Thu, Nov 04, 2004
Lost When Their C-47 Was Downed Over Laos
Six servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War have been
identified and are being buried as a group at Arlington National
Cemetery Friday with full military honors.
They are:
- Air Force Col. Theodore E. Kryszak of Buffalo (NY)
- Air Force Col. Harding E. Smith of Los Gatos (CA)
- Air Force Lt. Col. Russell D. Martin of Bloomfield (IA)
- Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luther L. Rose of Howe (TX)
- Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Ervin Warren, of Philadelphia
(PA)
On June 23, 1966, the crew was aboard an AC-47 "Spooky" gunship
flying a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos.
At about 9:25 p.m., the aircraft radioed, "we have a hot fire," and
another radio transmission was heard to order "bail out." Witnesses
reported the aircraft was on fire, then crashed into a heavily
wooded area 30 miles northeast of Tchepone, in Khannouan Province,
Laos. No parachutes from the crew were observed and no emergency
beepers were heard. An aerial search of the site found no evidence
of survivors.
In cooperation with the Lao government, a joint team of US and
Lao specialists traveled to a suspected crash site in Khammouan
Province in October 1994 where a villager took them to an area
where personal effects, aircraft wreckage, crew-related materials
and a crew member's identification tag were found.
In May-June 1995, a joint US-Lao team excavated the site where
they recovered human remains as well as identification media of
other aircrew members. The US recovery team members were from the
Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI). CILHI scientists
applied a wide array of forensic techniques to the recovered
remains, including comparisons of dental charts and x-rays, as well
as the use of mitochondrial DNA sequencing.
The DNA sequencing was done by the Armed Forces DNA
Identification Laboratory, whose results aided the CILHI scientists
in identifying the remains. More than 88,000 Americans are missing
in action from all conflicts. Of these, 1,849 are from the Vietnam
War. The CILHI is now part of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command.
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