Robert J. Flynn

Robert J. Flynn (born 1937) is a former United States Navy naval flight officer who was held captive in China for five and a half years.

Early life

Flynn was born in Houston, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota studying pre-law from 1955-58.

US Navy career

On 6 July 1958 he joined the United States navy as a cadet. On 20 June 1960 he was designated as a Naval Flight Officer. On 24 February 1961 he was assigned to United States Pacific Fleet as a bombardier/navigator.

Capture

On 21 August 1967 four A-6A Intruders of VA-196 were launched from the USS Constellation (CV-64) for an attack on the Duc Noi railyard in northern Hanoi. Lieutenant Commander Jimmy L Buckley (pilot) and Lieutenant Flynn (bombardier/navigator) were the crew of A-6A #152625 which was hit by enemy fire on approach to the target area but continued with their attack. Over the target area the flight encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire and SAMs, A-6A #152638 was hit by enemy fire and both crewmen, Lieutenant Commander William M. Hardman and Captain Leo T. Profilet, ejected successfully and were captured. The remaining three A-6s left the target area in loose formation and were forced to head north to avoid bad weather, one of the aircraft sighted MiGs and two of the A-6s were tracked heading towards the Chinese border with the Shenyang J-6 fighters in pursuit. A-6A #152627 was shot down north of the Chinese border and both crewman, Lieutenant j.g Forrest Trembley (pilot) and Lieutenant j.g. Dain Scott (bombardier/navigator) were killed. A-6A #152625 was also shot down, Lieutenant Commander Buckley was killed, while Lieutenant Flynn ejected successfully and was captured. Later that day Chinese government radio confirmed that they had shot down two aircraft inside Chinese territory and that one crewman had been captured. Lieutenant Flynn believed that the Chinese fighters had attacked their flight over North Vietnamese territory, but US radar showed that the two A-6s were at least 11 miles inside Chinese territory when they were shot down.

Flynn was taken to Peking where he was held in solitary confinement for the next five and a half years.

Release

Due to improving US-China relations following President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China, Lieutenant Flynn was released on 15 March 1973, crossing the land border into the British Crown Colony of HongKong.

Post-release

Smith returned to US Navy duty as an A-6 bombardier/navigator, he commanded NFO Training Squadron 86 at Naval Air Station Pensacola and retired with the rank of Commander in December 1985.