They were initially identified by Mortuary Affairs as Blassie. He was unknown no more because of the determination of his mother and siblings. . On May 11, 1972, at age 24, his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft was shot down near An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon. Many thanks for such a great show, this episode and all the others~ Jean Frances Adrian grew up in Jennings. Id also remind them that Michael was never an Unknown Soldier. Dont let my viewpoint sully your experience. 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. Try again. Updated: June 21, 2016 . The goal was to schedule the ceremony before Election Day 1984, which is why Memorial Day, rather than Veterans Day, was selected. Patricia was 13 years old when the Air Force chaplain knocked on their door to deliver the news of Michaels death. based on information from your browser. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? After 26 years, the family of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, buried the pilot Saturday, ending a painful mystery that began in 1972. His sister, Pat Blassie, was 10 years younger than her brother, but she remembered he started working as a kid by selling newspapers on the street corner. The Romans were fond of honoring them with an empty sarcophagus. Every recovered American service member killed in action since the Vietnam War has been identified and buried. His jet lost a wing, crashed and burned. World War I ushered in an era of total war and mass conscription, in which the combatants on both sides were mostly ordinary citizens, often rendered anonymous amidst the violence of the Western Front. She suffered a stroke in 2004 and recently was diagnosed with pneumonia, her family said Thursday. Michael Blassie in his Air Force Academy cadet uniform. Verify and try again. The aircraft flew a short distance on its own and then slowly rolled over, exploding on impact in enemy-held territory. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35, Pandemic-era food benefits end for millions of Americans as costs rise, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. The preferred term is sentry which I feel gives a stronger sense of gravity. Test your Navy knowledge with this Navy history quiz by Military.com. Try again later. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. A fellow airman saw tracer rounds directed toward Mikes A-37. Oops, something didn't work. An Army band played mournfully while 21-gun salutes cracked in the distance. [3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. Webb devised an ingenious solution: hide the crash-site artifacts where no one would ever find them, in the casket with the remains of X-26. Vacant, it will likely remain. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. That crypt would remain empty for over a decade. By no means, the office reported back, is there anything to substantiate that your brother is in the Tomb of the Unknown.. 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. Whatever was known about the remains of the Vietnam Unknown had never been revealed. There, a plaque holds words from. They had a letter from his flight leader, James Connally, who recapped what had happened., Still, without remains, there was a terrible sense of open-ended grief. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. It turns out that, unlike previous wars, the Vietnam War didnt produce many Unknowns. Failed to remove flower. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. After the Civil War, the Union buried 2,111 soldiers in a mass grave in Arlington that they purposely built in the middle of Robert E. Lees rose garden. Learn more about merges. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. Sampley told them that remains had been discovered near Michaels crash site, along with items belonging to an Air Force pilot. Patricia is on Michaels right (Blassie family). It is very austere and moving. In 1997, Gonzalez contacted Patricia. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Im curious how the remains werent identifiable as Michael Blassie if he was the only remaining unidentified serviceman from the war. Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid. Forensic anthropologists took the aged and damaged samples of bone for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Michael Blassie (4245)? \ . To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. Mike always knew what he wanted, I didnt. We've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com Jean Blassie lost. She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. 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,. 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. After nearly two decades of uncertainty, the family of Blassie can finally reveal the empty crypt in which the men and women who served in Vietnam were buried, as well as the flag that was once flown over it. 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. Blassie, who was killed in Vietnam. Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now The Pentagon had kept them in the dark, probably with the good intention of not getting the familys hopes up until Michaels identity could be confirmed. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified.[6]. 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. Patricia was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam six years later. Its like the reverse of this 99pi story! The email does not appear to be a valid email address. But instead of giving closure, the remains endured one of the most baffling episodes of misidentification in military history. 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. For the past year, Pat Blassie crusaded for the disinterment, convinced that recent evidence - including Blassie's wallet and dog tags found near the crash site - suggested the remains were those of her brother. However, analysis at the time suggested that the remains were not a compelling match to Blassie's age and height. Institute staff later reported their surprise when they opened the casket to retrieve the DNA and saw the crash-site artifacts Major Johnie Webb had enclosed with the remains back in 1984. This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with the military. With the conflicting information between the forensic analysis and the physical evidence, the remains were designated as "Unknown" and assigned the number "X-26.". It may be that forensic science has reached the point where there will be no other unknowns in any war. Defense Secretary William Cohen announced that the remains would be disinterred and the DNA tested. Air Force jets fly over Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery during the burial of Lt. Michael Blassie, July 11. 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. What is the music played at the end of this podcast? See http://www.virtualwall.org/db/BlassieMJ01a.htm read more United States Air Force Vietnam Veteran. Blassie was laid to rest beneath lush bluegrass in the cemetery's oldest section, established in 1826 alongside the original military post. 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. There were fewer than 25,000 US servicemen left in Vietnam, as opposed to the over 500,000 who had been deployed by the late 1960s. Today: Cloudy with a chance of sprinkles or flurries. Its conceivable that they could soon use the same techniques on the unknown serviceman inside the tomb. Scientists at CIL-HI estimated the deceaseds age to be between 26-33 years and height between 65.2-71.5 inches. Mourners included military personnel, veterans and civilians. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Arlington got to work building a special new crypt for the Tomb, one designed to hold the Vietnam War remains. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. The body will be cremated and her remains buried at Calvary Cemetery with her parents and grandparents. Jean Blassie lost her son twice. As is standard, all records pertaining to these remains were destroyed. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. "We put away no final memories.". No one doubted his commitment to the cause of POW/MIAs. The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. In the early 1990s, Blassie's family received word that his remains might be buried in the Tomb of the Unknown. Joseph Michael Leo Findlan Obituary. I know about Ted Sampleys past, he told her, but I believe its true.. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story" This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. } Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Signaling its determination to have its Vietnam Unknown, the Pentagon gave Webb six months to make a positive ID of X-26. . For Mrs. Blassie, the fight to recover her sons remains took a dramatic turn during a family meeting in November 1997 at her apartment in Florissant. Now that DNA samples are taken from everyone who joins the U.S. Armed Forces, there may never be another American "unknown soldier.". Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Visit the digital memorial page of Veteran Michael Joseph Blassie where you can share stories, photos, biographies, obituaries, tributes and more. On July 11, 1998, Michael Blassie was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. From a computer genius to a popular sitcom star, talented women have made their mark in the U.S. military. In honor of the Coast Guard's birthday, we've put together a quiz on the service's history and traditions. Everyone was free to mourn in their own way. She met George Blassie, a butcher, at a ballroom dance. The Army lab in Hawaii removed the BTB designation and, through a later discredited technique called morphological approximation, declared Michael Blassies remains as belonging to Unknown.. Yet he was found five months after he was shot down and then buried without our knowledge in the Tomb of the Unknowns. 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. Blassie dropped in low for a bombing run on attacking forces when enemy anti-aircraft fire boomed from the ground. On the other, if he destroyed Blassies personal effects, he might condemn Blassies remains to permanent oblivion. Make sure that the file is a photo. Unlike nuclear DNA, each cell carries more than a hundred copies of mtDNA, since each cell contains many mitochondria but only one nucleus. Think you're a Top Gun at aircraft identification? Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Based on mitochondrial DNA testing, Department of Defense scientists were able to identify Blassie's remains. Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. I think that barring a complete abolition of war, this is a small consolation. But in 1956, one small, seemingly innocent change to the formula of the Unknown would prove problematic: we began to add another set of unidentified remains for every subsequent war. He had been shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972.. After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. An Army caisson carried his casket from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984. Blassie was killed during the Vietnam war in 1972 and his remains were entombed in the Tomb of the Unknowns. (AP Photo/Brian K. Diggs), In thisJune, 30, 1998, photo,Joan Blassie, right, the mother of the Michael Blassie reacts to the news that the remains in the Tomb of Unknowns were confirmed by DNA testing as belonging to her son Lt. Michael Blassie, who was shot down over Vietnam. 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. Michael Blassies C-37 Dragonfly was part of that defense flying support for allied South Vietnamese ground units. They interviewed Parnell, by then a retired Colonel living in Florida. 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. With the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA analysis moved to the forefront of forensic technologies. They were a match and Michael Blassies remains were returned to his family. The aircraft went down in flames. Michael Joseph Blassie was a United States Air Force officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in May 1972. Today, there is no body representing Vietnam at the tomb of the unknowns. Members of the United States Air Force Color guard carry the casket containing the remains of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie on July 10, 1998 at Scott Air Force Base. "He and. They were just looking out for him until he could go home. Process of elimination might sounded like it could have worked, until you take in account of the 2000+ MIA service members in that war. It has been watched over day and night since 1937 by a lone guard, forever marching back and forth in front of the tomb. Sorry! 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. The President also acted as next of kin to the unidentified Blassie by accepting the interment flag at the end of the ceremony. The Unknown Soldier can be about more than a dwindling subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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