Calhoon assumed that Michaels remains would be returning to his family,but that wasnt the case. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. [1] He then attended Undergraduate Pilot Training, receiving his aeronautical rating as an Air Force pilot in 1971. In World War I there were around 1,648 Unknowns, in World War II there were 8,526, the Korean war there were 848. He must have been killed instantly since he did not transmit a distress call of any kind. They may have received last rights, families informed, etc, but the rest of us know little about those individuals. 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. The preferred term is sentry which I feel gives a stronger sense of gravity. Or so the story went. [5] On June 30, 1998, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam Unknown had been identified. Michaels plane had crashed deep in North Vietnamese held territory. 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. In honor of the Air Force's birthday, we've put together this Air Force history quiz. He basically sat on a shelf from 1972 to 1984, Patricia Blassie said. 99pi keep up the great work. The remains and associated materials were eventually turned over to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii for analysis and identification. The Easter Offensive was the largest and most conventional ground invasion of the Vietnam War. 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. For Pat Blassie, Michael's sister, the once unknown soldier still is a symbol for the country. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Patricia was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam six years later. Failed to delete memorial. They detailed that Michael Blassies remains had been recovered in Vietnam and that the person who recovered them was Chris Calhoon. Blood samples were collected from Patricias mother and older sister. 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. I know about Ted Sampleys past, he told her, but I believe its true.. I thought this is the best example of internet conspiracy garbage Ive seen to date, says Vince Gonzales, a reporter for CBS Denver who came across the story three years later in 1997. There was no question, the remains were Michaels. Many Vietnam veterans, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Blassie as he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. (2006): Identification of Human Remains. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. I think a third section of these guards/ceremonies around the world would have been a great inclusion. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4245/michael-joseph-blassie. Blassie, a decorated pilot, was 24 when he died in May 1972. Michael Blassies squadron was providing that air support over An Loc. And he had only been able to find one missing plane that fully matched the planes description: Michael Blassies. "He's still serving today because he now represents those that need to come home," she said. We believe Michael would have been proud of how we pulled together to bring him home. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Following the removal of Blassie's remains from the Tomb of the Unknowns, the slab marking "Vietnam" over the crypt that once held his remains was replaced with one that read "Honoring and Keeping Faith with America's Missing Servicemen",[7] as it was decided that the Vietnam crypt would remain a vacant cenotaph. The music is an original piece by our talented composer, Sean Real. 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. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Those who fell in the Vietnam War would thereby be honored alongside the three other Unknowns from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? [6] Calhoon assumed that Michaels remains would be returning to his family. After 26 years, the family of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, buried the pilot Saturday, ending a painful mystery that began in 1972. She said then-President Ronald Reagan had wanted to add a Vietnam War soldier to the Tomb of the Unknowns, joining the unknown soldiers from World War I and II and the Korean War. On March 21, 1984, Webb reluctantly signed. She took on the military, won, and brought him back for burial in his hometown of St. Louis. It turns out that, unlike previous wars, the Vietnam War didnt produce many Unknowns. She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. That's where he fell in love with flying, Pat Blassie said. 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. He also added the critical notation: BTB [Believed to Be] Lt. Blassie, Michael Joseph.. Trending News His sister Pat described the evidence succinctly: "The trail leads to the tomb." Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member . Pete Mecca is a speaker, author, and Vietnam Air Force veteran who runs VeteransArticle.com and hosts VBCs A Veterans Story every second Thursday online. The goal was to schedule the ceremony before Election Day 1984, which is why Memorial Day, rather than Veterans Day, was selected. We've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft. By 1972, when Michael was deployed, Americas military presence in Southeast Asia was shrinking rapidly. Try again. Over fifty countries would end up building similar memorials. 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. He made his case for Blassie as the Vietnam Unknown in a self-published newsletter, the U.S. 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. Michael was 24 years old and 72 inches tall when he died. Secretary of Defense William Cohen was on hand for the somber burial. After the war, Railton advocated for a grave bearing the body of a single soldier to bring the impossibly large tragedy down to a human scale. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. From top left to bottom right: dog tag chain fragment, signal marker pouch, match holder, parachute survival guide, and ammunition pouch. Jump to: Bio graphy Family Photos Comments Obit uary. Theyre too upsetting. 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. His remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of The Unknowns as an unidentified soldier from the Vietnam War. My parents marriage did not survive. For me the one with the most incredible presentation would have to be in Athens, Greece. Jean Blassie holds a photo of her son Michael Blassie while seated in the living room of her apartment in Florissant, on May 2, 1998. Another perspective on this issue is that all soldiers are unknown. In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was . On May 14, 1998, the Department of the Defense disinterred the remains of the Vietnam veteran from the Tomb of the Unknowns. The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. f\j Weather. In January 1998, CBS Evening News broke the story: The military had hidden pilot Michael Blassies identity from his family and the public. Real soldiers visiting the tomb have a very different perspective on this memorial than I could hope to imagine. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Blassie was born in St. Louis in 1948. It was all part of the effort to make sure that the Unknown could represent everyone who ever fought in the war. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { Process of elimination might sounded like it could have worked, until you take in account of the 2000+ MIA service members in that war. Make sure that the file is a photo. 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? And they never learned the truth: that their son Michaels remains were discovered some five months after his death. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service. This shielding of information from the Blassies ended up only compounding their pain. display: none; Out of the fog of war comes another version of the incident, one in which Michaels Dragonfly inverts upside down, and Michael ejects from the stricken aircraft. If they had, they might have hung up on him. Add to your scrapbook. Jean Blassie dies; she fought to get her son buried at home in St. Louis. English Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. The remains were exhumed in May; DNA tests that were not available 26 years ago confirmed the remains were Blassie's. I want to bring my son home.. Records can get damaged or destroyed, and post-mortem materials can be affected by decomposition, body fragmentation and exposure to heat. President Reagan presided over the funeral and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown. On May 11, Communist forces unleashed an all-out assault to take An Lc. display: block; The Blassie family in St. Louis didnt know Michael had been misidentified because they were never told thered been remains and effects recovered in the first place. I didnt have any direction, and the family was lower-middle income. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. No one knows how many remains from Vietnam and elsewhere were buried in the wrong graves because of these flawed identification procedures. Silver StarDistinguished Flying CrossPurple HeartAir Medal & 4 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC)Killed In Action, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. By the time his mother found out where he was, his remains were entombed in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington. "At a moment of great crises in the history of the world, he gave of himself," Archbishop Justin Rigali said to about 350 friends, family members and current and former members of the military. Sampley had no direct evidence proving Michael was in the tomb, but that didnt make him wrong. That simple, tragic explanation would be the only one that Blassies parents ever heard for 26 years. Jean Blassie called the family together for a round-the-table discussion. That is, he fell outside the approximated ranges on both counts. At one point he described the wounded, with their meager medical support, as looking like something out of the Civil War. Try again later. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Whatever the case, other aircraft were dispatched to the area to provide cover for an Army chopper rescue team, all for naught. 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. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. We wanted the entire truth, but they couldnt tell us that., The official designation was KIABNRKilled in Action, Body not Recovered., My father served in Normandy during World War II and he never got over losing Michael, Patricia recalls. Its conceivable that they could soon use the same techniques on the unknown serviceman inside the tomb. The test results showed a match with DNA samples from Jean Blassie and her oldest daughter. She grew bitter and even considered quitting the service. The accompanying shells found their mark. The Romans were fond of honoring them with an empty sarcophagus. So were dozens of Michaels old friends, classmates, and comrades in arms, along with thousands of others, including Vietnam veterans, who came to commemorate the return of a lost brother. That day changed the Blassie family forever, she says. American serviceman who remained behind were stretched thin. On July 10, Blassie's remains were transported to his family in St. Louis, and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. GREAT NEWS! Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Michael Blassies C-37 Dragonfly was part of that defense flying support for allied South Vietnamese ground units. Think you're a Top Gun at aircraft identification? But the evidence that they were Blassie's was too slim, so the designation was removed in 1979. Resend Activation Email. A simple process of elimination made clear that the remains had to be a small fixed-wing pilot like Michael. Search above to list available cemeteries. Yet he was found five months after he was shot down and then buried without our knowledge in the Tomb of the Unknowns. On the other, if he destroyed Blassies personal effects, he might condemn Blassies remains to permanent oblivion. Given the advance of DNA technology, there may never be another US Unknown. ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM. Blassie died when his A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near An Lc in what was then South Vietnam. 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. "This has meant so much to us. 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. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. A funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. today at Rose Philippine Duchesne Church, 2560 Parker Road, Florissant. He was constantly researching, protesting, and pressuring the Pentagon to resolve open cases. From a computer genius to a popular sitcom star, talented women have made their mark in the U.S. military. Tony. There is nothing but reverence, respect and deep sorrow among visitors. We want the truth, we want to bring him home. Her father died in a traffic accident when she was 9 or 10. Those vacuum-sealed samples now number some 8 million, sitting ready for a self-reference analysis in case of battlefield death. That they all made the ultimate sacrifice for me. Hurtful also were the objections she and her family received from Vietnam veterans, who resented the Blassies for taking away their Unknown. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. But for whatever reason, the first bad decision was not telling the family. 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. Michael's younger sister, Patricia Blassie, was seven years old when her big brother with the gentle smile left for the Air Force Academy in 1966. Jean Frances Blassie died 15 years later, on Tuesday (June 11, 2013), at Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur. Twenty-six years after he died, 1st Lt. Michael Blassie came home. You grow apart sometimes during this kind of tragedy. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. In addition, a single strand of hair found in the flight suit yielded an estimated blood type O negative. The unknowns from World War I and World War II are another story for now, but anything is possible. 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