michael joseph blassie family

She was 90 and had been a longtime Florissant resident before moving to Mary Queen and Mother Center in St. Louis. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Think you're a Top Gun at aircraft identification? Failed to report flower. A simple process of elimination made clear that the remains had to be a small fixed-wing pilot like Michael. The nature of combat in Vietnam and advances in forensic medicine had made it difficult for officials to bury a Vietnam unknown. A funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. today at Rose Philippine Duchesne Church, 2560 Parker Road, Florissant. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). "My father, who served in Normandy during World War II, never got over losing Michael," says Patricia Blassie, who was 13 years old when her brother, the oldest of five siblings, died. Perhaps they should put up a new plaque at the memorial that talks about the fact that there may never again be an unknown soldier. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified.[6]. He made his case for Blassie as the Vietnam Unknown in a self-published newsletter, the U.S. Parnell soon turned the remains over to the Saigon mortuary, along with the ID card and other items. 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. Flying at a low altitude to drop napalm, he would have been propelled into the ground. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Webb refused. Defense Secretary William Cohen announced that the remains would be disinterred and the DNA tested. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. Armed with the documents, he teamed up with veteran CBS correspondent, Eric Engberg. (AP Photo/James A. Finley), Pat Blassie (second from left) points out to her mother Jean Blassie (third from left) and her sister Mary Hart (right) the C-130 Hercules plane as it arrives at Scott Air Force Base with their brother Michael Blassie's remains. My parents marriage did not survive. Patricia Blassie took the information to officials at the Air Force Casualty Office. It was a South Vietnamese Army patrol that scoured the crash site and came back with six bone fragments, a Beacon radio, two compasses, an American flag, a parachute, remnants of a pistol holder, a one-man life raft, fragments of a flight suit, a wallet with family pictures, and an ID that read: 1st Lt. Blassie, Michael Joseph., Air Force equipment found with Michael Blassie: dog tag chain fragment, signal marker pouch, match holder, parachute survival guide, and ammunition pouch (Blassie family). 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. On May 14, 1998, the remains were exhumed and tested, revealing the "unknown" soldier to be Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. Blassie, a decorated pilot, was 24 when he died in May 1972. Even the thought that remains had been discovered near the crash site seemed preposterous. 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. She attended Wellston High School but left after three years to work as a nurses aide at DePaul Hospital. Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body. President Reagan presided over the funeral and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown. I think I know where Michael is, he said, producing a paper trail that led to Arlington Cemetery. She stood strong, did what was right and led the family.. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com Jean Blassie lost. Baracus on "The A-Team," Mr. T was a member of the biggest team of them all -- the U.S "I was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being Copyright 2023 Military.com. Instead of moving Michaels remains to the burial ground at Arlington, the family decided to have Michael re-interred at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery along the Mississippi River just south of the city. Patricia was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam six years later. 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. The first time, he was killed, his aircraft shot down while flying a mission during the Vietnam War in 1972. She met George Blassie, a butcher, at a ballroom dance. 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. #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { Process of elimination might sounded like it could have worked, until you take in account of the 2000+ MIA service members in that war. She and her four children met to try to figure out what to do. f\j Weather. It represents all soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of us. Dont let my viewpoint sully your experience. 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. I wouldnt think there was a known soldier in the Tomb of the Unknowns, she recalled thinking. Twenty-six years after he died, 1st Lt. Michael Blassie came home. Updated: June 21, 2016 . Michael Sorkin is a reporter at the Post-Dispatch. United States Air Force Vietnam Veteran. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Mrs. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed 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. Try again later. Signaling its determination to have its Vietnam Unknown, the Pentagon gave Webb six months to make a positive ID of X-26. DNA tests determined that the remains in the tomb were those of Blassie. (She would retire in 2018 as a full-bird Colonel). You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Im curious how the remains werent identifiable as Michael Blassie if he was the only remaining unidentified serviceman from the war. . It was so exciting, she says. The military is now in the process of using the DNA from the families of missing veterans to identify over 650 sets of unknown remains from the Korean War. English Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Interestingly, the soldiers identities *were* known and the Danes made an effort to give each soldier his last rites. Om 1992, the Defense Department started collecting and holding blood samples from all inductees for possible future DNA comparisons. Learn more about merges. Unlike nuclear DNA, each cell carries more than a hundred copies of mtDNA, since each cell contains many mitochondria but only one nucleus. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Every recovered American service member killed in action since the Vietnam War has been identified and buried. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid 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. 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. Find records of Michael Blassie Birth records Marriage records Divorce records After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains of Blassie were exhumed on May 14, 1998. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. The remains were exhumed in May; DNA tests that were not available 26 years ago confirmed the remains were Blassie's. They were just looking out for him until he could go home. The unknowns from World War I and World War II are another story for now, but anything is possible. 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.. But the evidence that they were Blassie's was too slim, so the designation was removed in 1979. He connected the dots for the Blassies over the phone. The remains were confirmed to be those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie. well, that was simply too much to believe. In October of 1972, over five months after Blassies plane had disappeared into the jungle, Calhoon assembled a South Vietnamese patrol to enter North Vietnamese territory to find the wreckage. You can always change this later in your Account settings. DNA tests confirmed that the previously unknown soldier was, in fact, Michael Blassie. Arlington got to work building a special new crypt for the Tomb, one designed to hold the Vietnam War remains. Jean Frances Adrian grew up in Jennings. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. They had to do more with less and that meant Michael was going to see a lot of combat. Its just an outsiders way of honoring all of your sacrifices. 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. English Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device that led to Arlington Cemetery Tomb of the memorial or on! A special new crypt for the Blassies over the phone { Webb refused id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Webb.! Veteran CBS correspondent, Eric Engberg needs to be a small fixed-wing pilot like Michael she would retire in as... Appear on the flowers tab for possible future DNA comparisons was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam years! 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