On July 10, 1998, Michael Blassie's body was released to his family. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. At the request of Blassie's family, the Department of Defense exhumed the remains from the Vietnam Unknown's crypt on May 14, 1998. The president meant to assure families of soldiers with MIA status that their loved ones would not be forgotten, but his words were prescient of the Vietnam unknown's fate. The next morning, he handed the package to a helicopter crew, which delivered it to the Saigon Mortuary. Tony. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Perhaps they should put up a new plaque at the memorial that talks about the fact that there may never again be an unknown soldier. Michael Blassie received an appointment to the Air Force and fell in love with flying immediately. President Reagan presided over the funeral and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown. United States Air Force Vietnam Veteran. All rights reserved. That simple, tragic explanation would be the only one that Blassies parents ever heard for 26 years. "Today was a significant day for us," Blassie's brother, George Blassie said during Friday's service. When Britain dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in 1920, it garnered a lot of attention. I dont know any of them. When it came to tracking MIAs, Sampley was shrewd and tireless. Gonzales began filing FOIA requests and eventually got back a thick envelope with military documents showing the entire process of the Unknown Soldier selection process. Jean Blassie dies; she fought to get her son buried at home in St. Louis. Michael was no longer Unknown. He told her that he had been researching who was shot down on the date of Michaels death and he believed that her brothers remains were in the Tomb of the Unknowns. While supplies last, you can get an author-signed 99% Invisible uses cookies to help improve your user experience. All Rights Reserved. They never got updates on recovery efforts. Members of Blassie's family could not be reached immediately for comment yesterday. Hundreds, including Secretary of Defense William Cohen and House minority leader Richard Gephardt, attended the ceremony. f\j Weather. The soldiers anonymity would allow each person who came to the grave to project whatever was most important to them onto the mystery. A neighbor came over to get me, saying, Pat, you need to go inside. So I did and knew something was horribly wrong. USAF Honor Guard with Michael Blassies casket, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (SSgt Scott Seyer/USAF). In 1998 the Tomb of the Unknown was opened and the remains of the Vietnam Unknownidentified as X-26were removed. cemeteries found in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Blassie died when his A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near An Lc in what was then South Vietnam. There was a problem getting your location. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. France, Romania, Italy everybody at the same time jumped on this idea. Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35 I signed up the next day. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid We believe Michael would have been proud of how we pulled together to bring him home. It didnt matter if you wanted to honor all those who served or merely those who died, those who volunteered or those who were drafted, or even whether you were for the war or against it. Year should not be greater than current year. After graduating from St. Louis University High School he entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970. Visit the digital memorial page of Veteran Michael Joseph Blassie where you can share stories, photos, biographies, obituaries, tributes and more. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed Michael Joseph Blassie, the oldest of five children of a St. Louis meat cutter, entered the Air Force Academy in 1966 and received his officer's commission in June 1970. display: block; Im curious how the remains werent identifiable as Michael Blassie if he was the only remaining unidentified serviceman from the war. 99pi keep up the great work. The guard was sent back and a different guard took over. For Mrs. Blassie, the fight to recover her sons remains took a dramatic turn during a family meeting in November 1997 at her apartment in Florissant. That single set of remains was known only as X-26, but his actual name was Michael Blassie. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. So they finally took him off the shelf, file X-26, and for that Im thankful. Air Force jets fly over Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery during the burial of Lt. Michael Blassie, July 11. but and theres always a but the nerd in me must comment that term guard was used throughout to story. Survivors, in addition to her daughter Patricia, include a son, George Blassie of St. Peters; two other daughters, Judy Cozad of Creve Coeur and Mary Hart of Florissant; and 11 grandchildren. Dad set up a little memorial in the basement and would go down there all the time and just sit., When something like this happens in a family, [it] can bring a family together or tear it apart. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Based on mitochondrial DNA testing, Department of Defense scientists were able to identify Blassie's remains. First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, 24, was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 and presumed dead. DNA tests determined that the remains in the tomb were those of Blassie. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. That was enough for Captain Patricia Blassie. Today, there is no body representing Vietnam at the tomb of the unknowns. It was so exciting, she says. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. They must have never actually been there. "We put away no final memories.". You have permission to edit this article. The remains were then sent to Travis Air Force Base on May 24 and arrived at Andrews Air Force Base the following day. They had no way of knowing the remains so caringly committed to the Tomb were that of their son and brother. Through these efforts, they reviewed evidence that suggested the Vietnam War Unknown was likely Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, a pilot who had been shot down in 1972. display: none; The remains were exhumed in May; DNA tests that were not available 26 years ago confirmed the remains were Blassie's. It was all part of the effort to make sure that the Unknown could represent everyone who ever fought in the war. That just couldnt be. St. Louis native Michael Blassie was the picture of an ideal young Air Force officer: tall, handsome, with a hospitable grin and approachable demeanor. She met George Blassie, a butcher, at a ballroom dance. A 1970 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he served in the Vietnam War as a 1st Lieutenant the 8th Special Operations Squadron. Sampley was a former Green Beret who had served in Vietnam. Try again later. Michael Blassies C-37 Dragonfly was part of that defense flying support for allied South Vietnamese ground units. Pilots loved itbecause being that close the ground heightened the sense of flight and speed. Those vacuum-sealed samples now number some 8 million, sitting ready for a self-reference analysis in case of battlefield death. Flying at a low altitude to drop napalm, he would have been propelled into the ground. DNA identification had yet to advance to its current state when Blassie's remains were repatriated, and he lay in the Tomb of the Unknowns up to 1998, with visitors paying respects but unaware of his identity. 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie Birth 4 Apr 1948 Saint Louis, St. Louis City, Missouri, USA Death 11 May 1972 (aged 24) Bnh Long, Bnh Phc, Vietnam Memorial Site* National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA Show Map * A structure erected in honor of someone whose remains lie elsewhere. Now that DNA samples are taken from everyone who joins the U.S. Armed Forces, there may never be another American "unknown soldier.". I didnt even know how to go about college. Major Johnie Webb was the officer in charge of the Armys Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Id also remind them that Michael was never an Unknown Soldier. It was around this time that David Railton came across a temporary grave, a few miles behind the front, marked only by a cross bearing the name of a regiment and the words: An unknown British soldier.. You can watch his conversation with Colonel Patricia Blassie on A Veterans Story on the VBCs YouTube channel, youtube.com/veteransbreakfastclub. There they would rest for eight years in a file labeled X-26 until their date with destiny arrived. We were all so proud of him. By no means, the office reported back, is there anything to substantiate that your brother is in the Tomb of the Unknown.. Maj. Allan J. Kellogg Jr. during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on May 17, 1984,[2] and were transported aboard the USSBrewton to Naval Air Station Alameda. Blassie dropped in low for a bombing run on attacking forces when enemy anti-aircraft fire boomed from the ground. The remains were confirmed to be those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie. Become a member of the Veterans Breakfast Club for only $36/year! In addition, a single strand of hair found in the flight suit yielded an estimated blood type O negative. Three years later, in 1997, Vince Gonzales, a young correspondent with CBS News, contacted the Blassies. "This shrine was still distant from his house, the soil of Missouri, the banks of the Mississippi. Michael Blassie received an appointment to the Air Force and fell in love with flying immediately. Mrs. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. At flight school, Michael was assigned to fly a ground attack aircraft known as the A-37. Major James Connally, Blassies flight commander, described the tragic incident in a letter to Michaels parents: Mikes plane was hit and began streaming fuel. Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 May 11, 1972) was a United States Air Force officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in May 1972. English One of them told her once that their mission guarding the Unknowns is never really over. They were a match and Michael Blassies remains were returned to his family. On May 11, 1972, at age 24, his A-37B Dragonfly aircraft was shot down near An Loc, about 60 miles north of Saigon. This browser does not support getting your location. They brought him home for burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis. In Michaels case, just this once, their mission was completed. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. To Army scientists, these findings superseded any other evidence, such as documents or personal effects. A fellow airman saw tracer rounds directed toward Mikes A-37. The Unknown Soldier can be about more than a dwindling subclass of soldiers that disappeared without record. But the evidence that they were Blassie's was too slim, so the designation was removed in 1979. On Friday, Family and friends gathered to welcome his return at Scott Air Force Base, near Blassie's hometown of Florissant, Mo., a St. Louis suburb. There, a plaque holds words from the Gettysburg Address: "We can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. In World War I there were around 1,648 Unknowns, in World War II there were 8,526, the Korean war there were 848. They were completely cut off from the rest of the world. Sampley had no direct evidence proving Michael was in the tomb, but that didnt make him wrong. Signaling its determination to have its Vietnam Unknown, the Pentagon gave Webb six months to make a positive ID of X-26. She said then-President Ronald Reagan had wanted to add a Vietnam War soldier to the Tomb of the Unknowns, joining the unknown soldiers from World War I and II and the Korean War. }, First published on July 10, 1998 / 4:49 PM. Patricia was proud also when he headed off to Vietnam six years later. But I know each one had a life worth living. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. The Army lab in Hawaii removed the BTB designation and, through a later discredited technique called morphological approximation, declared Michael Blassies remains as belonging to Unknown.. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. He had written an article he said proved that her brother had been buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery on May 28, 1984. Michael Joseph Blassie was born on April 4, 1948. I missed the names of the two announcers who discussed the Arlington Tomb of the Unknown Soldier monument and chuckled together over some of the changing of the guard ceremony and sentry duties. But Mrs. Blassie also had a hunch. Michael Sorkin is a reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Baracus on "The A-Team," Mr. T was a member of the biggest team of them all -- the U.S "I was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being Copyright 2023 Military.com. I find meaning in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier monument. The six fragments in file X-26 were the exception. In honor of the Coast Guard's birthday, we've put together a quiz on the service's history and traditions. The writer had been combing through military records, he said, and found that the Air Force had found the wreckage of Michaels plane five months after he was shot down, 60 miles north of Saigon. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. The government does not have the right to keep such information from the family., When I looked into all the documents and from my personal research, it was obvious that improper decisions were being made, and all of sudden Michael is the Unknown representing the missing from the Vietnam War. Actually, they had his remains and his military I.D. This is especially true for people like me that have no familial association with the military. Love each and every podcast . Every recovered American service member killed in action since the Vietnam War has been identified and buried. Whatever the case, other aircraft were dispatched to the area to provide cover for an Army chopper rescue team, all for naught. Drag images here or select from your computer for 1LT Michael Joseph Blassie memorial. After the Civil War, the Union buried 2,111 soldiers in a mass grave in Arlington that they purposely built in the middle of Robert E. Lees rose garden. During a tour of Vietnam, he served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron. A seven-month CBS News investigation has revealed, reported correspondent Eric Engberg, that the identity of the unknown serviceman is almost certainly known, and that some military officials, for whatever reason, knew it all along and tried to hide it.. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. During a tour of Vietnam, he served as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron. The dedication alone attracted so many mourners, the line for viewing lasted ten days. The discovery of personal effects at the crash site should have converted Michael Blassie from a Vietnam MIA to a KIA, closing his case. Theyre too upsetting. In the early 1980s, officials chose the set of remains coded "X-26" to be interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns. They were just looking out for him until he could go home. 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