreams lost," said Pedersen. "Our families were changed forever."
Portions of the F-111A were recovered 10 days later along the Gulf of Tonkin. Investigators determined the crew had not ejected and was unlikely to have survived. Their remains were never recovered.
That uncertainty has remained with the families for more than 50 years.
"That ambiguity of whether to maintain hope or let it rest has been a constant struggle since November 1972," Pedersen said.
Seventh Air Force historian Michael Stephen said the display is intended to preserve the personal stories behind the military record.
"The story of a missing Airman does not belong to only one generation," said Stephen. "It passes from spouse to child, from one generation to the next, and through friends who help preserve a memory."
Stephen said the display also reflects the responsibility the Air Force has to remember those who served before today's Airmen.
“A headquarters should not only show where an organization is going," said Stephen. “It should remind the people who work inside it of those who came before them, and of the organizations they inherited.”
The display includes photographs, a flight suit, an F-111 artifact and impressions of Stafford's and Caffarelli's names from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The dedication also marked 60 years since Seventh Air Force was activated in Vietnam and 40 years since its reactivation at Osan Air Base.
Following the unveiling, members of the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron presented the families with American flags flown aboard operational U-2 missions throughout POW/MIA Remembrance Week.
Organizations supporting POW/MIA families and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continue efforts to locate and identify missing service members. Pedersen said Stafford and Caffarelli's case is now in "Active Pursuit," with potential investigation and recovery plans being explored.
"Please keep doing what you're doing to remember the POWs and MIAs," said Pedersen. "It's important to remind others that we still have so many missing service members."
She ended her remarks by quoting one of her father's final letters home: "Stay happy."
"The answers we families want are possible and important, but first we have to remember," said Pedersen.
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