Remains of U.S. airman missing from Vietnam War chopper crash identified

2012-04-06 07:44:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The remains of a U.S. Airman who went missing in a helicopter crash in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1972 have been identified, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Thursday. His remains have been returned to his family.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Allen J. Avery, of Arlington, Massachusetts, went missing on April 6, 1972, when he and five other airmen were flying a combat search and rescue mission in their HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant helicopter over Quang Tri Province in South Vietnam. The aircraft crashed when it was hit by enemy ground fire.

About 16 years later, in 1988, Vietnamese authorities turned over remains they attributed to an American service member, although the name provided did not match anyone lost or missing from the Vietnam. The remains were held by the U.S. Department of Defense until improved technology could possibly facilitate identification.

Between 1989 and 1992, U.S. and Vietnamese investigators found evidence which led them to the helicopter's crash site as well as two burial sites. "Team members recovered human remains and personal effects as well as aircraft debris," the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement on Thursday.

The remains of the six crew members were accounted-for in 1997, but only three of the airmen were identified at that time. Improved scientific capability enabled progress in the mid-2000s, but it was not until 2010 that mitochondrial DNA testing matched the remains of the three other airmen.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Avery will be buried on Friday at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia with full military honors.

Since late 1973, the remains of more than 930 Americans killed in the Vietnam War have been accounted-for and returned to their families. With the accounting of Avery, 1,672 Americans remain missing from the conflict, which ended in April 1975 and left more than 315,000 people killed.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-04-06

I always read these articles with anticipation. I have a cousin who went missing in action and his remains have never been recovered. His mother waited for him until her dying day. His wife suffered greatly for many years trying to figure out what to do with her life. She raised his child and never remarried.

Not knowing is very difficult.

I barely remember him and I wasn't particularly close to him, but the pain of his MIA status still permeates the family psyche.

Yes, the pain is real.

I know many Vietnamese families who have no hope or expectation that they will ever find out what happened to their fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters.

Yes, the pain is real.

I know many Vietnamese families who have no hope or expectation that they will ever find out what happened to their fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters.

I do also feel bad for the suffering of the Vietnamese. But do you really know Vietnamese families, or are you making a political statement? To politicize a tragic, senseless war is despicable. Those who died on both sides were patriots.

I say this because I did know Sgt. Avery's family, although I never knew Allen. I am from his hometown. The return of his remains adds a bit of closure to America's veterans, and a lot of closure and pride to his family.