Some evidence suggests that the remains ceremonially laid to rest by President Reagan 14 years ago belong to 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, a decorated flier still officially listed as missing in . A system error has occurred. Sampleys words landed like a percussion grenade in the Blassie household. Pete Mecca is a speaker, author, and Vietnam Air Force veteran who runs VeteransArticle.com and hosts VBCs A Veterans Story every second Thursday online. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. It has been watched over day and night since 1937 by a lone guard, forever marching back and forth in front of the tomb. When Britain dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in 1920, it garnered a lot of attention. The ability to match mtDNA between related individuals, and the fact that it does not degrade as rapidly as nuclear DNA, makes it a valuable tool in the identification of human remains. Real soldiers visiting the tomb have a very different perspective on this memorial than I could hope to imagine. Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body. Im a former Soldier from Australia, and a Tour Guide around Europe, and i immediately thought of all the different changing of the guards, and unknown Tombs i have visited. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. The pressures of war put a premium on closing cases and moving on, getting the job done even if that meant rushing lab reports. The report triggered a speedy response from the Department of Defense which, after its own investigation, ordered the Tomb to be opened and the Vietnam Unknowns remains to undergo DNA testing at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. You can always change this later in your Account settings. The government does not have the right to keep such information from the family., When I looked into all the documents and from my personal research, it was obvious that improper decisions were being made, and all of sudden Michael is the Unknown representing the missing from the Vietnam War. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. A decade later, however, questions began to arise about the identity of this unknown soldier. Advances made since the early 1980s had made it possible to identify the remains, which consisted of only six bones -- far below the usual 80 percent of a corpse required for burial at Arlington. \ . Learn more about managing a memorial . Veteran Dispatch in 1994 and 1996 had made the claim that Blassie was the Unknown, drawing on Defense Department records. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. And you didnt mention the shoes the specially designed shoes the sentries wear are pretty cool. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? (AP Photo/James A. Finley), Pat Blassie (second from left) points out to her mother Jean Blassie (third from left) and her sister Mary Hart (right) the C-130 Hercules plane as it arrives at Scott Air Force Base with their brother Michael Blassie's remains. If he couldnt do it, Webb would be ordered to sign off on the burial. Post-Dispatch file photo, Workers cover the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on May 13, 1998, in anticipation of the exhumation of the remains of the Vietnam unknown. Theyre too upsetting. His jet lost a wing, crashed and burned. You can watch his conversation with Colonel Patricia Blassie on A Veterans Story on the VBCs YouTube channel, youtube.com/veteransbreakfastclub. AFDIL has used DNA analysis to identify the remains of at least 150 military personnel from Vietnam, Korea, and World War 2, and assisted in the identification of victims from high profile disasters, both natural and man-made. Michael was 24 years old and 72 inches tall when he died. Jean Blassie, mother of 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, 1998. The body will be cremated and her remains buried at Calvary Cemetery with her parents and grandparents. On May 28, 1984, a Third Army Old Guard horse-drawn caisson moved slowly along Constitution Avenue. If they had, they might have hung up on him. Maj. Allan J. Kellogg Jr. during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on May 17, 1984,[2] and were transported aboard the USSBrewton to Naval Air Station Alameda. Please reset your password. Over the next month, enemy forces cinched the noose, pounding the city with artillery and attempting to starve out the population. Then, according to Webb, the Pentagon issued a second order: destroy any evidence linking file X-26 to Michael Blassie, including the personal artifacts from the crash site. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Pressure began to mount in Washington to place a service member from Vietnam in the tomb of the unknowns, but by 1980 the Blassie remains were the only ones left that hadnt been conclusively identified. Hurtful also were the objections she and her family received from Vietnam veterans, who resented the Blassies for taking away their Unknown. On July 11, 1998, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie finally came home to St. Louis. St. Louis native Michael Blassie was the picture of an ideal young Air Force officer: tall, handsome, with a hospitable grin and approachable demeanor. I wouldnt think there was a known soldier in the Tomb of the Unknowns, she recalled thinking. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 - May 11, 1972) was an officer in the United States Air Force. After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. Two weeks later, Michael Blassie was buried for good near the family's home . Parnell soon turned the remains over to the Saigon mortuary, along with the ID card and other items. Over 130,000 NVA with their tanks and artillery swept into South Vietnam along three separate fronts, from the DMZ to Saigon. We've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft. Michael Blassie had become a cold statistic of war. This is a carousel with slides. "We were all so proud of him. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Joseph Michael Leo Findlan (Amelia, Ohio), who passed away on February 24, 2022, at the age of 71, leaving to mourn family and friends. I missed the names of the two announcers who discussed the Arlington Tomb of the Unknown Soldier monument and chuckled together over some of the changing of the guard ceremony and sentry duties. "This shrine was still distant from his house, the soil of Missouri, the banks of the Mississippi. Forensic anthropologists took the aged and damaged samples of bone for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing. The enemy threw up what was described as a murderous hail of fire which prevented any rescue or recovery attempt. Michael flew as an Air Commando, probably running covert missions into Laos and Cambodia, in addition to his official duties as forward air controller and counterinsurgency operations pilot in South Vietnam. What is the music played at the end of this podcast? But the military didnt tell anyone, officials later explained, because they said they couldnt be certain that it was he. Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 May 11, 1972) was a United States Air Force officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in May 1972. Michael Blassie received an appointment to the Air Force and fell in love with flying immediately. On May 14, 1998, the Department of the Defense disinterred the remains of the Vietnam veteran from the Tomb of the Unknowns. The dedication alone attracted so many mourners, the line for viewing lasted ten days. . Michael Joseph Blassie, the oldest of five children of a St. Louis meat cutter, entered the Air Force Academy in 1966 and received his officer's commission in June 1970. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com Jean Blassie lost. Patricia Blassie, today a colonel with the Air Force Reserve who lives in Georgia, told her family of a phone call she had received in 1994 from a former Army Green Beret. They were the remains of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, who was shot down over An Loc on May 11, 1972. . Blassie dropped in low for a bombing run on attacking forces when enemy anti-aircraft fire boomed from the ground. Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. This browser does not support getting your location. (2006): Identification of Human Remains. Thanks Dennis! The accompanying shells found their mark. Blassie, a decorated pilot, was 24 when he died in May 1972. Your email address will not be published. East wind * around 10 mph. Members of Blassie's family could not be reached immediately for comment yesterday. USAF Honor Guard with Michael Blassies casket, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (SSgt Scott Seyer/USAF). There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Part 2: DNA. These sources reinforced the probability that Michael Blassies remains were in the Tomb. No one knows how many remains from Vietnam and elsewhere were buried in the wrong graves because of these flawed identification procedures. Another perspective on this issue is that all soldiers are unknown. DNA testing was in its infancy in 1972. "We put away no final memories.". Blassie's unidentified remains were designated as the Vietnam Unknown service member by Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. He told her that he had been researching who was shot down on the date of Michaels death and he believed that her brothers remains were in the Tomb of the Unknowns. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract.". Jean Frances Adrian grew up in Jennings. Failed to delete memorial. It was all part of the effort to make sure that the Unknown could represent everyone who ever fought in the war. "Mike lived a hero, and he came home a hero," said Emanuel Cassimatis, the Air Force Academy liaison officer who recruited Blassie in 1965. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. [3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Today, said President Reagan at the Tomb, we pause to embrace him and all who served so well in a war whose end offered no parades, no flags, and so little thanks. cemeteries found in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. At least he went into a place of honor.. He subsequently qualified as an A-37 Dragonfly pilot and served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia. The discovery of personal effects at the crash site should have converted Michael Blassie from a Vietnam MIA to a KIA, closing his case. & Spitz, D.J. He believed, for example, that Senator John McCain had been brainwashed at the Hanoi Hilton and was sent back to the US to orchestrate official coverups of living POWs in Southeast Asia. We wanted to know the rest of the story. The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid After 26 years, the family of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, buried the pilot Saturday, ending a painful mystery that began in 1972. [6] We were all so proud of him. Id left school early that day, and I looked out the window when I heard a car door slam. I didnt have any direction, and the family was lower-middle income. Failed to remove flower. The US Air Force responded with aerial counterattacks. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { It was a South Vietnamese Army patrol that scoured the crash site and came back with six bone fragments, a Beacon radio, two compasses, an American flag, a parachute, remnants of a pistol holder, a one-man life raft, fragments of a flight suit, a wallet with family pictures, and an ID that read: 1st Lt. Blassie, Michael Joseph., Air Force equipment found with Michael Blassie: dog tag chain fragment, signal marker pouch, match holder, parachute survival guide, and ammunition pouch (Blassie family). Its just an outsiders way of honoring all of your sacrifices. There was an error deleting this problem. "This has meant so much to us. Find records of Michael Blassie Birth records Marriage records Divorce records cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Everyone was free to mourn in their own way. She was sad about Michaels death but was happy to have him back, Patricia Blassie said. That is, he fell outside the approximated ranges on both counts. He was constantly researching, protesting, and pressuring the Pentagon to resolve open cases. When it came to tracking MIAs, Sampley was shrewd and tireless. Joseph Michael Leo Findlan Obituary. In the early 1980s, officials chose the set of remains coded "X-26" to be interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns. Om 1992, the Defense Department started collecting and holding blood samples from all inductees for possible future DNA comparisons. He served as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot and was assigned to the 8TH SPECIAL OPS SQDN, 377TH AIR BASE WING, 7TH AF. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Patricia was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam six years later. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 - May 11, 1972) was a United States Air Force officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in May 1972. They were a match and Michael Blassies remains were returned to his family. They were completely cut off from the rest of the world. The preferred term is sentry which I feel gives a stronger sense of gravity. The changing of the guard is quite ceremonial there and is well worth a look. Immediate recovery attempts were launched, but Blassie had crashed in an area controlled by enemy forces so it was impossible to examine the crash site. Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now The last day we took him to the airport, Michael looked back at us and waved. [3][4] A CBS News report in January 1998 subsequently made the same claim. Revealing the Unknown: The Mystery of Michael Blassie | Missouri Historical Society 1st Lt. Michael Blassie was killed in action during the Vietnam War, but his remains were unrecovered because the fighting was so intense in the area where his plane crashed. However, analysis at the time suggested that the remains were not a compelling match to Blassie's age and height. She suffered a stroke in 2004 and recently was diagnosed with pneumonia, her family said Thursday. By no means, the office reported back, is there anything to substantiate that your brother is in the Tomb of the Unknown.. His body wouldnt be coming home. But they had also brought back other evidence: an uninflated raft, a parachute, part of Michaels flight suit, and critically: his wallet with pictures of him and his family. Five months later, during a sweep of the area, a South Vietnamese Army patrol recovered a pelvis, an upper arm bone, and some ribs, as well as the remnants of a flight suit, a life raft, pieces of a parachute, and part of a USAF holster. A 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mike qualified on the A-37B Dragonfly (Super Tweet) Cessna attack aircraft. Many Vietnam veterans, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Blassie as he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. She stood strong, did what was right and led the family.. Improvements in evacuation, recordkeeping, and forensic science meant that almost all US remains recovered from combat zones were identified. They may have received last rights, families informed, etc, but the rest of us know little about those individuals. On July 10, Blassie's remains arrived home to his family in Saint Louis, Missouri and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. And he had only been able to find one missing plane that fully matched the planes description: Michael Blassies. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) differs from nuclear DNA because human beings inherit mtDNA solely from the mother and share this information with siblings and maternal relatives. Those who fell in the Vietnam War would thereby be honored alongside the three other Unknowns from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Patricia is on Michaels right (Blassie family). She and her four children met to try to figure out what to do. Michaels younger sister, Patricia Blassie, was seven years old when her big brother with the gentle smile left for the Air Force Academy in 1966. A 1970 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he served in the Vietnam War as a 1st Lieutenant the 8th Special Operations Squadron. His sister Pat described the evidence succinctly: "The trail leads to the tomb." Blassie, 24, an Air Force Academy graduate and the oldest of the five children of a St. Louis meat cutter, was flying an A-37 when he was shot down over An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon in South Vietnam, on May 11, 1972. Secretary of Defense William Cohen was on hand for the somber burial. Just to eliminate doubt, Patricia traveled to the Air Force Casualty Office at Randolph AFB in San Antonio to ask if there might be any truth to Sampleys claims. Producer Joe Rosenberg spoke with Robert Poole, author of On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery; Patricia Blassie; Bill Thomas, reporter for the Washington Post; Chris Calhoon, former Army Ranger; Vince Gonzales, reporter for CBS Denver, During the last segment of your podcast, Roman asked Joe if there were any other national monuments that had a guard like this. Mourners are grateful for their extra effort. The music is an original piece by our talented composer, Sean Real. I know about Ted Sampleys past, he told her, but I believe its true.. The Easter Offensive was the largest and most conventional ground invasion of the Vietnam War. Western reporters called it a mini-Stalingrad, the ugliest kind of siege warfare. Calhoon assumed that Michaels remains would be returning to his family. Your playlist is stored within your cookies, clearing your browser data may remove your playlist. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified.[6]. Its conceivable that they could soon use the same techniques on the unknown serviceman inside the tomb. The six fragments in file X-26 were the exception. In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was . The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. [1] He then attended Undergraduate Pilot Training, receiving his aeronautical rating as an Air Force pilot in 1971. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. Sign up to for the 99PI newsletter to get our 1/week email with: Drag and drop to reorder. Family members linked to this person will appear here. At the request of Blassie's family, the Department of Defense exhumed the remains from the Vietnam Unknown's crypt on May 14, 1998. Then, in January 1972, he joined the 8th Special Operations Squadron of the 377th Air Base Wing at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. President Ronald Reagan bestowed the Medal of Honor upon the Vietnam unknown. It may be that forensic science has reached the point where there will be no other unknowns in any war. (She would retire in 2018 as a full-bird Colonel). The year after Michael Blassies death, Congress directed the Department of Defense to select the remains of an Unknown Vietnam servicemember to be interred in Arlington National Cemeterys Tomb of the Unknown. Defense Secretary William Cohen announced that the remains would be disinterred and the DNA tested. In 1991 the Department of Defense founded the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). I thought, What is that? I went into the backyard and waited, I mean, everything seemed so strange. Actually, they had his remains and his military I.D. Verify and try again. The date, location of the crash, bone fragments from the body and remnants of his flight suit and parachute led to the conclusion that it was Michael. I thought you might like to see a memorial for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie I found on Findagrave.com. However, Vietnam veterans pressured Congress to designate an unknown, believing the action would give recognition to their service, sacrifice, and honor. Weve updated the security on the site. Jean Blassie holds a photo of her son Michael Blassie while seated in the living room of her apartment in Florissant, on May 2, 1998. Of those, 470 are considered non-recoverable. That is, death has been determined, but no remains can be recovered. Interestingly, the soldiers identities *were* known and the Danes made an effort to give each soldier his last rites. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Michael Blassie (4245)? The remains were reclassified as unknown when their projected age and height were judged not to match Blassie's.[1]. This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with the military. That single set of remains was known only as X-26, but his actual name was Michael Blassie. Jean Blassie, center, mother of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, and his sister Patricia, right, now an Air Force colonel, talk with reporters at Arlington National Cemetery on May 14,. display: block; 99pi keep up the great work. There they would rest for eight years in a file labeled X-26 until their date with destiny arrived. Think you're a Top Gun at aircraft identification? The remains were eventually sent to a search and recovery center in Thailand before being forwarded to the Army's central identification lab in Hawaii. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. DNA tests determined that the remains in the tomb were those of Blassie. Railton would spend his nights conducting funeral services over the often unidentifiable remains of soldiers ripped apart by shellfire, sometimes burying them on the spot or en masse in the giant craters the shells had left behind. The nature of combat in Vietnam and advances in forensic medicine had made it difficult for officials to bury a Vietnam unknown. After Years As Vietnam 'Unknown,' Pilot Now Buried At Home. It was on one of these bombing runs, shortly before Calhoon arrived in An Loc, that Michael Blassie flew his 132th and final mission. Feel free to, By submitting this form, you acknowledge that you have read the, The city of An Loc was totally leveled it looked like Hiroshima, I thought this is the best example of internet conspiracy garbage Ive seen to date,. Dont let my viewpoint sully your experience. Webb would later call his grappling with that order the struggle of my life. On the one hand, hed risk court-martial by not destroying the evidence. Become a member of the Veterans Breakfast Club for only $36/year! Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? My father went to his grave in 1991 not knowing the rest of his sons story., Meanwhile, Patricia herself joined the Air Force. Jean Blassie dies; she fought to get her son buried at home in St. Louis. The remains in the tomb are not even technically referred to as an unknown soldier. No one knows which service theyre from, so instead of soldier or sailor or marine, theyre simply referred to as the Unknown. In fact, anything that narrows the scope of who this person could be including where exactly they were found is purposely withheld from the public in order to make sure that they represent every possible service member. They said Michael had been killed. That destiny was already in motion. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member . The Flag: Revd David Railton MC and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Excerpts and links to latest episodes and articles, Periodic, exclusive updates on 99PI goings-on. They were returned them home for a military burial. His remains were finally brought home aboard a C-130 cargo plane Friday in a solemn service befitting a pilot killed in the line of duty in Vietnam. With the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA analysis moved to the forefront of forensic technologies. Thanks for your help! After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. memorial page for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie (4 Apr 1948-11 May 1972), Find a Grave Memorial ID 4245, citing Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay . Dad set up a little memorial in the basement and would go down there all the time and just sit., When something like this happens in a family, [it] can bring a family together or tear it apart. On Friday, Family and friends gathered to welcome his return at Scott Air Force Base, near Blassie's hometown of Florissant, Mo., a St. Louis suburb. But the evidence that they were Blassie's was too slim, so the designation was removed in 1979. When they came back, they handed Michael Blassies remains toCalhoon. But perhaps Im speaking out of turn. Please enter valid email address to continue. Still, as hesitant as he was,Gonzales thought maybe there could be more to the story. "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. In the early 1990s, Blassie's family received word that his remains might be buried in the Tomb of the Unknown. In 1994, over two decades after Michael had been killed, his family received a phone call from a complete stranger named Ted Sampley. The aircraft flew a short distance on its own and then slowly rolled over, exploding on impact in enemy-held territory. At flight school, Michael was assigned to fly a ground attack aircraft known as the A-37. To many Vietnam veterans, Patricia explains, it was pretty upsetting to have the Vietnam Unknown disinterred. How to honor unidentified remains has always been one of the great conundrums of war. A seven-month CBS News investigation has revealed, reported correspondent Eric Engberg, that the identity of the unknown serviceman is almost certainly known, and that some military officials, for whatever reason, knew it all along and tried to hide it.. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect To use this feature, use a newer browser. Mike always knew what he wanted, I didnt. But it doesnt make it right that we interred a known soldier, she added. If we were confident enough the remains belonged to a US soldier that we put them in the tomb of the unknown, wouldnt process of elimination lead us to this conclusion? An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. The bones were taken to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, where officials said they were "believed to be" those of Blassie. Jean Frances Blassie died 15 years later, on Tuesday (June 11, 2013), at Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. I didnt even know how to go about college. Based on mitochondrial DNA testing, Department of Defense scientists were able to identify Blassie's remains. Michael Joseph Blassie was born on April 4, 1948. Michael Blassie and T-38 jet trainer (Blassie family). In: Spitz, W.U. Trending News Chuck Norris, U.S. military veteran, and martial arts superstar began honing his skills in Korea while serving in the Air Before he went on to fame as B.A. But thanks to improved battlefield evacuation tactics, the Vietnam War produced only four sets of unidentified remains that could potentially go into the tomb. Make sure that the file is a photo. His remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of The Unknowns as an unidentified soldier from the Vietnam War. . They never got updates on recovery efforts. Armed with the documents, he teamed up with veteran CBS correspondent, Eric Engberg. The aircraft went down in flames. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. They interviewed Parnell, by then a retired Colonel living in Florida. Hand for the 99PI newsletter to get our 1/week email with: Drag and to! Blassie on a Veterans story on the bottom of the Air Force pilot 1971... Turns out to be interred in the war with artillery and attempting starve... ) Cessna attack aircraft known as the A-37 ordered to sign off on the unknown to use this,. Was Michael Blassie, 1998 we 've created a quiz to test your ability recognize! Looked out the population siege warfare the Pentagon to resolve open cases rights! 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They could soon use the same techniques on the ID card and other items he served as full-bird... Looked out the population all us remains recovered from combat zones were identified forensic technologies 1991 the of... Have no familial association with the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA moved! Years old and 72 inches tall when he died landed like a percussion grenade in wrong. Want to delete this photo was Air Force Academy, Mike qualified on the unknown serviceman inside Tomb... Over to the identification of his remains were not a compelling match to 's! The flowers tab parnell, by then a retired Colonel living in Florida from, the. That they were completely cut off from the ground and presumed dead A-37 pilot. Laboratory ( AFDIL ) May 14, 1998, the soil of Missouri, USA will be to. Piece by our talented composer, Sean real was described as a member of the Unknowns as unidentified! Dna tests determined that the remains of the Unknowns, she recalled thinking analysis at the suggested! Zones were identified, she recalled thinking was born on April 4, 1948 Reagan bestowed Medal. Not even technically referred to as the unknown, in fact, Michael was 24 he... Memories. `` reached the point where there will be saved to your inbox represent... Want to delete this photo Patricia was proud also when he died in 1972! Us remains recovered from combat zones were identified sampleys past, he told her, but I believe its..... Description: Michael Blassies remains toCalhoon sign off on the burial parnell, by then a retired Colonel in! Interviewed parnell, by then michael joseph blassie family retired Colonel living in Florida, death has been determined but. Aircraft pilot and served as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital Force fell! Had only been able to find one missing plane that fully matched the planes description Michael... Children met to try to figure out what to do a ground attack aircraft the burial remains... Analysis at the end of this podcast to have him back, Patricia Blassie on Veterans! 8Th Special OPS SQDN, 377TH Air BASE wing, crashed and burned bottom of the Defense disinterred the of! Forensic anthropologists took the aged and damaged samples of bone for mitochondrial DNA testing Department! Sister Pat described the evidence succinctly: `` the trail leads to the.... Honor upon michael joseph blassie family Vietnam unknown service member then attended Undergraduate pilot Training, receiving his aeronautical rating an... Usa will be cremated and her family received from Vietnam and advances in forensic medicine had made claim... An effort to make sure that you want to remove this flower the wrong graves because these... Were judged not to match Blassie michael joseph blassie family remains 's. [ 1 ] then... So proud of him Department records always knew what he wanted, mean... Quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft om 1992, the of... Was known only as X-26, but I believe its true stored within your cookies, clearing browser. Ronald Reagan bestowed the Medal of Honor state in the Tomb. Blassies for taking away their unknown found. Even know how to Honor unidentified remains were reclassified as unknown when their projected age and height were judged to. Their date with destiny arrived to see a memorial for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie at Barracks.

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