Air Force Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Identified

               The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

               Air Force Col. Elton L. Perrine of Pittsford, N.Y., was buried last week at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.  On May 22, 1967, Perrine and Capt. Kenneth F. Backus completed a nighttime strike against the Cao Nung Railroad Yard near the town of Kep in North Vietnam.  Seconds after the bomb run, a nearby aircrew reported seeing an isolated explosion approximately three miles east of the target, thought to be Perrine's F-4C Phantom aircraft crashing.  Search and rescue attempts were not initiated due to heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area.

               Analysts from DPMO developed case leads with information spanning more than 28 years.  Through interviews with eyewitnesses and research in the National Archives, four locations in Lang Son Province were pinpointed as potential crash sites, separated by as many as 10 miles.

               Between 1999 and 2008, U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, further analyzed leads, interviewed villagers, conducted two surveys and four excavations.  The teams recovered small pieces of aircraft wreckage, human remains, personal effects and life-support equipment from the four locations.

               Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA  which matched that of Perrine's mother in the identification of his remains.  No remains connected to Backus were recovered at the locations.  

               For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

On the Web: http://www.defense.gov/releases/
Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public Contact: http://www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

VFW Foundation Return The Favor

VFW National Headquarters
406 W. 34th Street
Kansas City, Missouri  64111 

On Memorial Day, we honor them. On July 23, we will honor their families.

Honor our nation's fallen Heroes by honoring the families they left behind.

The 2010 Weekend of Remembrance will be the largest-ever gathering of the families of the Fallen.

We need your help to make this weekend happen.

Please join us by sponsoring a family today. A donation of $10, $20, or $50 is a small sacrifice for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Obama: Memorial Day Honors Sacrifices

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2010 - Memorial Day is a time for Americans to remember and honor the ultimate sacrifices made by past and present generations of U.S. servicemembers, President Barack Obama said yesterday during his weekly address to the nation.

Each year on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, America honors all of its citizens who've worn a military uniform, Obama said. Yet, Memorial Day is something different, he said.

"On this day," Obama said, "we honor not just those who've worn this country's uniform, but the men and women who've died in its service; who've laid down their lives in defense of their fellow citizens; who've given their last full measure of devotion to protect the United States of America.

"These are the men and women I will be honoring this weekend, and I know many of you are doing the same," said the president, who tomorrow will provide Memorial Day remarks at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill.

From the Revolutionary War to the present day, generations of Americans have been willing to take up arms - and die, if necessary - in order to preserve the nation's freedoms, Obama said.

"That commitment – that willingness to lay down their lives so we might inherit the blessings of this nation – is what we honor today," Obama said. "But on this Memorial Day, as on every day, we are called to honor their ultimate sacrifice with more than words. We are called to honor them with deeds."

America also honors its fallen warriors, he said, by supporting the surviving family members who must carry on after their loved ones have passed.

"We are called to honor them by doing our part for the loved ones our fallen heroes have left behind and looking after our military families," Obama said. "By making sure the men and women serving this country around the world have the support they need to achieve their missions and come home safely. By making sure veterans have the care and assistance they need.

"In short," he continued, "by serving all those who have ever worn the uniform of this country – and their families – as well as they have served us."

Obama recalled a post-Civil War incident that occurred April 25, 1866, when a group of women in Columbus, Miss., visited a local cemetery to place flowers on the graves of Confederate soldiers who had died during the Battle of Shiloh.

As the women placed the flowers, he said, they noticed that a nearby group of Union soldier graves was bare of flowers.

"But no one had come to visit those [Union] graves, or place a flower there," Obama said. The women, he said, then "decided to lay a few stems for those men, too, in recognition not of a fallen Confederate or a fallen Union soldier, but a fallen American."

A few years later, he said, a group of Civil War veterans established what eventually became Memorial Day, picking a date when the spring flowers are in bloom.

"So this weekend, as we commemorate Memorial Day, I ask you to hold all our fallen heroes in your hearts, and if you can, to lay a flower where they have come to rest," Obama said.
 

Related Sites:
President's Weekly Address

Memorial Day 2010

Dear Sean,

What's more important: honoring the memory of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice or the winner of American Idol?

Memorial Day is right around the corner, but judging by what's being talked about on Facebook and Twitter, you might guess people are more interested in reality TV than in real heroes.

On Monday, everyone's thoughts should be focused on the men and women who gave their lives while defending our country. Can you take a minute to make Memorial Day the topic that everyone is talking about? Post a message to Twitter or Facebook or send an email to your friends and family asking them to honor the day's purpose.

Your message can be simple, but it's incredibly important: ask your friends and family to promise to reflect on the sacrifice and bravery of those who lost their lives while serving our country. Click here to get started.

You can also watch a great documentary on Arlington National Cemetery and find out more about what IAVA is doing on Memorial Day.

By spreading the word, you'll help us ensure that Monday's true meaning isn't lost during trips to the beach or BBQs. Click here and take a minute to help make sure Americans are talking about the real heroes.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Paul

Paul Rieckhoff
Executive Director and Founder
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

Memorial Day to Remain Sacred Holiday Thanks to VFW Member

"Memorial Day is not a day for celebration.  We are supposed to show respect and gratitude for our heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom," states Mike Esmond, a VFW member and Vietnam War veteran. 

................................................................................In recent years, Esmond has been appalled to see fireworks being sold at his local Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart stores in the days leading up to Memorial Day.  He decided something needed to be done to stop the "celebration" of this day. 

"Over the years, Memorial Day seems to have lost its meaning.  I think the younger generation is losing sight of what the holiday is truly for," Esmond said, "If we don't teach these young folks the true meaning of Memorial Day, who will?"

Esmond decided to start writing letters to the Wal-Marts and Winn Dixies of the U.S. explaining the importance of the holiday and what a disgrace it is to him and other veterans, to sell fireworks in "celebration" of a day that should be observed with honor and remembrance of those that gave their lives for this country. 

At first, the stores' representatives responded to the letters by explaining that they have a responsibility to provide their customers with the products they want to purchase, but Esmond and other veterans who joined in on the campaign were not taking no for an answer.  The letters continued to pour in and eventually, Esmond and his fellow veterans' efforts were rewarded.  

It was a long battle, but through Esmond's letter writing campaign, beginning this year, no fireworks will be sold at any Wal-Mart or Winn Dixie in the United States until after the Memorial Day holiday. In fact, Wal-Mart even thanked Esmond for his persistence and guidance on the matter.

"If we don't remember where we came from, how can we know how to move forward?" Esmond concluded, "We need to remember the past and those sacrifices people made."