Four of Our Brethren, Downed in A "Jolly Green Giant" Crash, Have Been Found

The remains of four servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jack C. Rittichier, Barberton, Ohio; U.S. Air Force Capt. Richard C. Yeend, Jr., Mobile, Ala.; U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Elmer L. Holden, Oklahoma City and U.S. Air Force Sgt. James D. Locker, Sidney, Ohio. Rittichier, on a pilot exchange program with the U.S. Air Force, was the only Coast Guardsman missing in action from the Vietnam War.

On June 9, 1968, Rittichier and Yeend were pilot and co-pilot, respectively, of an HH-3E Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopter that departed Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, on a search and rescue mission for a downed U.S. pilot.

At the rescue site, Rittichier reported his aircraft had been struck by enemy fire. Before he could safely land, his aircraft stalled and exploded in a massive fireball. There were no survivors.

From 1989 through 1992, U.S. officials received information about the crash site from various Southeast Asian sources, including refugees seeking resettlement in the U.S. The reports suggested that some of the individuals may have seen or had access to materials collected from the crash site. Throughout the 1990s joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams led by the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting investigated the crash at many locations in Vietnam, all with negative results.

But in May 2002 a joint team operating in Laos received information about the crash of a large helicopter at a site near Ban Kaboui, Laos, about 15 kilometers from the reported wartime loss location. In late 2002, another team surveyed the suspected site and uncovered wreckage and crew-related items that correlated to a Jolly Green Giant helicopter. Then in January and February 2003, the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI), conducted an excavation where human remains were recovered and later identified by CILHI as those of the crew.

Approximately 1,800 Americans are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War, with 88,000 missing from all conflicts. Achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing in action is a top national priority.

Welcome home gentlemen. Your countrymen appreciate your sacrifice...

FMI: www.dtic.mil/dpmo, www.jollygreen.org