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US military buries airmen killed in 1965 crash
Associated Press/Yahoo News ^ | 9 July 2012 | MATTHEW BARAKAT

Posted on 07/10/2012 6:05:39 AM PDT by moonshot925

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Ever since Sherrie Hassenger's husband went missing with five other U.S. airmen over Laos in 1965, her purpose has been to wish and to hope he would come home. When those men's remains were buried in a single casket Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, she said, some of that purpose was taken away. "All I listen to is '50s, '60s music," she said. "When I saw those Air Force men in those dress blues, just like back then, I just wanted to go up and hug them and kiss them. It felt like maybe I could find a piece of my husband in them." The charred remains of the six airmen — identified not through DNA matches but through dental records, personal items and other circumstantial evidence — were buried in a single casket with full military honors, as is common in situations where remains can't be conclusively linked to a specific individual. The remains are representative of six Air Force servicemen: Col. Joseph Christiano of Rochester, N.Y.; Col. Derrell B. Jeffords of Florence, S.C.; Lt. Col. Dennis L. Eilers of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chief Master Sgt. William K. Colwell of Glen Cove, N.Y.; Chief Master Sgt. Arden K. Hassenger of Lebanon, Ore.; and Chief Master Sgt. Larry C. Thornton of Idaho Falls, Idaho.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: arlington; cemetery; funeral; vietnam
I went to this funeral yesterday. Lots of people came.

It was a fitting tribute to the ultimate sacrifice made by these brave heros.

1 posted on 07/10/2012 6:05:52 AM PDT by moonshot925
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To: moonshot925
Welcome home airmen.

God bless those that fly and fight.

/johnny

2 posted on 07/10/2012 6:16:05 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: moonshot925

Thank you for posting.

God bless!


3 posted on 07/10/2012 7:01:23 AM PDT by credo 2
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To: moonshot925
For those unfamiliar with this area, Savannkhet lies at the extreme western end of the infamous Highway 9. Along which so much American blood was shed. Dong Ha. Camp Carrol. Khe Sanh.

In addition, Operation Lam Son 719 (1971-Highway 9) was conducted west of Lao Bao into Sepone. Very, very heavy casualties on the part of all sides. Heavily bombed. And previously sprayed with unknown quantity of Rainbow Herbicides...

4 posted on 07/10/2012 7:08:53 AM PDT by donozark (Col. C.Beckwith:I'd rather go down the river with 7 studs than with a hundred shitheads.)
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