thedrifter
09-29-03, 06:36 PM
Vietnam War MIA's Identified
Sep 29, 2003
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. For more details
visit http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ [http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/].
-- News Releases: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/
-- DoD News: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/dodnews.html
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Support Our Soldiers"
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
United We Stand
God Bless America
*****
Were it not for the brave,
there would be no Land of the Free!
Remember our POW/MIA's
I'll never forget!
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Sep 29, 2003
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. For more details
visit http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ [http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/].
-- News Releases: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/
-- DoD News: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/dodnews.html
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Support Our Soldiers"
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
United We Stand
God Bless America
*****
Were it not for the brave,
there would be no Land of the Free!
Remember our POW/MIA's
I'll never forget!
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: