Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Michael was no longer Unknown. (She would retire in 2018 as a full-bird Colonel). I think I know where Michael is, he said, producing a paper trail that led to Arlington Cemetery. They were the remains of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, who was shot down over An Loc on May 11, 1972. . She was sad about Michaels death but was happy to have him back, Patricia Blassie said. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. The remains were confirmed to be those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Thanks for your help! } On July 10, 1998, Michael Blassie's body was released to his family. Veteran Dispatch. A funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. today at Rose Philippine Duchesne Church, 2560 Parker Road, Florissant. We've created a quiz to test your ability to recognize military aircraft. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Gonzales began filing FOIA requests and eventually got back a thick envelope with military documents showing the entire process of the Unknown Soldier selection process. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Blassie's mother, three sisters and brother each carried small American flags during the service. Michael Joseph Blassie, the oldest of five children of a St. Louis meat cutter, entered the Air Force Academy in 1966 and received his officer's commission in June 1970. The goal was to schedule the ceremony before Election Day 1984, which is why Memorial Day, rather than Veterans Day, was selected. At one point he described the wounded, with their meager medical support, as looking like something out of the Civil War. The Blassie family watches as their family member Michael, is unloaded from a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, July 10. (2006): Identification of Human Remains. Members of the Air Force honor guard carry the casket containing the remains of Lt. Michael Blassie into a hearse at Scott Air Force Base on Friday, July 10, 1998. Oops, something didn't work. The government does not have the right to keep such information from the family., When I looked into all the documents and from my personal research, it was obvious that improper decisions were being made, and all of sudden Michael is the Unknown representing the missing from the Vietnam War. They may have received last rights, families informed, etc, but the rest of us know little about those individuals. For 14 years, the remains of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie lay beneath the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington. He died on May 11, 1972 at age 24. Given the advance of DNA technology, there may never be another US Unknown. Michael Blassie in his Air Force Academy cadet uniform. But Mrs. Blassie also had a hunch. Those vacuum-sealed samples now number some 8 million, sitting ready for a self-reference analysis in case of battlefield death. 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. Saint Louis, St. Louis City, Missouri, USA. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. . All Rights Reserved. I thought this is the best example of internet conspiracy garbage Ive seen to date, says Vince Gonzales, a reporter for CBS Denver who came across the story three years later in 1997. Over the next month, enemy forces cinched the noose, pounding the city with artillery and attempting to starve out the population. There they would rest for eight years in a file labeled X-26 until their date with destiny arrived. Based on mitochondrial DNA testing . Michael Blassies C-37 Dragonfly was part of that defense flying support for allied South Vietnamese ground units. Jean Blassie dies; she fought to get her son buried at home in St. Louis. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. Out of the fog of war comes another version of the incident, one in which Michaels Dragonfly inverts upside down, and Michael ejects from the stricken aircraft. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. \ . It was his 138th combat mission. 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. [3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. 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. 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. It turns out that, unlike previous wars, the Vietnam War didnt produce many Unknowns. The Romans were fond of honoring them with an empty sarcophagus. His remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of The Unknowns as an unidentified soldier from the Vietnam War. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com Jean Blassie lost. He connected the dots for the Blassies over the phone. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, as of this writing, there are still 1,584 US service members unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. On July 10, Blassie's remains were transported to his family in St. Louis, and were later reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. At 67, Mrs. Blassie went back to work as a sales clerk at Dillards. Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid. The music is an original piece by our talented composer, Sean Real. To many Vietnam veterans, Patricia explains, it was pretty upsetting to have the Vietnam Unknown disinterred. ", 1998 The Associated Press. His sister, Pat Blassie, was 10 years younger than her brother, but she remembered he started working as a kid by selling newspapers on the street corner. He was made one., Whenever Patricias mother received criticism for requesting Michaels removal from the Tomb of the Unknown, she would simply shrug and say, Hes not your son.. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. A fellow airman saw tracer rounds directed toward Mikes A-37. Michael Joseph Blassie, the oldest of five children of a St. Louis meat cutter, entered the Air Force Academy in 1966 and received his officer's commission in June 1970. Your playlist is stored within your cookies, clearing your browser data may remove your playlist. A decade later, however, questions began to arise about the identity of this unknown soldier. 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. Patricia Blassie took the information to officials at the Air Force Casualty Office. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. DNA is also stored in tiny, energy-producing structures in the cells, called mitochondria. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Advances made since the early 1980s had made it possible to identify the remains, which consisted of only six bones -- far below the usual 80 percent of a corpse required for burial at Arlington. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Some evidence suggests that the remains ceremonially laid to rest by President Reagan 14 years ago belong to 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, a decorated flier still officially listed as missing in . In 1991 the Department of Defense founded the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). The remains were reclassified as unknown when their projected age and height were judged not to match Blassie's.[1]. The Easter Offensive was the largest and most conventional ground invasion of the Vietnam War. DNA testing was in its infancy in 1972. The remains did not consist of much, just six bones. Id also remind them that Michael was never an Unknown Soldier. But not all remains can be identified with such methods. They married in 1947 and had five children. One of Calhoons duties, in the midst of all this chaos, was to call in airstrikes. There was no question, the remains were Michaels. They never got updates on recovery efforts. 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. 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. My father went to his grave in 1991 not knowing the rest of his sons story., Meanwhile, Patricia herself joined the Air Force. That was enough for Captain Patricia Blassie. He subsequently qualified as an A-37 Dragonfly pilot and served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia. Her father died in a traffic accident when she was 9 or 10. 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. From top left to bottom right: dog tag chain fragment, signal marker pouch, match holder, parachute survival guide, and ammunition pouch. Michael Blassie was therefore ruled out as a possible match. Hundreds, including Secretary of Defense William Cohen and House minority leader Richard Gephardt, attended the ceremony. "This has meant so much to us. Scientists at CIL-HI estimated the deceaseds age to be between 26-33 years and height between 65.2-71.5 inches. Michael Blassie and T-38 jet trainer (Blassie family). The soldiers anonymity would allow each person who came to the grave to project whatever was most important to them onto the mystery. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. And so it would have remained if a rookie CBS reporter named Vince Gonzalez hadnt run across Sampleys article about Blassie on the Internet. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Veteran Dispatch in 1994 and 1996 had made the claim that Blassie was the Unknown, drawing on Defense Department records. Though discovered in South Vietnam at the crash site, along with personal effects and survival gear, the remains of US Air Force pilot 1st Lt. Michael Blassie got labeled Unknown. It took the hard work of an eccentric Vietnam veteran activist, an investigative reporter, and the Blassie family to cut through years of bureaucratic bungling, official stonewalling, and government deceit to rescue Blassie from the Tomb and bring him home. (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. Major Johnie Webb was the officer in charge of the Armys Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Helton, L.M. 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 . Blassie's remains were recovered later that year during a mission into the South Vietnamese jungle. 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,. 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. Everyone was free to mourn in their own way. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member . #inline-recirc-item--id-91b39784-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. 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. I never dreamed Id never see Michael again., The Blassie siblings, 1961. It may be that forensic science has reached the point where there will be no other unknowns in any war. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. 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. The Unknown Soldier can be about more than a dwindling subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record. 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. Michael Joseph Blassie was born on April 4, 1948. Follow him on Facebook. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35, Pandemic-era food benefits end for millions of Americans as costs rise, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". Well, my mom cant get these kinds of phone calls, responded Patricia. On July 11, 1998, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie finally came home to St. Louis. Remains identification bordered on guesswork. He served as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot and was assigned to the 8TH SPECIAL OPS SQDN, 377TH AIR BASE WING, 7TH AF. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. 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