no, not really, i just won't let them be forgotten... Lest We Forget
Posted on 12/11/2013 7:45:59 PM PST by jttpwalsh
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory have identified the remains of an airman who went missing during the Vietnam War.
Air Force Col. Francis McGouldrick Jr., of New Haven, Conn., is to be buried Friday with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on the 45th anniversary of his loss, according to a Pentagon statement Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
I am told that the support of a Great People, from a Great Nation, has sustained them over the years. May it always be so. Thank you.
no, not really, i just won't let them be forgotten... Lest We Forget
Oh my goodness. Thank you, for this piece of the story, being assembled like a jigsaw puzzle. Bless you, and all of those who keep us safe, and free.
Airman Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, has been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
U.S. Air Force Col. Francis J. McGouldrick Jr. of New Haven, Conn., will be buried Dec. 13, at Arlington National Cemetery. On Dec. 13, 1968, McGouldrick was on a night strike mission when his B-57E Canberra aircraft collided with another aircraft over Savannakhet Province, Laos. McGouldrick was never seen again and was listed as missing in action.
After the war in July 1978, a military review board amended his official status from missing in action to presumed killed in action.
Between 1993 and 2004, joint U.S/Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams attempted to locate the crash site with no success. On April 8, 2007, a joint team located a possible crash site near the village of Keng Keuk, Laos.
From October 2011 to May 2012, joint U.S./L.P.D.R. teams excavated the site three times and recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage consistence with a B-57E aircraft.
In the identification of McGouldrick, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as mitochondrial DNA – which matched McGouldrick’s great nephew and niece.
Today there are 1,643 American service members that are still unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.
I wish my Dad could have seen your tribute, but somewhere, I know that he does. Thank you.
bump
Regretfully, I didn’t keep them in the forefront of my memory. As time passes, I try to atone. Thank you for making their sacrifices known.
I lost my bracelet at a swimming pool when I was 12 years old. The man’s name, Lt. Clive Jeffs, has never left my heart though, and I honor his sacrifice in my prayers.
I’m glad this hero’s family is finally able to lay him to rest.
The job that these folks do to bring home our fallen, is truly The Lord’s Work. Thank you.
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 America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi! |
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Surely, when you leave this earth, Lt. Jeffs will be on hand, to welcome you to Paradise.
I look forward to that, God willing. These men deserve our honor and prayers.
Thank you. To be clear, although my Dad was also an Airman, Jay McGouldrick, who will be laid to rest, was his cousin.
Dad was never the same, after the phone call came, in December of 1968. Jay was like a brother, to him.
I always wondered why I got to bury my Dad, well into old age, while Jay’s kids lost their Dad before he was 40. I guess no one ever told me, that life was fair.
Something tells me, God will. Thank you.
Thanks for the link.
Today there are 1,643 American service members that are still unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.
Welcome home Colonel.
Salute.
I never thought that Jay would be accounted for; hopefully all of our missing may be known. Thank you.
Salute, indeed. Thank you.
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