In addition, because firefights were limited to units of company-size or smaller and were contained in small areas, identification of the dead was relatively easier than before.

By 1982 only 4 sets of unidentified remains were held in Army's Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii. Two sets of remains were finally indentified, and the third set was thought to not be American, according to the Army they believed it to be the remains of a Southeast Asian.That left one set of remains. An Army spokesman said, "Information we have on this individual does not match anything we've got."Though it happened by default, an Unknown from Vietnam finally existed. To preserve anonymity, the Army ordered all records pertaining to the case destroyed. Personnel at the Army's identification laboratory were told not to discuss any aspect of the investigation. An Army spokesman said, "He's an American. We know he died in the conflict, but we just don't know who he is. We used every trick but we cannot match him to any known missing soldier. We think we can say this a true Unknown from the Vietnam War."

Official designation of the remains took place May 17,1984. In a dockside ceremony at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Medal of Honor recipient, Marine Sergeant Major Allan J. Kellogg placed a wreath in front of the casket.

Pallbearers then placed the casket aboard the USS Brewton to start the long voyage to Washington, DC. The remains were transported aboard the USS Brewton to Alameda Naval Base, California, from there they were sent to Travis Air Force Base, California. On May 24 the Vietnam Unknown arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland .

The next day, May 25, the Vietnam Unknown Soldier was taken to the U.S. Capitol Building, where it would lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from May 25 -May 28.

Thousands filed by the casket to pay their respects, including many foreign dignitaries, members of the House and Senate, the Supreme Court, and the President of the United states, Ronald Reagan.

At noon May 28, 1984, Memorial Day, an Army caisson led the Military funeral procession from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.

Motor driven escort leads the procession to the Arlington National Cemetery

In the Memorial Amphitheater hundreds of invited guests, including over 100 Medal of Honor recipients from all wars, joined tens of thousands of spectators viewing the ceremonies on national television. Honorary pallbearers were Vietnam Medal of Honor heroes from each military branch, President Reagan presided over the funeral, and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown.

He also gave an emotionally charged speech during the somber funeral service. He assured the families of MIA's the quest for their loved ones was not over. "We write no last chapters," he said. "We close no books. We put away no final memories." The President then presented the Medal of Honor to the Unknown by stating we should "debate the lessons learned at some other time: Today we simply say with pride, 'Thank you, dear son. May God cradle you in His loving arms.' We present to you our nation's highest award, the Medal of Honor, for service above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy during the Vietnam Era."

After the service ended the casket was carried out to the plaza for the interrment rites.

There were many Vietnam veterans and their families there to pay their respects to their fallen comrade - in-arms.

Following religious rites, a 21 Gun Salute was rendered. The solemn service concluded with 3 volleys of rifle fire, followed by the sounding of Taps and the Unknown Vietnam War hero was laid to rest before the sarcophagus and between his comrades of World War II and Korea.

A tomb guard helped President Reagan lay a huge wreath at the foot of the crypt.The marble covering for the crypt was laid later when there was no crowd at the tomb.

First Lieut. Michael J. Blassie

Fourteen years after the remains of the Vietnam Unknown Soldier had been laid to rest at Arlington,the family of Michael J. Blassie requested that the remains be disinterred because they had reason to believe it was their son.

So on May 14,1998, the body was disinterred from the Vietnam crypt and subsequently DNA evidence proved that the remains were those of Lieutenant Michael J.Blassie, whose fighter plane went down in 1972 near AnLoc,Vietnam.

The body was flown to his hometown of St. Louis , Missouri, and was laid to rest July 10 in a National cemetery with full miitary honors.

It was later decided that the Vietnam crypt would remain empty forever because what few unidentified remains of Vietnam soldiers still existed would probably be identified later through DNA testing.In 1999 a new marble covering was placed over the empty Vietnam crypt, and a new inscription was added. Eleven long-stem yellow roses provided exclamation points at the end of the phrase "Honoring and Keeping Faith with America's Missing Servicemen."

Please continue to page Four to read about how the soldiers are chosen to be guards at The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier, it's very interesting.---Mary

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