GyBill
01-22-2009, 02:21 AM
Marines' Remains in Vietnam ID'd
January 14, 2009
UPI
The remains of four U.S. Marines killed in 1968 when their helicopter was shot down in Vietnam have been identified, the Defense Department said.
Pvt. Jose Sanchez of New York, Lance Cpl. Kurt La Plant of Kansas, Lance Cpl. Luis Palacios of California and Lance Cpl. Ralph Harper of Indiana are to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in the spring, The New York Times reported.
The Joint POW/MIA. Accounting Command, based in Hawaii, said that the crash site near the Khe Sanh base was excavated in 2006. Relatives contributed DNA samples to help identify bone fragments.
Sanchez, 19 when he died, enlisted in the Marines after growing up in Brooklyn.
"He said he wanted to be with the best," his younger brother, Peter Sanchez, said.
Sanchez said that his mother began crying when she learned that her son's remains had been found.
Sanchez and the others were on their way to rescue a group of Marines pinned down by enemy fire when the helicopter was shot down.
January 14, 2009
UPI
The remains of four U.S. Marines killed in 1968 when their helicopter was shot down in Vietnam have been identified, the Defense Department said.
Pvt. Jose Sanchez of New York, Lance Cpl. Kurt La Plant of Kansas, Lance Cpl. Luis Palacios of California and Lance Cpl. Ralph Harper of Indiana are to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in the spring, The New York Times reported.
The Joint POW/MIA. Accounting Command, based in Hawaii, said that the crash site near the Khe Sanh base was excavated in 2006. Relatives contributed DNA samples to help identify bone fragments.
Sanchez, 19 when he died, enlisted in the Marines after growing up in Brooklyn.
"He said he wanted to be with the best," his younger brother, Peter Sanchez, said.
Sanchez said that his mother began crying when she learned that her son's remains had been found.
Sanchez and the others were on their way to rescue a group of Marines pinned down by enemy fire when the helicopter was shot down.