Author Topic: A hero finally gets to go home.  (Read 1304 times)

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Offline AlanS

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A hero finally gets to go home.
« on: August 23, 2015, 04:31:20 PM »
http://myjournalcourier.com/news/84928/remains-of-soldier-missing-since-1970-identified

Quote
MOUNT STERLING — Panel 11W, Row 87.

For years, that single line carved into the granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been a reminder that Army Maj. Dale W. Richardson of Mount Sterling was still not home.
Richardson died May 2, 1970, when the UH-1H helicopter in which he was riding with five others was shot down near Memot, Cambodia. The soldiers survived, but within 30 to 40 seconds of the landing came under enemy attack.
The 37-year-old Richardson pulled out his pistol and returned fire as he and others scrambled through the thick elephant grass for safety, according to Department of Defense records and the accounts of those with him that day. It was believed he was shot in the fire-fight, but he was never seen again.
Late Friday, the Department of Defense said it had confirmed remains found in the Kampong Cham Province of Cambodia several months ago were Richardson.
The efforts to find Richardson — one of 1,627 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War — span more the two decades.
The Army captain — he was promoted to major posthumously — was traveling that day in 1970 with other members of Company B, 229th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Warrant Officer Michael B. Varnado was piloting the team to Fire Support Base Katum in South Vietnam as part of a push to keep the North Vietnamese from taking Cambodia, according to soldier accounts. Inclement weather forced the pilot to divert the flight and took the helicopter into Cambodian airspace, where it took on heavy enemy ground fire, according to the Department of Defense.
Varnado landed safely in enemy territory and the soldiers found themselves under attack. Only one soldier was able to escape and made it to safety two or three days later. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers captured four others.
Crew members Daniel F. Maslowski and Frederick H. Crowson were held as prisoners of war until their release in 1973, and told military investigators Varnado and Capt. Robert M. Young had died in captivity. The other man, Spec. Rodney L. Griffin, like Richardson was never seen again.
Griffin’s remains were identified earlier this year after being found near the helicopter crash site. He was returned to his hometown of Centralia, Missouri, and buried in April.
According to Department of Defense records, military teams worked with crews from the Kingdom of Cambodia from 1992 to 2008 to recover the remains of the missing soldiers but were unable to find anything of substance. In February 2009, witnesses provided information about a possible burial site for the men, but the location was excavated without any findings.
Three years later, after re-interviewing witnesses, a team was able to locate a second burial site “and recovered human remains and military gear from a single grave,” according to Department of Defense officials.
Military officials were able to match mitrochondrial DNA to Richardson’s sister to establish identity, according to the Department of Defense.
He will be buried Saturday with military honors in Mountain View, Arkansas.
Forty-five years later, Maj. Richardson will have a final resting place.

God bless you and your family, Major. ::USA::
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."

Thomas Jefferson

Offline Libertas

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Re: A hero finally gets to go home.
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2015, 05:41:08 PM »
They still find some, after all these years, but not at a great rate.  Glad Dale made it home at last.   ::USA::
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Online Pandora

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Re: A hero finally gets to go home.
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2015, 05:42:10 PM »
Indeed.   ::USA::
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Offline Glock32

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Re: A hero finally gets to go home.
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2015, 10:53:51 AM »
A war that we had essentially won militarily, but lost due to a 5th Column media chock full of Marxist fellow travelers.
"The Fourth Estate is less honorable than the First Profession."

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