How long is 57 years? Well, it depends on who you’re asking. For the family of Technical Sergeant Willis “Jim” Rozelle Hall, it’s an eternity. In 1967, Hall left for a secret mission in Laos during the Vietnam War as part of Lima Site 85. In March of 1968, the U.S. Base was overrun. “So in October when he finally had to report, I came out that morning when he was getting ready to leave, gave him a hug and a kiss and told him to be safe and that›s the last time I saw him,” said Steve Hall, Jim’s son.
TSgt. Hall was killed on March 11, 1968 in Laos at the age of 40, after a sapper (mortar and grenades from an elite group of North Vietnamese commandos) attack; part of a U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Navigation system Lima Site 85 (a 5,600-foot remote mountain peak) in Houa phan Province, Laos. The clandes tine site was used to help American B-52 bombers nav igate to their tar gets.
The enemy attacked very early in the morning and killed 11 U.S. Air Force personnel. Nine Americans were rescued from the site via helicopters with one of the wounded dying from his injuries.
This incident was kept secret for three decades. For years his remains, along with fellow soldiers, were never found. For 10 years they were told there were no survivors.
Hall joined the U.S. Air Force from Florida and served with Detachment 1, 1043rd Radar Evaluation Squadron. This top-secret radar program was manned by “hand-picked volunteer USAF technicians” who were “sheep-dipped,” (for airmen who had “officially” left the Air Force and became civilians, but remained under Air Force command, according to an online article by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force). The article goes on to state, “When the mis sion was over, they were to be reinstated in the Air Force with no loss of rank or pay.”
In March of this year, Hall’s remains were identified as well as two other members of his unit; TSgt. Donald Kennebunk Springsteadah, of New Jersey and SSgt. Henry Gerald Gish, of Pennsylvania. Hall’s repatriation was held Thursday, Sept. 11. His remains were flown into Wichita and then escorted to Wickham Funeral Home in Fredonia.
A procession nearly a mile long, with numerous motorcycles and trikes being ridden by Veterans and their spouses, left the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita and headed east along U.S. Hwy 54 with members of the area police, fire, and EMS personnel temporarily blocking traffic from entering the highway.
Every overpass along the way had people lining the bridges with American flags proudly displayed. Many intersections along the way also had people standing at attention, waving flags, saluting or placing hands over their hearts as the procession passed. This was a very touching, somber way of showing support for a service member’s final trip home.
TSgt. Hall was born on August 9, 1927, in Rose to Albert E. and Carlie Puckett Hall. He grew up in Rose and attended a one-room schoolhouse. “He was lots of fun, big man but gentle and a kid magnet,” said his niece Carlene Hall. Another niece, Shirley Fishel, said she remembers, “One time at a family reunion, Uncle Jim was standing tall like a Christmas tree and many of the nieces and nephews were hanging off him like ornaments on a tree. Smiling and laughing the whole time.”
Steve, Hall’s son, recalls, “He taught me a lot of things. He taught me how to work on cars and engines and tearing motors apart and putting them back together.” Steve followed in his father’s footsteps in the service and joined the Navy.
Limited access to the mountain made any search effort difficult.
From 1994 to 2009 there were multiple recovery operations, pursing witness leads and recovering evidence and remains. Getting permission to search in Laos is a long, painstaking process. The Lao have very strict search criteria. They mark the areas where you can search and you have to stick to that area.
In 2023, the Defense POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing In Action) Accounting Agency (DPAA) and partner organizations found unexploded ordnance, incident related materials and possible human remains from the research site, that led to the identification of a missing U.S. serviceman. Two more excavations at the site in 2025 led to the discovery of human remains that were sent to the DPAA, where modern forensic techniques led them to identify TSgt. Hall.
TSgt. Hall wound up in Florida, where his wife, Mary, grew up on the family’s sod farm in Davie. Being in the military, he moved his family to many locations including Korea, Topeka and Puerto Rico. He was a mentor in the Air Force with 17 years’ experience in the military.
TSgt. Hall had always had his eye on some property outside of Altoona which his wife purchased in anticipation of him coming home to live with her there. Mary passed away in 1998 and is buried in the Altoona cemetery where TSgt. Hall was buried next to her on Saturday, Sept. 13.
A rosette will be placed next to his name at the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii and on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. to indicate he has been found, according to a news release.
TSgt. Hall was a member of the Merchant Marines, Air Force, Kansas Air National Guard, Army and finished his service with the U.S. Air Force, serving with Detachment 1, 1043rd Evaluation Squadron. His remarkable service was recognized with numerous awards, including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Bronze Star with a “V” for Valor. He also received Honorable Service Awards from both the Army and Air Force. A graduate of the Army’s GED program, Hall furthered his education by taking college courses during his service, specializing in teletype maintenance and repair, and cryptography. He was one of six encryption specialists.
Hall’s wife, Mary Catherine (Kate) Hall is deceased as is his daughter, Laura Jean Press. He TSgt. Hall is survived by his son and daughter-inlaw, Steve and Vicki Hall; four grandchildren; Eric and Jacqueline Hall, Keith Press, Laura Luna and nine great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife, Mary and daughter, Laura Jean Press.
Local family members are Carlene Hall, Shirley Fishel, Sally Noble and Shawn Raymond.
