Remains ID'd of Four Missing in Vietnam ( Heroes come Home)

Yahoo! ^ | 2/14/06 | Associated Press

[USMC79to83]

WASHINGTON - The remains of four U.S. servicemen missing in action since the Vietnam War have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

All from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, they are Maj. Jack L. Barker of Waycross, Ga.; Capt. John F. Dugan of Roselle, N.J.; Sgt. William E. Dillender of Naples, Fla.; and Pfc. John J. Chubb of Gardena, Calif.

Chubb will be buried in Inglewood, Calif., this week. Barker, Dugan and Dillender will be buried in April in Arlington National Cemetery, said the Defense Department POW/Missing Personnel Office.

Their helicopter was shot down on March 20, 1971, the office said in a statement.

Barker and Dugan were piloting a UH-1H Huey helicopter with Dillender and Chubb on board while on a troop extraction mission in the Savannakhet Province of Laos.

Officials said that as the helicopter approached the landing zone, it was hit by heavy enemy ground fire and exploded.

Between 1988 and 2001, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic teams undertook four unsuccessful investigations and three excavations for the remains. Crash site surveys in 2002 and 2004 eventually found some remains, wreckage and insignia. The remains were identified by forensic anthropologists using medical and dental records, the Pentagon said.

From the Vietnam War, 1,807 Americans are still unaccounted for, 364 of those from Laos. Another 839 have been accounted for in Southeast Asia, 208 of those from Laos.

[USMC79to83]

May God bless them all.

Welcome home.

[Rembrandt]

Sounds as if they were heading in to rescue SOG personnel rigging nice little surprises along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

[Ohioan from Florida]

Words cannot express how I feel right now. God bless these men and their families.

[lmr]

Welcome Home Soldiers.

Their helicopter was shot down on March 20, 1971, the office said in a statement.

This was so long ago, it has been my whole life's history. I was in my mother's womb at this time.

I am thankful that they fought for the freedom that I have enjoyed my entire life.

[Bender2]

...they died to make men free...

While God is marching on.

Bless their souls, Oh Lord...

[MamaB]

One of my high school and college friends was shot down over there in a helicopter. He was an only child.

[Ohioan from Florida]

I don't know if you or someone else has a Vietnam ping list, but if you do know of someone, feel free to ping them with this news.

[Theresawithanh]

Big fat dittoes to that!!!!!!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Welcome Home Brothers
You are not forgotten.
Thank You each for your sacrifice for our Freedom.
Rest Well Brothers

[potlatch]

Nice post Tonkin. 1971!!! Glad they are coming home.

[BykrBayb]

Welcome home

Maj. Jack L. Barker

Capt. John F. Dugan

Sgt. William E. Dillender

Pfc. John J. Chubb

Thank you for your service.

[Calpernia]

The remains of four U.S. servicemen missing in action since the Vietnam War have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

All from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, they are Maj. Jack L. Barker of Waycross, Ga.; Capt. John F. Dugan of Roselle, N.J.; Sgt. William E. Dillender of Naples, Fla.; and Pfc. John J. Chubb of Gardena, Calif.

[Ohioan from Florida]

Thanks, I just knew that you would know who to ping!

[Ohioan from Florida]

Oops, my #13 was meant for you!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

TAPS

RIP Brave Protectors of Freedom
Maj Barker
Cpt Dugan
Sgt Dillender
Pfc Chubb

Amazing Grace

[Soaring Feather]

Welcome Home Heroes!

[leadpenny]

There was lots of that kind of activity going on but I suspect this crash happened during Operation Lam Son 719.

Timing is everything I guess. I left Pleiku on my first tour just before Tet of 68 and left I Corps on my second tour a couple of months before Lam Son 719.

http://a101avn.org/LamSon719.html

~huey driver.

[leadpenny]

This is from "The Wall" website. I posted it yesterday on another thread on this subject (I believe the "tour of duty began on" data must be in error):

Maj. Jack L. Barker
MAJ - O4 - Army - Reserve
101st Airborne Division
31 year old Married, Caucasian, Male
Born on Mar 22, 1939
From WAYCROSS, GEORGIA
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - PILOT
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion
BAPTIST

Capt. John F. Dugan
CAPT - O3 - Army - Reserve
101st Airborne Division
23 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Nov 10, 1947
From ROSELLE, NEW JERSEY
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion
ROMAN CATHOLIC

Sgt. William E. Dillender
SGT - E5 - Army - Regular
19 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Oct 06, 1951
From NAPLES, FLORIDA
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion
BAPTIST

Pfc. John J. Chubb
PFC - E3 - Army - Regular
101st Airborne Division
20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Dec 09, 1950
From GARDENA, CALIFORNIA
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered

[leadpenny]

You may appreciate the link at 17. I'm a leadpenny so I have to remind myself that me looking at the history of WWII is something akin to you looking at the Vietnam War.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT