michael joseph blassie family

To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. To Army scientists, these findings superseded any other evidence, such as documents or personal effects. 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. The six fragments in file X-26 were the exception. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Michael Blassie (4245)? By no means, the office reported back, is there anything to substantiate that your brother is in the Tomb of the Unknown.. They petitioned the Department of Defense to open the site and conduct DNA testing, a technology that had been unavailable . Joseph Michael Leo Findlan Obituary. In May 1998, the remains were disinterred for mitochondrial DNA "fingerprinting." An Army caisson carried his casket from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984. Jean Blassie lost her son twice. Your donations are vital to keeping us independent and strong! 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. Well, my mom cant get these kinds of phone calls, responded Patricia. The guards coming on duty are inspected for perfection in uniform, and inspector found some problem with the new guards blouse. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service. Blassie's remains, which had been buried in the Tomb of the . 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,. But his tactics were confrontational and often involved outrageous claims and conspiracy theories. No one wanted to inter someone who might eventually be identified. 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. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. Still, as hesitant as he was,Gonzales thought maybe there could be more to the story. Thanks Dennis! I dont care what happened, but the documents showed that patrol went into Michaels crash site to find him, and they did. But Mrs. Blassie also had a hunch. At the request of Blassie's family, the Department of Defense exhumed the remains from the Vietnam Unknown's crypt on May 14, 1998. Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now "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. His jet lost a wing, crashed and burned. [6] Parnell soon turned the remains over to the Saigon mortuary, along with the ID card and other items. While supplies last, you can get an author-signed 99% Invisible uses cookies to help improve your user experience. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. They married in 1947 and had five children. Verify and try again. Add to your scrapbook. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with . & Spitz, D.J. Become a member of the Veterans Breakfast Club for only $36/year! Many Vietnam veterans, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Blassie as he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. If they had, they might have hung up on him. Helton, L.M. Blassie was buried Saturday with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. CBS Evening News went public with the explosive story in a broadcast on January 19, 1998. He told her that he had been researching who was shot down on the date of Michaels death and he believed that her brothers remains were in the Tomb of the Unknowns. . In honor of the Air Force's birthday, we've put together this Air Force history quiz. 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. Michael Joseph Blassie was born on April 4, 1948. 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. 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. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. They brought him home for burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis. But perhaps Im speaking out of turn. Follow him on Facebook. From top left to bottom right: dog tag chain fragment, signal marker pouch, match holder, parachute survival guide, and ammunition pouch. Scientists at CIL-HI estimated the deceaseds age to be between 26-33 years and height between 65.2-71.5 inches. 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. On May 28, 1984, a Third Army Old Guard horse-drawn caisson moved slowly along Constitution Avenue. Sign up to for the 99PI newsletter to get our 1/week email with: Drag and drop to reorder. Sorry! Armed with the documents, he teamed up with veteran CBS correspondent, Eric Engberg. Check out member benefits and perks . The Blassies didnt know Sampley. Blassie's unidentified remains were designated as the Vietnam Unknown service member by Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. DNA testing was in its infancy in 1972. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. English "We were all so proud of him. Its just an outsiders way of honoring all of your sacrifices. #HonorVeterans #VetLegacies. The last day we took him to the airport, Michael looked back at us and waved. 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. Actually, they had his remains and his military I.D. Updated: June 21, 2016 . Ted Sampley was, you might say, a divisive figure in the veterans community. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. On May 11, 1972, at age 24, his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft was shot down near An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Part 2: DNA. (She would retire in 2018 as a full-bird Colonel). He subsequently qualified as an A-37 Dragonfly pilot and served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia. 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. At first, there were a lot of Unknowns to work with. A neighbor came over to get me, saying, Pat, you need to go inside. So I did and knew something was horribly wrong. "This shrine was still distant from his house, the soil of Missouri, the banks of the Mississippi. This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with the military. She permitted Vince Gonzalez to access a trove of new documents through the Freedom of Information Act pertaining to the selection and entombment of the Vietnam Unknowns remains. By 1994, Patricia had risen from Airman Basic to Captain and was working in the Pentagon in Public Affairs. The Blassie family wasnt in attendance. Everyone was free to mourn in their own way. 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. Over the next month, enemy forces cinched the noose, pounding the city with artillery and attempting to starve out the population. Yet he was found five months after he was shot down and then buried without our knowledge in the Tomb of the Unknowns. Please reset your password. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified. Instead, they were simply designated as BTB believed to be 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. In January 1998, CBS Evening News broke the story: The military had hidden pilot Michael Blassies identity from his family and the public. They were returned them home for a military burial. Vacant, it will likely remain. That they all made the ultimate sacrifice for me. 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. Veterans who serve at funerals call their service a way to salute their fellow warriors. Michaels missions took him all over Vietnam, but the most dangerous was arguably over a place called An Loc, a town about 50 miles north of Saigon. Morphological approximation presumed that one could determine personal characteristics like age and height by careful examination of bone fragments. On July 10, 1998, Michael Blassie's body was released to his family. Blassie dropped in low for a bombing run on attacking forces when enemy anti-aircraft fire boomed from the ground. You have permission to edit this article. Patricia is on Michaels right (Blassie family). Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Then, as more information about those remains was discovered, only one set of remains remained unknown. "He's still serving today because he now represents those that need to come home," she said. The remains did not consist of much, just six bones. Michael Blassies C-37 Dragonfly was part of that defense flying support for allied South Vietnamese ground units. This browser does not support getting your location. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story" Her father died in a traffic accident when she was 9 or 10. There, a plaque holds words from. Michael Blassie had become a cold statistic of war. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. display: block; For the Blassie family and the country as a whole, this is a very difficult time. After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. William S. Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1998. 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. 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. He died in 1991. Try again. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. With the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA analysis moved to the forefront of forensic technologies. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35 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. Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknowns should be merged caisson moved slowly Constitution... Blassie ( 4245 ) lost a wing, crashed and burned he 's still today... Site and conduct DNA testing, a divisive figure in the U.S. Capitol are to... Been unavailable 1984, a Third Army Old Guard horse-drawn caisson moved slowly along Constitution Avenue to forefront... Story in a broadcast on January 19, 1998 armed with the explosive story a... All made the ultimate sacrifice michael joseph blassie family me yet he was shot down and buried... A military burial edit captions for photos you added, click the photo viewer Dragonfly... This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with military! 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