Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 06/25/2013 6:09:49 PM PDT by Stoat
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that a soldier, missing from the Vietnam War, has been accounted for and will be buried with full military honors along with two of his crew members.
Army Spc. 5 John L. Burgess, of Sutton Bay, Mich., was the crew chief of a UH-1H Iroquois helicopter that crashed in Binh Phuoc Province, South Vietnam. Also, killed in the crash were 1st Lt. Leslie F. Douglas Jr., of Verona, Miss.; lst Lt. Richard Dyer, of Central Falls, R.I.; and Sgt. 1st Class Juan Colon-Diaz, of Comerio, Puerto Rico. Another crew member, Pfc. John Goosman, survived the crash and was rescued. Remains representing Dyer, Colon-Diaz, and Burgess, will be buried as a group in a single casket, on July 2, at Arlington National Cemetery.
On June 30, 1970, while on a command and control mission, the helicopter was struck by enemy fire, causing it to crash. Shortly thereafter, friendly forces recovered remains of Douglas, Colon-Diaz, and Dyer. The three men were individually identified and buried with full military honors. At that time, no remains were attributed to Burgess.
From 1992 to 2012, more than a dozen joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams investigated the case, in Binh Phuoc Province, recovering human remains, personal effects, military equipment, and aircraft wreckage associated with this loss.
Burgess was accounted for using forensic and circumstantial evidence.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at www.dtic.mil/dpmoor call 703-699-1420.
Welcome Home
Ping
Welcome home soldier.
Welcome home soldier. You’re brothers have been waiting too long for your return.
God’s speed.
Rest in peace
Welcome home
Maybe it’s best that he didn’t see how the country he fought and died for turned out.
Welcome Home SP5 Burgess. RIP on your home soil.
Rest in peace in the name of our Lord.
I salute you!
Welcome home.
I have never heard of that one so I looked it up. It's a dam Huey!
Welcome home, soldier. Thank you for your service.
I just sent this link to the Defence Department to our local talk station that covers Suttons Bay. Thanks for posting it.
Don’t thank me...I’m not the one who posted. Thanks for sending the link out, though ;) This soldier deserves all the accolades possible.
Not to put a downer on this, but they didn’t find him, just declaring him accounted for through other evidence.
You're quite welcome, and thank you very much for doing that. Hopefully they'll spread the word.
BTW, I found this DOD news release because I follow the Arlington National Cemetery twitter account, and it was they who tweeted out the information.
Twitter users can follow Arlington here:
https://twitter.com/ArlingtonNatl
We need to honor these fallen heros who’s families need to know we respect them and their sacrifice.
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