"We write no last chapters, we close no books," Reagan said. The Romans were fond of honoring them with an empty sarcophagus. Michael Blassie The Final Mission. Blassie's remains, which had been buried in the Tomb of the . The soldiers anonymity would allow each person who came to the grave to project whatever was most important to them onto the mystery. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. Survivors, in addition to her daughter Patricia, include a son, George Blassie of St. Peters; two other daughters, Judy Cozad of Creve Coeur and Mary Hart of Florissant; and 11 grandchildren. Yesterday I read an article about three WW1 soldiers buried in Copenhagen: https://www.thelocal.dk/20190305/the-little-known-story-of-the-first-world-war-soldiers-buried-in-copenhagen. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 - May 11, 1972) was an officer in the United States Air Force. She and her four children met to try to figure out what to do. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Through these efforts, they reviewed evidence that suggested the Vietnam War Unknown was likely Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, a pilot who had been shot down in 1972. Ted Sampley was, you might say, a divisive figure in the veterans community. Calhoon assumed that Michaels remains would be returning to his family,but that wasnt the case. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { On July 11, 1998, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie finally came home to St. Louis. 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. 0 cemeteries found in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA. The last day we took him to the airport, Michael looked back at us and waved. In part, because the formula was so easy to follow all that was needed was the body of a single unknown soldier. 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. After 26 years, the family of Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, buried the pilot Saturday, ending a painful mystery that began in 1972. East wind * around 10 mph. And they never learned the truth: that their son Michaels remains were discovered some five months after his death. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. Learn more about merges. A decade later, however, questions began to arise about the identity of this unknown soldier. She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. [5] On June 30, 1998, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam Unknown had been identified. He related his story of wrapping the remains, with the dog tags, in plastic. 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. 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. Patricia was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam six years later. Because mtDNA is passed along the maternal line, scientists compared the Unknown Soldier's DNA against two samples submitted by First Lieutenant Blassie's mother and sister and found a match. World War II, Korea, and Vietnam each would get their own Unknown. This is a carousel with slides. Try again later. I think I know where Michael is, he said, producing a paper trail that led to Arlington Cemetery. Those vacuum-sealed samples now number some 8 million, sitting ready for a self-reference analysis in case of battlefield death. Sorry! Dubbed the "super-tweet . 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. I signed up the next day. Patricia still visits the tomb. I assume now he was meaning in America but i immediately thought to other Countries national Monuments. Blassie's unidentified remains were designated as the Vietnam Unknown service member by Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. 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 Unknown Soldier can be about more than a dwindling subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record. 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. The Flag: Revd David Railton MC and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Excerpts and links to latest episodes and articles, Periodic, exclusive updates on 99PI goings-on. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract.". The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. [3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. Think you're a Top Gun at aircraft identification? Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? In January 1998, CBS Evening News broke the story: The military had hidden pilot Michael Blassies identity from his family and the public. English Year should not be greater than current year. The Vietnam crypt of the Tomb of the Unknown, the one that contained Michael Blassies remains, has been empty since the exhumation on May 14, 1998. It represents all soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of us. In Michaels case, just this once, their mission was completed. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. 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. Patricia Blassie took the information to officials at the Air Force Casualty Office. display: none; 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. They were initially classified as belonging to Lt. Blassie. But they had also brought back other evidence: an uninflated raft, a parachute, part of Michaels flight suit, and critically: his wallet with pictures of him and his family. My parents marriage did not survive. Blassies was A positive. . We want the truth, we want to bring him home. I think that barring a complete abolition of war, this is a small consolation. The body will be cremated and her remains buried at Calvary Cemetery with her parents and grandparents. They had a letter from his flight leader, James Connally, who recapped what had happened., Still, without remains, there was a terrible sense of open-ended grief. After petitioning the United States Government for permission, his family had his body exhumed. Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. 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. Hundreds, including Secretary of Defense William Cohen and House minority leader Richard Gephardt, attended the ceremony. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. well, that was simply too much to believe. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. In 1997, Gonzalez contacted Patricia. The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. 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. Blassie was buried Saturday with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. As an Unknown, Michael Blassies bone fragments were put in storage at the Hawaii laboratory. The Pentagon had kept them in the dark, probably with the good intention of not getting the familys hopes up until Michaels identity could be confirmed. Dad set up a little memorial in the basement and would go down there all the time and just sit., When something like this happens in a family, [it] can bring a family together or tear it apart. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com Jean Blassie lost. Five months later, during a sweep of the area, a South Vietnamese Army patrol recovered a pelvis, an upper arm bone, and some ribs, as well as the remnants of a flight suit, a life raft, pieces of a parachute, and part of a USAF holster. All rights reserved. United States Air Force Vietnam Veteran. Many Vietnam veterans, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Blassie as he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. 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. After Years As Vietnam 'Unknown,' Pilot Now Buried At Home. Members of Blassie's family could not be reached immediately for comment yesterday. She took on the military, won, and brought him back for burial in his hometown of St. Louis. 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. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Veteran Dispatch in 1994 and 1996 had made the claim that Blassie was the Unknown, drawing on Defense Department records. Former GOP Candidate's Military Records Improperly Shared with Democratic Group, Why DARPA Banned the First-Ever First Person Shooter Video Game, Navy Renaming USS Chancellorsville to Honor Union Army Hero, Statesman Who Was Born into Slavery, 2 Commanders Among 6 Fired from Jobs at Minot Air Force Base, Morgan Freeman Turned Down an Acting Scholarship to Join the Air Force. 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. Thanks to improved forensics, there will likely never be an unknown from Iraq or Afghanistan or any future war. By the time the package arrived in Hawaii, the wallet and ID were missing, presumed stolen during storage or transit. They were just looking out for him until he could go home. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. 99pi keep up the great work. DNA samples were taken from Michaels mother Jean and his sister Judy and tested against the remains. Verify and try again. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. 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. Dog tags, in fact, Michael looked back at us and waved Erik M. elunsford... 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