Free Republic

NEW YORK - Fifty-three years after he was shot down on a desperate cargo-delivery flight over Vietnam, a legendary pilot and soldier of fortune known as Earthquake McGoon will be buried Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery. The burial plan was announced by the Pentagon on Wednesday. Earthquake McGoon, whose real name was James B. McGovern Jr., was one of the first two Americans killed in the Vietnam conflict. His remains were recovered from an unmarked grave in a remote northern Laos village in 2002 and identified last year by forensic experts at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's laboratory at Hickam...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

NEW YORK, Dec 05, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- The discovery of a skeleton in a remote corner of Laos may mark the beginning of the end of a fabled chapter of the Cold War, when an American soldier of fortune known as "Earthquake McGoon" became a household name for his daring exploits in China and Southeast Asia. The recent finding by a U.S. task force has raised hopes for identifying James B. McGovern, or possibly his co-pilot, Wallace A. Buford, who were shot down in 1954 in the last days of the French Indochina war. "That's incredible...