Missing Airmen from Vietnam War identified

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RIP Brothers.

Department of Defense officials with the POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Sept. 19 that the remains of Air Force pilots Maj. James E. Sizemore of Lawrenceville, Ill., and Maj. Howard V. Andre Jr., of Memphis, Tenn., have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors Sept. 23 at Arlington National Cemetery.

On July 8, 1969, Sizemore and Andre were on a night armed reconnaissance mission when their A-26A Invader crashed in Xiangkhoang province, Laos. Both men died in the crash but their remains were unaccounted for until April 2013.

You can read the full story on the link.




http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDispl...ssing-airmen-from-vietnam-war-identified.aspx
 
A very, very cool addendum to this story:

http://www.warbirds-eaa.org/news/20...Step in to Honor Fallen Airmen.html#TopOfPage

The crash site was found several years ago and remains were positively identified in April this year by the Pentagon's POW/MIA Accounting Command Task Force. After notification of the families, burial was authorized at Arlington; however, a request for an Air Force flyby was denied due to sequestration budget cuts. That's when the warbird community stepped up to fill the void.

In late May/early June, Pat Marsh, co-founder of Warrior Aviation and the Warrior Flight Team, received a request via social media asking if the team could perform the flyover, and he committed to do so. Marsh, an L-39 pilot carrying the call sign VILLAIN, took the lead in organizing the special flyover.
Warrior Aviation is a nonprofit, all-volunteer charity that brings rewarding life opportunities to wounded vets from Afghanistan and Iraq, allowing them to return to a productive work life and solid economic citizenship.
First order of business was to reach out to the warbird community seeking pilots to participate in the tribute flight. He was overwhelmed by the reaction.
"Within 24 hours I had the lineup set," he said. "The response I received was overwhelming - I had to turn several pilots down."

Blue skies.
 
Good to see you home sirs. Prayers out to all affected by your absence. Special prayers to those who searched. We never forget.

LL
 
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