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. Hey there beautiful nerd! But instead of giving closure, the remains endured one of the most baffling episodes of misidentification in military history. Defense Secretary William Cohen announced that the remains would be disinterred and the DNA tested. I thought, What is that? I went into the backyard and waited, I mean, everything seemed so strange. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. 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. She suffered a stroke in 2004 and recently was diagnosed with pneumonia, her family said Thursday. 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. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4245/michael-joseph-blassie. "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. That day changed the Blassie family forever, she says. They may have received last rights, families informed, etc, but the rest of us know little about those individuals. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Everyone was free to mourn in their own way. (AP Photo/Brian K. Diggs), In thisJune, 30, 1998, photo,Joan Blassie, right, the mother of the Michael Blassie reacts to the news that the remains in the Tomb of Unknowns were confirmed by DNA testing as belonging to her son Lt. Michael Blassie, who was shot down over Vietnam. Love your show. At 67, Mrs. Blassie went back to work as a sales clerk at Dillards. In 1983, Congress and the Reagan administration, under pressure from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, agreed to move the remains of X-26 into the Tomb of the Unknown as a healing gesture for a country still traumatized by the Vietnam War. In the early 1980s, officials chose the set of remains coded "X-26" to be interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified. The Armed Forces have adopted the latest advances in fingerprint and dental identification, and forensic anthropology and radiology. 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. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. A decade later, however, questions began to arise about the identity of this unknown soldier. In part, because the formula was so easy to follow all that was needed was the body of a single unknown soldier. 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie Birth 4 Apr 1948 Saint Louis, St. Louis City, Missouri, USA Death 11 May 1972 (aged 24) Bnh Long, Bnh Phc, Vietnam Memorial Site* National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA Show Map * A structure erected in honor of someone whose remains lie elsewhere. but and theres always a but the nerd in me must comment that term guard was used throughout to story. Twenty-six years after he died, 1st Lt. Michael Blassie came home. Find records of Michael Blassie Birth records Marriage records Divorce records At the request of Blassie's family, the Department of Defense exhumed the remains from the Vietnam Unknown's crypt on May 14, 1998. 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. They were completely cut off from the rest of the world. World War I ushered in an era of total war and mass conscription, in which the combatants on both sides were mostly ordinary citizens, often rendered anonymous amidst the violence of the Western Front. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Try again later. 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. 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. Try again. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was . Blassie was declared missing in action and presumed dead. . 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 year after Michael Blassies death, Congress directed the Department of Defense to select the remains of an Unknown Vietnam servicemember to be interred in Arlington National Cemeterys Tomb of the Unknown. 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,. The remains and associated materials were eventually turned over to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii for analysis and identification. Required fields are marked *, 99% Invisible 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,. The remains were eventually sent to a search and recovery center in Thailand before being forwarded to the Army's central identification lab in Hawaii. That just couldnt be. Now that DNA samples are taken from everyone who joins the U.S. Armed Forces, there may never be another American "unknown soldier.". He died on May 11, 1972 at age 24. This shielding of information from the Blassies ended up only compounding their pain. Jump to: Bio graphy Family Photos Comments Obit uary. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? That single set of remains was known only as X-26, but his actual name was Michael Blassie. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract.". The enemy threw up what was described as a murderous hail of fire which prevented any rescue or recovery attempt. Joseph Michael Leo Findlan Obituary. Your playlist is stored within your cookies, clearing your browser data may remove your playlist. His sister Pat described the evidence succinctly: "The trail leads to the tomb." But it doesnt make it right that we interred a known soldier, she added. Thanks to improved forensics, there will likely never be an unknown from Iraq or Afghanistan or any future war. The goal was to schedule the ceremony before Election Day 1984, which is why Memorial Day, rather than Veterans Day, was selected. Signaling its determination to have its Vietnam Unknown, the Pentagon gave Webb six months to make a positive ID of X-26. I thought, Wait just a minute here, a South Vietnamese scout team with American advisors discovered the remains, found an ID and artifacts, put them on a chopper and considered their job done. That's where he fell in love with flying, Pat Blassie said. 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. They had no way of knowing the remains so caringly committed to the Tomb were that of their son and brother. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { But Mrs. Blassie also had a hunch. 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. But perhaps Im speaking out of turn. Actually, they had his remains and his military I.D. One of them told her once that their mission guarding the Unknowns is never really over. 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. On Memorial Day 1984, the remains of a soldier killed during the Vietnam War were laid to rest in the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. But for whatever reason, the first bad decision was not telling the family. She says shes not sure why she does it, but it means that shes gotten to know some of the guards. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. As an Unknown, Michael Blassies bone fragments were put in storage at the Hawaii laboratory. Calhoon assumed that Michaels remains would be returning to his family,but that wasnt the case. Dont let my viewpoint sully your experience. I thought you might like to see a memorial for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie I found on Findagrave.com. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Western reporters called it a mini-Stalingrad, the ugliest kind of siege warfare. This account has been disabled. 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. Visit the digital memorial page of Veteran Michael Joseph Blassie where you can share stories, photos, biographies, obituaries, tributes and more. She worked until she was 82. For the Blassie family and the country as a whole, this is a very difficult time. Part 2: DNA. I didnt even know how to go about college. [6] }, First published on July 10, 1998 / 4:49 PM. 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. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Forensic anthropologists took the aged and damaged samples of bone for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing. Search above to list available cemeteries. On July 10, Blassie's remains were transported to his family in St. Louis, and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. You have permission to edit this article. 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. 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. Over a quarter million people lined the route to Arlington National Cemetery. Unidentified remains from that war had been analyzed over a decade and a half. Patricia Blassie took the information to officials at the Air Force Casualty Office. On Friday, Family and friends gathered to welcome his return at Scott Air Force Base, near Blassie's hometown of Florissant, Mo., a St. Louis suburb. Its just an outsiders way of honoring all of your sacrifices. Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 May 11, 1972) was a United States Air Force officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in May 1972. Michael, after all, was her first born. 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. Just to eliminate doubt, Patricia traveled to the Air Force Casualty Office at Randolph AFB in San Antonio to ask if there might be any truth to Sampleys claims. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with . Updated: June 21, 2016 . The remains did not consist of much, just six bones. If he couldnt do it, Webb would be ordered to sign off on the burial. These sources reinforced the probability that Michael Blassies remains were in the Tomb. Vacant, it will likely remain. Thanks Dennis! On May 28, 1984, a Third Army Old Guard horse-drawn caisson moved slowly along Constitution Avenue. 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. "We put away no final memories.". Id left school early that day, and I looked out the window when I heard a car door slam. You can always change this later in your Account settings. There, a plaque holds words from the Gettysburg Address: "We can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. World War II, Korea, and Vietnam each would get their own Unknown. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified.[6]. 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. 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.. The first time, he was killed, his aircraft shot down while flying a mission during the Vietnam War in 1972. The remains would eventually arrive at the Armys Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, but not before thewallet which was critical in linking the remains to Blassie went missing. The Vietnam unknown was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, beneath the headstone that reads, "Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God." USAF Honor Guard with Michael Blassies casket, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (SSgt Scott Seyer/USAF). I think a third section of these guards/ceremonies around the world would have been a great inclusion. memorial page for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie (4 Apr 1948-11 May 1972), Find a Grave Memorial ID 4245, citing Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay . But thanks to improved battlefield evacuation tactics, the Vietnam War produced only four sets of unidentified remains that could potentially go into the tomb. 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. They denied it. How much do you know about the founding of the U.S. Army? Mourners included military personnel, veterans and civilians. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid Jean Frances Adrian grew up in Jennings. Process of elimination might sounded like it could have worked, until you take in account of the 2000+ MIA service members in that war. Add to your scrapbook. She was sad about Michaels death but was happy to have him back, Patricia Blassie said. Secretary of Defense William Cohen was on hand for the somber burial. 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. The American memorial is especially beautiful. We believe Michael would have been proud of how we pulled together to bring him home. Sign up to for the 99PI newsletter to get our 1/week email with: Drag and drop to reorder. This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with the military. 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. It turns out that, unlike previous wars, the Vietnam War didnt produce many Unknowns. Resend Activation Email. He had been shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972.. "Mike lived a hero, and he came home a hero," said Emanuel Cassimatis, the Air Force Academy liaison officer who recruited Blassie in 1965. They must have never actually been there. Scientists at CIL-HI estimated the deceaseds age to be between 26-33 years and height between 65.2-71.5 inches. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. [3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. 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