Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Of those, 470 are considered non-recoverable. That is, death has been determined, but no remains can be recovered. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. 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. Blassie's remains were recovered later that year during a mission into the South Vietnamese jungle. He had been shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972.. On May 14, 1998, the remains were exhumed and tested, revealing the "unknown" soldier to be Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. On July 11, 1998, Michael Blassie was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. No one doubted his commitment to the cause of POW/MIAs. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. Test your Navy knowledge with this Navy history quiz by Military.com. Jean Frances Blassie died 15 years later, on Tuesday (June 11, 2013), at Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur. He served as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot and was assigned to the 8TH SPECIAL OPS SQDN, 377TH AIR BASE WING, 7TH AF. In January 1998, CBS Evening News broke the story: The military had hidden pilot Michael Blassies identity from his family and the public. The guards coming on duty are inspected for perfection in uniform, and inspector found some problem with the new guards blouse. The Armed Forces have adopted the latest advances in fingerprint and dental identification, and forensic anthropology and radiology. Scientists at CIL-HI estimated the deceaseds age to be between 26-33 years and height between 65.2-71.5 inches. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. It can represent all soldiers. Become a member of the Veterans Breakfast Club for only $36/year! Love your show. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. Then, in January 1972, he joined the 8th Special Operations Squadron of the 377th Air Base Wing at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. GREAT NEWS! [5] On June 30, 1998, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam Unknown had been identified. No one wanted to inter someone who might eventually be identified. . You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. 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. Her father died in a traffic accident when she was 9 or 10. The American memorial is especially beautiful. I think a third section of these guards/ceremonies around the world would have been a great inclusion. 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.. His remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of The Unknowns as an unidentified soldier from the Vietnam War. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. 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. A neighbor came over to get me, saying, Pat, you need to go inside. So I did and knew something was horribly wrong. I talked with many of them and they would say, But this is the one honor we received, and the Blassie family is disrupting that honor. I would reply, All the Vietnam Unknowns should be accounted for by the government. I would remind them of that, and Id tell them our family story. Love each and every podcast . 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. By no means, the office reported back, is there anything to substantiate that your brother is in the Tomb of the Unknown.. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. The last day we took him to the airport, Michael looked back at us and waved. But for whatever reason, the first bad decision was not telling the family. I didnt even know how to go about college. 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. Year should not be greater than current year. 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. Today he comes home.". When they came back, they handed Michael Blassies remains toCalhoon. Those vacuum-sealed samples now number some 8 million, sitting ready for a self-reference analysis in case of battlefield death. Blassie was laid to rest beneath lush bluegrass in the cemetery's oldest section, established in 1826 alongside the original military post. Given the advance of DNA technology, there may never be another US Unknown. I wouldnt think there was a known soldier in the Tomb of the Unknowns, she recalled thinking. Members of Blassie's family could not be reached immediately for comment yesterday. On July 10, Blassie's remains arrived home to his family in Saint Louis, Missouri and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. William S. Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1998. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. 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. Veteran Dispatch. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat" At flight school, Michael was assigned to fly a ground attack aircraft known as the A-37. He connected the dots for the Blassies over the phone. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. Pressure began to mount in Washington to place a service member from Vietnam in the tomb of the unknowns, but by 1980 the Blassie remains were the only ones left that hadnt been conclusively identified. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. I saluted smartly and put the thought aside. It was his 138th combat mission. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Forensic anthropologists took the aged and damaged samples of bone for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing. 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. Arlington got to work building a special new crypt for the Tomb, one designed to hold the Vietnam War remains. ", 1998 The Associated Press. George, the youngest son, said that being buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns was a great honor and that maybe the family should leave Michael there. 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. 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. I dont know any of them. Dubbed the "super-tweet . It was so exciting," she says. That is, he fell outside the approximated ranges on both counts. Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid. Hey there beautiful nerd! Visit the digital memorial page of Veteran Michael Joseph Blassie where you can share stories, photos, biographies, obituaries, tributes and more. Saint Louis, St. Louis City, Missouri, USA. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35, Pandemic-era food benefits end for millions of Americans as costs rise, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". Records can get damaged or destroyed, and post-mortem materials can be affected by decomposition, body fragmentation and exposure to heat. Tony. Its one of the reasons the tomb has become one of the Washington D.C. areas biggest tourist attractions. Michael flew as an Air Commando, probably running covert missions into Laos and Cambodia, in addition to his official duties as forward air controller and counterinsurgency operations pilot in South Vietnam. Its like the reverse of this 99pi story! All Rights Reserved. Sampley had come across some second-hand accounts suggesting that Americas only set of unknown remains from Vietnam had been recovered from an aircraft that had been shot down in 1972. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. She stood strong, did what was right and led the family.. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { During a tour of Vietnam, he served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron. Michael Joseph Townsend Sr. Obituary. Signaling its determination to have its Vietnam Unknown, the Pentagon gave Webb six months to make a positive ID of X-26. In order for the X-26 remains to be interred in the Tomb of the Unknown, Webb had to sign a statement confirming that they would never be identified. Western reporters called it a mini-Stalingrad, the ugliest kind of siege warfare. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified. In my 17-year-old mind, that sounded like a good deal.. 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. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. 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. Blassie, 24, an Air Force Academy graduate and the oldest of the five children of a St. Louis meat cutter, was flying an A-37 when he was shot down over An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon in South Vietnam, on May 11, 1972. 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. It was so exciting, she says. 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 thought, What is that? I went into the backyard and waited, I mean, everything seemed so strange. Unlike nuclear DNA, each cell carries more than a hundred copies of mtDNA, since each cell contains many mitochondria but only one nucleus. 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