Bruce August Nystrom was born in Marion, Ohio, October 18, 1927, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. U. A. Nystrom. Bruce graduated from Harding High School in 1945. While at Harding High School, Bruce participated in the senior chorus, played football, and met his sweetheart/future wife, Nancy (Nicoll). Bruce Nystrom was also a graduate of Stanford University.
Bruce A. Nystrom entered active duty service on 1 July 1945. He was He was part of the Navy reserves at Denison University, in the V-5 Aviation Cadet Program. He later transferred to Union College, in New York. On 13 August 1948 he earned the Naval Aviator Wings after completion of flight training and the Aviation Midshipman program.
Bruce Nystrom served as an aviator for the United States Navy. Commander Nystrom was a veteran of the Korean war, where he flew 63 combat missions. Nystrom later served in the Vietnam War flying over 50 combat missions. On December 2, 1966, while serving on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), he was shoot down over Vietnam. Nystrom was due to return home a month after he was shot down. Nystrom commanded the Blue Bolt Squadron on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). He and his wing-man, Lt Paul Worrell were declared missing in action near Hanoi in North Vietnam. Although Worrell’s remains were later returned in 1985, Nystom’s body was never returned or accounted for. He was declared “Presumed Dead” by the Department of the Navy in 1978.
Both his parents and his wife, Nancy, advocated for the return of those lost in Vietnam until their deaths. Nancy traveled to the Paris Peace Talks on Christmas day with 148 other Americans trying to find information on fathers and husbands missing in action. They submitted names to the North Vietnamese Delegation in hopes that information would be later released. Sadly, Bruce Nystrom’s parents and wife died with no word on the status of Commander Nystrom.
The following is from The Brown Shoes Project
Bruce August Nystrom enlisted in the Navy under the V-5 Aviation Cadet Program. He was ordered to active duty on 1 July 1945, and reported to the V-12 units at Denison University in Ohio, later to Union College, Schenectady, New York. He was designated a Naval Aviator on 13 August 1948, following successive phases of flight training as an Aviation Cadet and Aviation Midshipman.
After joining VF-153, flying the F8F “Bearcat”, he was commissioned on 21 January 1949. As a member of VF-193, aboard the USS Princeton, he participated in the Korean War, flying F4U “Corsairs” and also served as squadron Air Intelligence Officer.
In July 1945, LTjg Nystrom received orders to the Naval Air Basic Training Command in Pensacola, Florida, where he served as a tactics and gunnery flight instructor until September 1953. The following three years he flew the F2H “Banshee” in VF-82 at Oceana, Virginia, was promoted to Lieutenant, and made cruises to the Mediterranean aboard the carriers Lake Champlain (CV-37) and Intrepid (CV-11) as squadron Administrative Officer.
He graduated from Stanford University in April 1958 with a B.S. degree in Engineering. The next two and a half years he was the Operations Officer at the Douglas Aircraft’s Palmdale, California, Facility working for the BuWepsRep El Segundo on the A4 “Skyhawk” program.
From November 1960 until July 1962, LCDR Nystrom served as the Aide/Flag Lieutenant for Commander Alaskan Sea Frontier at Kodiak, Alaska. He then attended the Command and Staff Course, Naval War College. Upon graduation, he underwent A4 training at VA-44 and was the Air Wing Three Operations Officer from December 1963, to December 1964, when he joined VA-172 as Executive officer. He was based at NAS Cecil Field, Florida.
December 23, 1965, Commander Nystrom assumed command of VA-172. He deployed with his squadron for Vietnam aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) June 21, 1966. On December 2, 1966, while flying a mission over North Vietnam south of Hanoi in the Red River delta, Commander Nystrom and his wing-man, LT Paul Worrell, disappeared.
Commander Nystrom was selected for promotion to Captain in August 1969.
The Department of the Navy made a Presumptive Finding of Death for Captain Nystrom 8 August 1978 with no further information having been provided by North Vietnam. Blanket presumptive findings of death for POW/MIA were begun in 1977 authorized by President Jimmy Carter due solely to passage of time.
Captain Nystrom holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star with Combat “V”, Air Medal with 8 gold stars, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, gold star in lieu of 2nd Navy Commendation Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Purple Heart, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Occupation Service Medal, plus other unit citations and awards. Also, Republic of Vietnam awarded its Air Gallantry Medal with Silver Wings.
Captain Nystrom’s wife, Nancy died on July 15, 2012, and their children, Andria Nystrom Dostaler, Gregory, and Diane Nystrom Douglas and five (5) grandchildren still await a final accounting of his fate. Bruce’s father died in 1972. His mother died in 1987. He was an only child.
The following is a report from Task Force Omega
Name: Bruce August Nystrom
Rank/Branch: Captain/US Navy
Unit: Attack Squadron 172
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42)
Date of Birth: 18 October 1927
Home of Record: Marion, OH
Date of Loss: 02 December 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 200500N 1061200E (XH254209)
Status in 1973: Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A4C “Skyhawk”
Other Personnel in Incident: Paul L. Worrell (remains returned)
REMARKS: POSS DEAD – IR 6918571875SYNOPSIS: The Douglas A4 Skyhawk was a single-seat light attack jet flown by both land-based and carrier squadrons, and was the US Navy’s standard light attack aircraft at the outset of the war. It was the only carrier-based aircraft that did not have folding wings as well as the only one which required a ladder for the pilot to enter/exit the cockpit. The Skyhawk was used to fly a wide range of missions throughout Southeast Asia including close air support to American troops on the ground in South Vietnam. Flying from a carrier was dangerous and as many aircraft were lost in “operational incidents” as in combat.
On 23 December 1965, then Cmdr. Bruce A. Nystrom assumed command of Attack Squadron 172 that deployed aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt on 21 June 1966. On 2 December 1966, Cmdr. Nystrom launched as the pilot of the lead aircraft in a flight of two on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. His wing-man during this mission was Ens. Paul L. Worrell.
Enemy anti-aircraft defenses along their briefed flight path had not been heavy during recent operations. The local weather conditions included a clear sky with no moon or horizon, and visibility of 5 miles in haze. The flight crossed the coastline of North Vietnam at approximately 2030 hours and immediately began searching for enemy surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites suspected to be operating south of Hanoi. When the flight entered the coastal area, a crew member of an aircraft operating approximately 40 miles away heard transmissions between Cmdr. Nystrom and Ens. Worrell concerning missile evasion. Shortly after the transmissions were heard, a big bright light was observed which appeared to be coming from the ground. It was later suspected that this bright light was a SAM lifting off the ground. It was followed about 15 seconds later by a large orange flash or explosion in the air. The flight leader was then heard attempting to contact Paul Worrell, but no reply was heard. Shortly thereafter, Bruce Nystrom went off the air and was not heard from again.
The location of loss for both aircraft placed them approximately 8 miles due west of the North Vietnamese coastline, 4 miles southeast of Phai Diem, 34 miles northeast of Thanh Hoa, 52 miles south-southwest of Haiphong and 56 miles south-southeast of Hanoi. This area of the rich Red River delta is densely populated, well defended and crisscrossed with many rivers and waterways. Further, the Skyhawks were lost between two north/south flowing rivers, and were downed less than 1 mile west of the eastern most river and 2 miles east of the western most river. Because of the location of loss, no search and rescue (SAR) operation was possible. Both Bruce Nystrom and Paul Worrell were immediately listed Missing in Action.
On 14 August 1985, the Vietnamese returned the remains of Paul Worrell without explanation. These remains were positively identified by the US Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CIL-HI) on 7 October 1985. To date the Vietnamese claim no knowledge as to the fate of Cmdr. Nystrom.
Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document live American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia today.
Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
Nancy Nystrom
From the Florida Times Union:
Nancy Nystrom, who became a national advocate for Americans missing in action in Vietnam and once collected 10,000 signatures on a petition seeking recognition of the problem, died July 15 at St. Catherine’s Laboure Manor. She was five days short of her 85th birthday and had suffered a massive stroke.
Her husband, Capt. Bruce Nystrom, was commanding officer of an attack squadron at Cecil Field Naval Air Station when his jet fighter was shot down over North Vietnam in December 1966.
Mrs. Nystrom said, in a 1987 interview with the Jacksonville Journal, she endured years of ups and downs, of raised hopes and dashed expectations. The couple, who married in 1949, were high school sweethearts in Marion, Ohio.
“Mama just had such inner strength,” said her daughter, Andria Dostaler of Jacksonville. “There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t miss Daddy. But she would tell us that when you think you can’t go through one more day, you just tie another knot in the rope and you hang on.”
Mrs. Nystrom became very involved in efforts to discover his fate and that of other missing servicemen. She put out a bi-monthly newsletter, manned booths at the Greater Jacksonville Fair and Home & Patio Show, sold MIA bracelets and T-shirts and spoke to service clubs, churches and veterans groups. She sent petitions to the United Nations ambassador from Vietnam and to President Reagan, seeking support for the cause. She also met with Reagan and later President George H.W. Bush.
Bruce A. Nystrom is Honored on the Vietnam Memorial Wall at Panel 13E, Line 6.
Bruce Nystrom is also honored at the Veterans Memorial Park, Marion, Ohio, with the planting of the “Freedom Tree,” his name appears on the Honor Roll, at Marion Veterans Memorial Park, and on the west side of the Marion County Courthouse. He is also remembered as a World War Two Veteran, with his name appearing on the World War Two Memorial Wall at the Marion Cemetery.
There is also a “Freedom Tree,” in remembrance to Capt. Bruce Nystrom, located in Jacksonville, Florida. There is an oak tree with a duplicate plaque, to the one in Marion, Ohio, at the Cecil Commerce Center (formerly Cecil Field Naval Air Station). This is where Capt. Nystrom was deployed from to the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42).
Commander Bruce A. Nystrom is also remembered on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, at the Marion County Admin building at 222 West Center St. in Marion, Ohio.
Bruce A. Nystrom is remembered as a POW/MIA on the Honolulu War Memorial Courts of the Missing.
Additional reading on the wives and mothers who started a movement to return POW/MIAs:
The community of Marion, Ohio lost three men in six days at the beginning of the Korean War. Though not all were killed or known to be killed at the time, yet they were either killed, captured and/or died as prisoners of war. Two of these men’s remains were not recovered and one not being accounted for until December of 2018.
Honoring Marion Ohio Veterans 