Posted on 02/02/2007 5:07:35 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Jan. 31 that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Cmdr. Peter Mongilardi Jr., of Haledon, N.J. He will be buried Apr. 11 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
"I am continually impressed with the professionalism, dedication and ever-vigilant efforts of JPAC [Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command], the Armed Forces Identification Lab and DPMO to locate, identify and return these men to their homeland," said Michael Wardlaw, director, Navy Casualty Assistance.
"This continued effort speaks volumes for the American ethos toward the value of life, our pursuit of freedom and our sincerest appreciation for all of our fighting men and women and their families," he added. "We simply can not do enough."
Mongilardi departed the USS Coral Sea (CV 43) on June 25, 1965, in his A-4C Skyhawk on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. His flight encountered bad weather and enemy fire over Thanh Hoa Province, causing the wingman to lose visual and radio contact with Mongilardi. Contact was never re-established and the aircraft failed to return to the carrier.
In 1993, a joint U.S. and Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) archival team, lead by JPAC, obtained information concerning the crash while researching documents, artifacts and photographs at the Central Army Museum in Hanoi. Later that year, another joint U.S./S.R.V team conducted an investigation in Thanh Hoa Province. The team interviewed two local Vietnamese citizens who recalled the crash and said the pilot died in the impact. The men led the team to the crash site.
In 1994, another joint team excavated the crash site and recovered human remains and pilot-related items, including a belt tip, boot heel, pieces of flight boot and other items worn by the pilot.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used nuclear DNA in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo/.
A Hero from another War finally gets to come home.
May God bless, and rest his soul.
Yet another salute for the joint U.S./S.R.V team. We're getting there, and we're winning the Vietnam war.
Rest in peace, hero.
SONOBUOY PING!
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a low volume pinglist.
I wore the bracelet of Capt. Jerry Mundt until it disintegrated. I will never forget the name. He is not home yet.
Hand Salute...............two
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