michael joseph blassie family

But it doesnt make it right that we interred a known soldier, she added. Try again later. Sampley told them that remains had been discovered near Michaels crash site, along with items belonging to an Air Force pilot. . However, analysis at the time suggested that the remains were not a compelling match to Blassie's age and height. The saga of the Vietnam crypt of the Tomb of the Unknown is perhaps the darkest chapter of the US Department of Defenses long-running effort to account for POW/MIAs. I wouldnt think there was a known soldier in the Tomb of the Unknowns, she recalled thinking. Theyre too upsetting. On May 28, 1984, a Third Army Old Guard horse-drawn caisson moved slowly along Constitution Avenue. His sister Pat described the evidence succinctly: "The trail leads to the tomb." Family members linked to this person will appear here. The unknowns from World War I and World War II are another story for now, but anything is possible. He connected the dots for the Blassies over the phone. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. In 1976, they were shipped to Hawaii to be analyzed by the Armys Central Identification Laboratory (CIL-HI). During a memorial service Friday evening at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Blassie was remembered as a courageous young man who fought for peace. Another perspective on this issue is that all soldiers are unknown. President Ronald Reagan bestowed the Medal of Honor upon the Vietnam unknown. After 26 years, the family of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, buried the pilot Saturday, ending a painful mystery that began in 1972. He basically sat on a shelf from 1972 to 1984, Patricia Blassie said. They had to do more with less and that meant Michael was going to see a lot of combat. Many thanks for such a great show, this episode and all the others~ The date, location of the crash, bone fragments from the body and remnants of his flight suit and parachute led to the conclusion that it was Michael. His body wouldnt be coming home. } No one wanted to inter someone who might eventually be identified. The file that Vince discovered made it clear the the person who had been put in the tomb in 1984 had been far from unknown. "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. Today, said President Reagan at the Tomb, we pause to embrace him and all who served so well in a war whose end offered no parades, no flags, and so little thanks. Dubbed the "super-tweet . Trailing the procession were Vietnam veterans, comparatively disheveled with beards, long hair, and jungle fatigues. It is very austere and moving. After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. He had written an article he said proved that her brother had been buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery on May 28, 1984. It turns out that, unlike previous wars, the Vietnam War didnt produce many Unknowns. AFDIL has used DNA analysis to identify the remains of at least 150 military personnel from Vietnam, Korea, and World War 2, and assisted in the identification of victims from high profile disasters, both natural and man-made. Oops, we were unable to send the email. 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. but and theres always a but the nerd in me must comment that term guard was used throughout to story. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. [3][4] A CBS News report in January 1998 subsequently made the same claim. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? These sources reinforced the probability that Michael Blassies remains were in the Tomb. William S. Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1998. DNA identification had yet to advance to its current state when Blassie's remains were repatriated, and he lay in the Tomb of the Unknowns up to 1998, with visitors paying respects but unaware of his identity. Patricia Blassie, today a colonel with the Air Force Reserve who lives in Georgia, told her family of a phone call she had received in 1994 from a former Army Green Beret. Im a former Soldier from Australia, and a Tour Guide around Europe, and i immediately thought of all the different changing of the guards, and unknown Tombs i have visited. Hundreds, including Secretary of Defense William Cohen and House minority leader Richard Gephardt, attended the ceremony. His remains were finally brought home aboard a C-130 cargo plane Friday in a solemn service befitting a pilot killed in the line of duty in Vietnam. They were initially identified by Mortuary Affairs as Blassie. 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. 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. 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. Even though they were still officially believed to belong to Blassie, the lab was ordered to strip the remains of their believed to be designation, and give them the anonymous designation X-26. With the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA analysis moved to the forefront of forensic technologies. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member from the Vietnam War buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. As far as she was concerned, the case was closed. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. The first time, he was killed, his aircraft shot down while flying a mission during the Vietnam War in 1972. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Vacant, it will likely remain. The remains did not consist of much, just six bones. I find meaning in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier monument. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. Captain Parnell wrapped the remains, and the other items found at the crash site, in plastic and held them overnight. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. On July 10, Blassie's remains were transported to his family in St. Louis, and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Over a quarter million people lined the route to Arlington National Cemetery. 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. East wind * around 10 mph. He must have been killed instantly since he did not transmit a distress call of any kind. From top left to bottom right: dog tag chain fragment, signal marker pouch, match holder, parachute survival guide, and ammunition pouch. 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. The Blassies didnt know Sampley. Michaels plane had crashed deep in North Vietnamese held territory. The soldiers anonymity would allow each person who came to the grave to project whatever was most important to them onto the mystery. 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. Webb refused. 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. 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. The remains were then sent to Travis Air Force Base on May 24 and arrived at Andrews Air Force Base the following day. Yet he was found five months after he was shot down and then buried without our knowledge in the Tomb of the Unknowns. A funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. today at Rose Philippine Duchesne Church, 2560 Parker Road, Florissant. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. It wasnt until World War I that it occurred to anyone to bury a single unknown soldier in a public setting. Web Policies, Careers, Accessibility, HHS Vulnerability Disclosure NLM, 8600 Rockville Pike Bethesda MD 20894 NIH, HHS, FOIA, NLM Support Center, Last reviewed: 03 December 2014Last updated: 05 June 2014First published: 16 February 2006, Air Force equipment found with Michael Blassie. 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. [5] On June 30, 1998, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam Unknown had been identified. There is a problem with your email/password. She suffered a stroke in 2004 and recently was diagnosed with pneumonia, her family said Thursday. This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with the military. US air power was used extensively in defense of the city and five aircraft were lost that day: A-37B-1st Lt Michael J Blassie, 8th SOS, O-2A-Capt, Barry K Allmond, 21st TASS, O-2A, 1st Lt John H Haselton, 21st TASS, AH-1G Cpt . I didnt even know how to go about college. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Id also remind them that Michael was never an Unknown Soldier. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. Three years later, in 1997, Vince Gonzales, a young correspondent with CBS News, contacted the Blassies. 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.. Thats when a Vietnam veteran and former Green Beret named Ted Sampley called Patricias mother out of the blue. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. The six fragments in file X-26 were the exception. The DNA technology that could conclusively identify the remains was just around the corner, but in 1984 they were ordered to prepare X-26 for burial. We believe Michael would have been proud of how we pulled together to bring him home. Then, as more information about those remains was discovered, only one set of remains remained unknown. "We put away no final memories.". That Michael might be in the Tomb of the Unknown . Calhoon assumed that Michaels remains would be returning to his family,but that wasnt the case. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. They had no way of knowing the remains so caringly committed to the Tomb were that of their son and brother. The accompanying shells found their mark. Tonight: Occasional mixed rain and snow. The President also acted as next of kin to the unidentified Blassie by accepting the interment flag at the end of the ceremony. } This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Blassie died when his A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near An Lc in what was then South Vietnam. From there, the remains and effects went to Camp Samae San, Thailand, where the US ran a search and recovery center. Sampleys words landed like a percussion grenade in the Blassie household. She met George Blassie, a butcher, at a ballroom dance. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. We've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft. His jet lost a wing, crashed and burned. The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. Patricia still visits the tomb. Michael Blassie had become a cold statistic of war. But his tactics were confrontational and often involved outrageous claims and conspiracy theories. . }, First published on July 10, 1998 / 4:49 PM. By the time the package arrived in Hawaii, the wallet and ID were missing, presumed stolen during storage or transit. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { 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. Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid. 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. That single set of remains was known only as X-26, but his actual name was Michael Blassie. It has been watched over day and night since 1937 by a lone guard, forever marching back and forth in front of the tomb. Veteran Dispatch. 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. And so it would have remained if a rookie CBS reporter named Vince Gonzalez hadnt run across Sampleys article about Blassie on the Internet. display: none; Saint Louis, St. Louis City, Missouri, USA. Try again later. Her father died in a traffic accident when she was 9 or 10. Trending News After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Michael Blassie (4245)? No one doubted his commitment to the cause of POW/MIAs. Feel free to, By submitting this form, you acknowledge that you have read the, The city of An Loc was totally leveled it looked like Hiroshima, I thought this is the best example of internet conspiracy garbage Ive seen to date,. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member from the Vietnam War buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Michael Joseph Blassie Collection: U.S. Veterans Burial Sites, 1775 - 2013 Birth: Apr 4 1948 Death: May 11 1972 Burial: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63125, USA View the Record Michael Joseph Blassiein Vietnam Casualties, 1956 - 1998 Michael Joseph Blassie The president meant to assure families of soldiers with MIA status that their loved ones would not be forgotten, but his words were prescient of the Vietnam unknown's fate. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. 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 guards coming on duty are inspected for perfection in uniform, and inspector found some problem with the new guards blouse. It was so exciting," she says. Created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft, easy and FREE none Saint. 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