Vietnam-era sailors' remains to be buried at Arlington

Human remains from the Vietnam War have been identified as four U.S. Navy sailors who were reported missing in 1967, officials said.

The bodies of the men are to be buried together Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery, Stars and Stripes reported.

Lt. Dennis Peterson, Ensign Donald Frye and Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Technicians William Jackson and Donald McGrane had been missing since July 1967 after their helicopter was shot down over North Vietnam, a U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday.

The sailors were attempting to find a downed pilot when they were fired at, Stars and Stripes said, and the aircraft caught fire and crashed.

In 1982, five boxes of remains were given to U.S. officials and a subsequent investigation by U.S. and Vietnamese officials involved excavation of the crash site, where more human remains as well as aircraft wreckage were recovered.

Last year, Defense Department scientists used forensic tools and circumstantial evidence to identify the remains, Stars and Stripes reported.

Thursday 2 May 2013

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