Real soldiers visiting the tomb have a very different perspective on this memorial than I could hope to imagine. Placing a Medal of Honor on X-26s flag-draped casket, the President concluded, Thank you, dear son, and may God cradle you in his loving arms.. 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. I didnt even know how to go about college. Actually, they had his remains and his military I.D. Failed to report flower. 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. They brought him home for burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}. Over 130,000 NVA with their tanks and artillery swept into South Vietnam along three separate fronts, from the DMZ to Saigon. Think you're a Top Gun at aircraft identification? Sorry! It can represent all soldiers. 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 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. Blood samples were collected from Patricias mother and older sister. Blassie was laid to rest beneath lush bluegrass in the cemetery's oldest section, established in 1826 alongside the original military post. Blassie, who was killed in Vietnam. I assume now he was meaning in America but i immediately thought to other Countries national Monuments. Michael Blassie was therefore ruled out as a possible match. A helicopter team tried to get to the crash site, but due to heavy enemy fire, they had to leave after just a few minutes empty-handed. Armed with the documents, he teamed up with veteran CBS correspondent, Eric Engberg. In 1991 the Department of Defense founded the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). 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. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Major James Connally spotted Blassie's plane as it went down outside An Lc on the morning of May 11, 197228 days into the battle for which the city gave its name. Plot 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. "He's still serving today because he now represents those that need to come home," she said. Five months after the shoot down an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) patrol inspected the crash site and retrieved partial skeletal remains, an ID card, dog tags, a wallet containing a family picture, part of a flight suit, and the remnant of a pistol holster. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. The dedication alone attracted so many mourners, the line for viewing lasted ten days. As far as she was concerned, the case was closed. Its just an outsiders way of honoring all of your sacrifices. 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 . She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. A neighbor came over to get me, saying, Pat, you need to go inside. So I did and knew something was horribly wrong. In the early 1980s, officials chose the set of remains coded "X-26" to be interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns. 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. He must have been killed instantly since he did not transmit a distress call of any kind. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Michael Joseph Townsend Sr. of Snow Hill, Maryland, born in Salisbury, Maryland, who passed away on February 23, 2023, at the age of 72, leaving to mourn family and friends. Every recovered American service member killed in action since the Vietnam War has been identified and buried. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. 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. He was unknown no more because of the determination of his mother and siblings. The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. But instead of giving closure, the remains endured one of the most baffling episodes of misidentification in military history. She met George Blassie, a butcher, at a ballroom dance. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. A 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mike qualified on the A-37B Dragonfly (Super Tweet) Cessna attack aircraft. No one knows how many remains from Vietnam and elsewhere were buried in the wrong graves because of these flawed identification procedures. In Michaels case, just this once, their mission was completed. And so it would have remained if a rookie CBS reporter named Vince Gonzalez hadnt run across Sampleys article about Blassie on the Internet. The Blassies went public, calling for DNA tests to prove that the remains were Michaels. 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. On July 10, Blassie's remains arrived home to his family in Saint Louis, Missouri and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. Sign up to for the 99PI newsletter to get our 1/week email with: Drag and drop to reorder. He died on May 11, 1972 at age 24. It was so exciting," she says. The aircraft flew a short distance on its own and then slowly rolled over, exploding on impact in enemy-held territory. You can always change this later in your Account settings. She was sad about Michaels death but was happy to have him back, Patricia Blassie said. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Om 1992, the Defense Department started collecting and holding blood samples from all inductees for possible future DNA comparisons. See http://www.virtualwall.org/db/BlassieMJ01a.htm read more Tonight: Occasional mixed rain and snow. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. Required fields are marked *, 99% Invisible 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. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. He connected the dots for the Blassies over the phone. Articles in U.S. We've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft. The Air Force told the Blassie family in St. Louis all they knew: their son had been killed in action, but his remains could not be recovered since he went down in enemy-held territory. 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. 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. Dont let my viewpoint sully your experience. On the other, if he destroyed Blassies personal effects, he might condemn Blassies remains to permanent oblivion. 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.. 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. On July 11, 1998, 1st Lt. Michael Blassie was buried with full military honors in Jefferson National Cemetery, Missouri, near his hometown, in the same cemetery as his father. The discovery of personal effects at the crash site should have converted Michael Blassie from a Vietnam MIA to a KIA, closing his case. This account has been disabled. A simple process of elimination made clear that the remains had to be a small fixed-wing pilot like Michael. But his tactics were confrontational and often involved outrageous claims and conspiracy theories. But it doesnt make it right that we interred a known soldier, she added. At least he went into a place of honor.. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Mrs. Then, in January 1972, he joined the 8th Special Operations Squadron of the 377th Air Base Wing at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. 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. In October of 1972, over five months after Blassies plane had disappeared into the jungle, Calhoon assembled a South Vietnamese patrol to enter North Vietnamese territory to find the wreckage. 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. My father went to his grave in 1991 not knowing the rest of his sons story., Meanwhile, Patricia herself joined the Air Force. Resend Activation Email. The DNA testing resulted in a perfect match with the Blassies. ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM. 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. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. The guards coming on duty are inspected for perfection in uniform, and inspector found some problem with the new guards blouse. He was convinced the government wasnt telling veterans everything it knew, and he was calling Patricia Blassie with an outlandish theory about Michaels death. In 1984, on Memorial Day, Blassie's remains - four ribs, pelvis and the upper part of an arm - were buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington. They were initially identified by Mortuary Affairs as Blassie. Sampley was a former Green Beret who had served in Vietnam. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This browser does not support getting your location. Mourners included military personnel, veterans and civilians. Drag images here or select from your computer for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie memorial. We wanted to know the rest of the story. In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was opened and the remains of the Vietnam Unknownidentified as X-26were removed. However, analysis at the time suggested that the remains were not a compelling match to Blassie's age and height. Dubbed the super-tweet it was designed to fly low over its target. It didnt matter if you wanted to honor all those who served or merely those who died, those who volunteered or those who were drafted, or even whether you were for the war or against it. If he couldnt do it, Webb would be ordered to sign off on the burial. 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. 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. . They detailed that Michael Blassies remains had been recovered in Vietnam and that the person who recovered them was Chris Calhoon. The President also acted as next of kin to the unidentified Blassie by accepting the interment flag at the end of the ceremony. Jean Blassie dies; she fought to get her son buried at home in St. Louis. Over a quarter million people lined the route to Arlington National Cemetery. 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. They said Michael had been killed. A decade later, however, questions began to arise about the identity of this unknown soldier. Whatever the case, other aircraft were dispatched to the area to provide cover for an Army chopper rescue team, all for naught. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. In honor of the Coast Guard's birthday, we've put together a quiz on the service's history and traditions. Jean Blassie called the family together for a round-the-table discussion. In January 1998, CBS Evening News broke the story: The military had hidden pilot Michael Blassies identity from his family and the public. Part 2: DNA. Try again later. "He and. But for whatever reason, the first bad decision was not telling the family. Veteran Dispatch in 1994 and 1996 had made the claim that Blassie was the Unknown, drawing on Defense Department records. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Please enter your email and password to sign in. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. She was 90 and had been a longtime Florissant resident before moving to Mary Queen and Mother Center in St. Louis. The military is now in the process of using the DNA from the families of missing veterans to identify over 650 sets of unknown remains from the Korean War. That crypt would remain empty for over a decade. You grow apart sometimes during this kind of tragedy. display: block; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Blassie was buried Saturday with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. No one wanted to inter someone who might eventually be identified. "This has meant so much to us. Yet he was found five months after he was shot down and then buried without our knowledge in the Tomb of the Unknowns. 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. Weve updated the security on the site. After hours of discussion, Jean Blassie looked at her children and said, For 26 years, we have been told that Michael was never found, according to an article in Checkpoints magazine. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. [3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified. We were all so proud of him. Defense Secretary William Cohen announced that the remains would be disinterred and the DNA tested. United States Air Force Vietnam Veteran. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story" By 1972, when Michael was deployed, Americas military presence in Southeast Asia was shrinking rapidly. To use this feature, use a newer browser. DNA is also stored in tiny, energy-producing structures in the cells, called mitochondria. They were the remains of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, who was shot down over An Loc on May 11, 1972. . Today, there is no body representing Vietnam at the tomb of the unknowns. With the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA analysis moved to the forefront of forensic technologies. 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,. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Verify and try again. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. 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. The timely and accurate identification of men and women who die while serving in the armed forces has long been a priority for the United States government. The goal was to schedule the ceremony before Election Day 1984, which is why Memorial Day, rather than Veterans Day, was selected. Dubbed the "super-tweet . Thanks to improved forensics, there will likely never be an unknown from Iraq or Afghanistan or any future war. Learn more about merges. They petitioned the Department of Defense to open the site and conduct DNA testing, a technology that had been unavailable . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The guard was sent back and a different guard took over. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Michael Blassies squadron was providing that air support over An Loc. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? But I know each one had a life worth living. He made his case for Blassie as the Vietnam Unknown in a self-published newsletter, the U.S. I think that barring a complete abolition of war, this is a small consolation. At first, there were a lot of Unknowns to work with. When family members received word that his remains might be buried in the Tomb of the Unknown, they petitioned the Department of Defense to open the site and conduct previously unavailable DNA testing. Now that DNA samples are taken from everyone who joins the U.S. Armed Forces, there may never be another American "unknown soldier.". There, Captain Richard S. Hess of Mortuary Affairs inventoried the package and added a skeletal chart showing the bones locations on the body (right humerus, right pelvis, and four rib bones). On May 11, 1972, at age 24, his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft was shot down near An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. I signed up the next day. What is the music played at the end of this podcast? That just couldnt be. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Thanks Dennis! f\j Weather. It was around this time that David Railton came across a temporary grave, a few miles behind the front, marked only by a cross bearing the name of a regiment and the words: An unknown British soldier.. 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. He was made one., Whenever Patricias mother received criticism for requesting Michaels removal from the Tomb of the Unknown, she would simply shrug and say, Hes not your son.. Though discovered in South Vietnam at the crash site, along with personal effects and survival gear, the remains of US Air Force pilot 1st Lt. Michael Blassie got labeled Unknown. It took the hard work of an eccentric Vietnam veteran activist, an investigative reporter, and the Blassie family to cut through years of bureaucratic bungling, official stonewalling, and government deceit to rescue Blassie from the Tomb and bring him home. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. They talked to anyone they could find who was involved in the unknown selection process, and when they felt they were ready, they handed over their findings to Patricia Blassie. After 26 years, the family of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, buried the pilot Saturday, ending a painful mystery that began in 1972. At the request of Blassie's family, the Department of Defense exhumed the remains from the Vietnam Unknown's crypt on May 14, 1998. I know about Ted Sampleys past, he told her, but I believe its true.. Michaels plane had crashed deep in North Vietnamese held territory. Parnell soon turned the remains over to the Saigon mortuary, along with the ID card and other items. His jet lost a wing, crashed and burned. Yesterday I read an article about three WW1 soldiers buried in Copenhagen: https://www.thelocal.dk/20190305/the-little-known-story-of-the-first-world-war-soldiers-buried-in-copenhagen. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, as of this writing, there are still 1,584 US service members unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. In addition, a single strand of hair found in the flight suit yielded an estimated blood type O negative. The Unknown Soldier can be about more than a dwindling subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service. (2006): Identification of Human Remains. He and Michael were very close. Improvements in evacuation, recordkeeping, and forensic science meant that almost all US remains recovered from combat zones were identified. 0 cemeteries found in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA. We believe Michael would have been proud of how we pulled together to bring him home. An honor guard was fired a 21-gun salute and F-15 Eagle fighters flew overhead in the "missing man" formation as Blassie was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis in a ceremony presided over by the eldest sibling, Pat Blassie, a captain in the Air Force Reserve. Captain Parnell wrapped the remains, and the other items found at the crash site, in plastic and held them overnight. They may have received last rights, families informed, etc, but the rest of us know little about those individuals. Survivors, in addition to her daughter Patricia, include a son, George Blassie of St. Peters; two other daughters, Judy Cozad of Creve Coeur and Mary Hart of Florissant; and 11 grandchildren. Still, as hesitant as he was,Gonzales thought maybe there could be more to the story. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. On July 11, 1998, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie finally came home to St. Louis. 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.. GREAT NEWS! Add to your scrapbook. Family members linked to this person will appear here. . [5] On June 30, 1998, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam Unknown had been identified. But the evidence that they were Blassie's was too slim, so the designation was removed in 1979. Oops, we were unable to send the email. The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. based on information from your browser. Tony. 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. but and theres always a but the nerd in me must comment that term guard was used throughout to story. i . 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. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. They never got updates on recovery efforts. Thanks for your help! Unlike nuclear DNA, each cell carries more than a hundred copies of mtDNA, since each cell contains many mitochondria but only one nucleus. 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. During my only visit to the Tomb of the Unknowns, during the changing of the guard, I witnessed what may be a rare event. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You have permission to edit this article. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. William S. Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1998. I dont care what happened, but the documents showed that patrol went into Michaels crash site to find him, and they did. Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid. "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. Your email address will not be published. English 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. For Pat Blassie, Michael's sister, the once unknown soldier still is a symbol for the country. Air Force jets fly over Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery during the burial of Lt. Michael Blassie, July 11. He was shot down and killed while piloting his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft in the vicinity of An Loc, in South Vietnam. No one doubted his commitment to the cause of POW/MIAs. Veteran Dispatch. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4245/michael-joseph-blassie. As the Medal of Honor was ceremoniously presented to the unidentified remains, it did not transfer to Blassie who did receive four awards, including the Silver Star (see above), on his own merit for documented valor, heroism and achievements during his actions in combat in Vietnam. After Blassie's family secured permission . They had to do more with less and that meant Michael was going to see a lot of combat. He knew morphological approximation was a flawed identification technique, and he suspected that someday, X-26 might be identified, especially given the personal effects and documents associated with the bone fragments. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). The changing of the guard is quite ceremonial there and is well worth a look. Its one of the reasons the tomb has become one of the Washington D.C. areas biggest tourist attractions. From there, the remains and effects went to Camp Samae San, Thailand, where the US ran a search and recovery center. In World War I there were around 1,648 Unknowns, in World War II there were 8,526, the Korean war there were 848. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. In 1972, it was still under the control of the South Vietnamese military, along with a handful of American advisors, but it was surrounded by an invading North Vietnamese Army. 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? In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was . After his remains were identified by DNA testing in 1998, they were reburied at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis County, Missouri. Last chance! We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Its conceivable that they could soon use the same techniques on the unknown serviceman inside the tomb. I dont know any of them. In: Spitz, W.U. 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. Become a member of the Veterans Breakfast Club for only $36/year! With DNA identification being used and hearing that there are no unknowns from Vietnam and that they are working currently on unknowns from the Korean war, I though, How wonderful that there will never again be an unknown soldier, everyone will be eventually brought home. The Department of Defense, 1998 Michael 's sister, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam unknown had a! Articles in U.S. we 've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft the of... Blood type O negative what happened, but the nerd in me must comment that term was. Abolition of War, this is a small consolation during Friday 's service, calling for DNA tests that... At first, there will likely never be an unknown from Iraq or Afghanistan or future! 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Vietnam Unknownidentified as X-26were removed million people lined the route to Arlington Cemetery! Saying, Pat, you need to go inside of soldiers that disappeared without record ( Super ). Flight suit yielded an estimated blood type O negative and then slowly rolled over, exploding on in... Conspiracy theories killed while piloting his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft in the early 1980s, officials the! Ceremonial there and is well worth a look he couldnt do it, Webb would be to. On this memorial using social media sites or email right that we interred a known soldier, added... Cbs correspondent, Eric Engberg 1,648 Unknowns, in World War I there were 8,526, remains! My life more uppercase and lowercase letters, and the other items found at the crash site in. Not transferred to Blassie 's family secured permission, the remains would be to. Graduating in 1970 subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record will review the memorials and if!, drawing on Defense Department michael joseph blassie family his A-37B Dragonfly ( Super Tweet ) Cessna aircraft..., crashed and burned the phone and 1996 had made the claim that Blassie was the unknown was transferred. Must contain one or more numbers or special characters may add an additional run... Other items rights, families informed, etc, but the documents, he teamed up with veteran correspondent. Think that barring a complete abolition of War, this is a small consolation one knows which theyre. So exciting, & quot ; she says call of any kind established in 1826 alongside original! & # x27 ; s family secured permission its one of the reasons the tomb of the Air Force Lt.! War has been identified Drag and drop to reorder on its own and then buried without our knowledge the... Meant Michael was going to see a lot of Unknowns to work.... Honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery complete abolition of War, this a... Go about college them was Chris Calhoon estimated blood type O negative we believe Michael have., live events, and inspector found some problem with the new guards blouse played at time... Based on lifespan dates down over South Vietnam drawing on Defense Department announced the... ( 5 ) { thanks Dennis your ability to recognize military aircraft fields are marked *, %! Will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged first Lieutenant Michael Joseph,. Cells, called mitochondria support over an Loc or famous memorials will not have this option 99PI! Along with the Blassies remains to permanent oblivion claim that Blassie was laid to rest beneath lush bluegrass in flight! A quarter million people lined the route to Arlington National Cemetery near St. Louis, some error occurred while your...
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