Hurtful also were the objections she and her family received from Vietnam veterans, who resented the Blassies for taking away their Unknown. Year should not be greater than current year. "We were all so proud of him. "This shrine was still distant from his house, the soil of Missouri, the banks of the Mississippi. You can watch his conversation with Colonel Patricia Blassie on A Veterans Story on the VBCs YouTube channel, youtube.com/veteransbreakfastclub. From a computer genius to a popular sitcom star, talented women have made their mark in the U.S. military. They petitioned the Department of Defense to open the site and conduct DNA testing, a technology that had been unavailable . Im a former Soldier from Australia, and a Tour Guide around Europe, and i immediately thought of all the different changing of the guards, and unknown Tombs i have visited. The gravesite of 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Thursday, June 13, 2013. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. On May 14, 1998, the remains were exhumed and tested, revealing the "unknown" soldier to be Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. "He and. 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. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member . 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. GREAT NEWS! Last chance! Webb would later call his grappling with that order the struggle of my life. On the one hand, hed risk court-martial by not destroying the evidence. One of the most memorable actors ever almost gave it up to be an Air Force pilot. Blassie's mother, three sisters and brother each carried small American flags during the service. You grow apart sometimes during this kind of tragedy. 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. 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. On May 11, 1972, at age 24, his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft was shot down near An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon. A decade later, however, questions began to arise about the identity of this unknown soldier. Search above to list available cemeteries. They must have never actually been there. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford [email protected]. but and theres always a but the nerd in me must comment that term guard was used throughout to story. A 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mike qualified on the A-37B Dragonfly (Super Tweet) Cessna attack aircraft. The next morning, he handed the package to a helicopter crew, which delivered it to the Saigon Mortuary. 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. There, a plaque holds words from the Gettysburg Address: "We can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. Blassie's remains were recovered later that year during a mission into the South Vietnamese jungle. She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. On March 21, 1984, Webb reluctantly signed. Please try again later. Chuck Norris, U.S. military veteran, and martial arts superstar began honing his skills in Korea while serving in the Air Before he went on to fame as B.A. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. And he had only been able to find one missing plane that fully matched the planes description: Michael Blassies. Jean Blassie lost her son twice. A simple process of elimination made clear that the remains had to be a small fixed-wing pilot like Michael. He made his case for Blassie as the Vietnam Unknown in a self-published newsletter, the U.S. On July 11, 1998, Michael Blassie was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis. It didnt matter if you wanted to honor all those who served or merely those who died, those who volunteered or those who were drafted, or even whether you were for the war or against it. Drag images here or select from your computer for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie memorial. A 1970 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he served in the Vietnam War as a 1st Lieutenant the 8th Special Operations Squadron. 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. Your email address will not be published. Parnell wrapped the remains with the effects and held them overnight. 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. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. After hours of discussion, Jean Blassie looked at her children and said, For 26 years, we have been told that Michael was never found, according to an article in Checkpoints magazine. Sampley was a former Green Beret who had served in Vietnam. The guard was sent back and a different guard took over. DNA tests determined that the remains in the tomb were those of Blassie. We want the truth, we want to bring him home. Pilots loved itbecause being that close the ground heightened the sense of flight and speed. We believe Michael would have been proud of how we pulled together to bring him home. "We put away no final memories.". The remains and associated materials were eventually turned over to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii for analysis and identification. 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. This account has been disabled. I didnt have any direction, and the family was lower-middle income. In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was . . They brought him home for burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis. No one doubted his commitment to the cause of POW/MIAs. The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Im curious how the remains werent identifiable as Michael Blassie if he was the only remaining unidentified serviceman from the war. Or so the story went. Veterans who serve at funerals call their service a way to salute their fellow warriors. [1] He then attended Undergraduate Pilot Training, receiving his aeronautical rating as an Air Force pilot in 1971. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. The next time, the Air Force lost him. 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. What is the music played at the end of this podcast? 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. The dedication alone attracted so many mourners, the line for viewing lasted ten days. USAF Honor Guard with Michael Blassies casket, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (SSgt Scott Seyer/USAF). } i . Blassie was laid to rest beneath lush bluegrass in the cemetery's oldest section, established in 1826 alongside the original military post. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Michael Blassie (4245)? Blassies was A positive. Everything about the war not only the numbers, but the nature of it was dehumanizing, says Robert Poole, author of the book On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Sampley told them that remains had been discovered near Michaels crash site, along with items belonging to an Air Force pilot. . 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. English .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { "He's still serving today because he now represents those that need to come home," she said. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect His remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of The Unknowns as an unidentified soldier from the Vietnam War. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. But for whatever reason, the first bad decision was not telling the family. He served as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot and was assigned to the 8TH SPECIAL OPS SQDN, 377TH AIR BASE WING, 7TH AF. The enemy threw up what was described as a murderous hail of fire which prevented any rescue or recovery attempt. Another perspective on this issue is that all soldiers are unknown. At 67, Mrs. Blassie went back to work as a sales clerk at Dillards. Learn more about merges. 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. Michael Joseph Blassie Collection: U.S. Veterans Burial Sites, 1775 - 2013 Birth: Apr 4 1948 Death: May 11 1972 Burial: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63125, USA View the Record Michael Joseph Blassiein Vietnam Casualties, 1956 - 1998 Michael Joseph Blassie Major James Connally spotted Blassie's plane as it went down outside An Lc on the morning of May 11, 197228 days into the battle for which the city gave its name. The Unknown Soldier can be about more than a dwindling subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record. But perhaps Im speaking out of turn. He had been shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972.. President Reagan presided over the funeral and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown. There was an error deleting this problem. Jean Blassie, mother of 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, 1998. His body wouldnt be coming home. She was sad about Michaels death but was happy to have him back, Patricia Blassie said. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4245/michael-joseph-blassie. He basically sat on a shelf from 1972 to 1984, Patricia Blassie said. After the war, Railton advocated for a grave bearing the body of a single soldier to bring the impossibly large tragedy down to a human scale. Michael Sorkin is a reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Forensic anthropologists took the aged and damaged samples of bone for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing. Part 2: DNA. On July 10, Blassie's remains were transported to his family in St. Louis, and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. She and her four children met to try to figure out what to do. . Test your knowledge! There they would rest for eight years in a file labeled X-26 until their date with destiny arrived. Please reset your password. They were returned them home for a military burial. Mrs. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with . & Spitz, D.J. Articles in U.S. That they all made the ultimate sacrifice for me. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service. Michael Joseph Blassie was born on April 4, 1948. Blassie died when his A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near An Lc in what was then South Vietnam. "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. The discovery of personal effects at the crash site should have converted Michael Blassie from a Vietnam MIA to a KIA, closing his case. Jump to: Bio graphy Family Photos Comments Obit uary. The Army lab in Hawaii removed the BTB designation and, through a later discredited technique called morphological approximation, declared Michael Blassies remains as belonging to Unknown.. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { My father went to his grave in 1991 not knowing the rest of his sons story., Meanwhile, Patricia herself joined the Air Force. Maj. Allan J. Kellogg Jr. during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on May 17, 1984,[2] and were transported aboard the USSBrewton to Naval Air Station Alameda. It was on one of these bombing runs, shortly before Calhoon arrived in An Loc, that Michael Blassie flew his 132th and final mission. One of Calhoons duties, in the midst of all this chaos, was to call in airstrikes. They never got updates on recovery efforts. The remains were confirmed to be those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie. 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 thanks to improved battlefield evacuation tactics, the Vietnam War produced only four sets of unidentified remains that could potentially go into the tomb. To many Vietnam veterans, Patricia explains, it was pretty upsetting to have the Vietnam Unknown disinterred. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on . Your playlist is stored within your cookies, clearing your browser data may remove your playlist. By 1972, when Michael was deployed, Americas military presence in Southeast Asia was shrinking rapidly. On May 11, Communist forces unleashed an all-out assault to take An Lc. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. (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. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford [email protected] Jean Blassie lost. 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. Even though he knew about the missing wallet, the head of the lab, using now outdated techniques, determined that the remains did not match Michael Blassies physical description. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. William S. Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1998. Major Johnie Webb was the officer in charge of the Armys Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Secretary of Defense William Cohen was on hand for the somber burial. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. The remains were exhumed in May; DNA tests that were not available 26 years ago confirmed the remains were Blassie's. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. f\j Weather. The writer had been combing through military records, he said, and found that the Air Force had found the wreckage of Michaels plane five months after he was shot down, 60 miles north of Saigon. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified. Dubbed the super-tweet it was designed to fly low over its target. 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. "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. display: none; Try again later. Those who fell in the Vietnam War would thereby be honored alongside the three other Unknowns from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. I saluted smartly and put the thought aside. Become a member of the Veterans Breakfast Club for only $36/year! Learn more about managing a memorial . In my 17-year-old mind, that sounded like a good deal.. Theyre too upsetting. He knew morphological approximation was a flawed identification technique, and he suspected that someday, X-26 might be identified, especially given the personal effects and documents associated with the bone fragments. Oops, something didn't work. They married in 1947 and had five children. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract.". 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,. 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. During my only visit to the Tomb of the Unknowns, during the changing of the guard, I witnessed what may be a rare event. But the military didnt tell anyone, officials later explained, because they said they couldnt be certain that it was he. That single set of remains was known only as X-26, but his actual name was Michael Blassie. On July 10, Blassie's remains arrived home to his family in Saint Louis, Missouri and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. . An Army caisson carried his casket from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984. 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. Michaels younger sister, Patricia Blassie, was seven years old when her big brother with the gentle smile left for the Air Force Academy in 1966. Joseph Michael Leo Findlan Obituary. The Air Force told the Blassie family in St. Louis all they knew: their son had been killed in action, but his remains could not be recovered since he went down in enemy-held territory. The bones were taken to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, where officials said they were "believed to be" those of Blassie. By the time his mother found out where he was, his remains were entombed in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington. } The President also acted as next of kin to the unidentified Blassie by accepting the interment flag at the end of the ceremony. Its conceivable that they could soon use the same techniques on the unknown serviceman inside the tomb. 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. During a tour of Vietnam, he served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron. 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