Unknown 'Soldier' returns home

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Luther Mitchell Jr.
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The Vietnam War was one of the longest wars for the United States, not only for those involved, but for the families of those fighting. Making sure everyone returned home from war was a priority and for one Unknown Soldier that was just the case.

"First Lt. Michael Blassie represents those who gave their all," said retired Master Sgt. Ed Barrett, a Vietnam War veteran.

Blassie was shot down during a low-level bombing run over South Vietnam in 1972. The following day an Air Force chaplain informed his parents that their son had been killed in action and his body couldn't be recovered.

That would be the official statement on Blassie's death for the next two decades.

Six months after Blassie's death, a South Vietnamese army patrol located Blassie's crash site and recovered an identification card, a beacon radio, two compasses, a parachute and six bone fragments.

Back then, establishing the identity of bodies seemed like guesswork and so the bone fragments were designated "unknown" for many years.

In 1984 these unknown bones were laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery in the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Years later, Patricia Blassie, Michael's sister, received a phone call informing her it was her brother buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns. She asked for a DNA test to verify it was indeed her brother.

Many people lobbied on behalf of the Blassie family. In 1998, Pentagon officials announced the Vietnam Unknown would be disinterred.

DNA test results revealed the body was that of Blassie.

Bringing Blassie back home meant a great deal to Barrett. He keeps clippings of Blassie's memorial from Life Magazine to this day.

"Yes, I have the Life Magazine and newspaper articles preserved all these years," Barrett said. "Emotional but true. As a veteran of the Vietnam War, seeing Barrett come home made me proud."