Bodies of MIA search team return home

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Nearly 300 service members and civilians watched yesterday as seven flag-draped caskets carrying the bodies of seven Americans killed in Vietnam last weekend were unloaded from an Air Force C-17 at Hickam Air Force Base.

As a color guard dipped flags at Hickam Air Force Base, military pallbearers carried caskets containing the remains of the victims of a helicopter crash in Vietnam to hearses. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

As the hearses drove away, a serviceman inside the lead vehicle bowed his head, lifting a white-gloved hand to his eyes.

"They were American heroes — every single one of them," Army Lt. Col. Franklin Childress, public affairs officer for the Hawai'i-based Joint Task Force-Full Accounting said before the plane landed. "They knew the risks. They knew the dangers. And every one of them volunteered."

The seven men had been on a mission for the task force, working in remote sites in Vietnam to find and identify the remains of U.S. servicemen killed three decades ago during the war in Southeast Asia. Their helicopter, flown by a Vietnamese pilot and containing eight other Vietnamese workers, crashed south of Hanoi on April 7, killing all 16 people aboard.

The bodies were taken yesterday to the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawai'i for final identification. They could be returned to their families as early as next week, military officials said.

"I've been asked if it was worth it," Childress said yesterday. "And all I can say is that if we were to say it was not worth it, we would be doing a great disservice to these men."

The ceremony yesterday was solemn and without music, a marked contrast to the one held on the Hickam flight line the day before, welcoming home the crew of the Navy surveillance plane that made an emergency landing in China after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet.

"Yesterday on this spot, 24 men and women returned to America with honor and to joyful families," Adm. Dennis C. Blair, commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command, said during the ceremony. "Today seven men return to America, but to grieving families."

"We can only say to the families who have suffered this loss that we grieve for your sons, husbands and brothers — our teammates," he said. "We honor their service; we renew our dedication to the cause they served. We will never forget them."

Blair called out the names of the men. Army Lt. Col. Rennie Cory of Oklahoma was the commander of the task force's Detachment 2 in Hanoi. Army Lt. Col. George "Marty" Martin III of South Carolina had been the commander of 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, but was scheduled to take over command of Detachment 2 in July. Air Force Maj. Charles Lewis of Florida was deputy commander of Detachment 2. Tech. Sgt. Robert "Marty" Flynn of Alabama was a Vietnamese language specialist with Detachment 2. Navy Chief Petty Officer Pedro Juan "Pete" Gonzales of Arizona was stationed in San Diego but on temporary assignment as a medical specialist to the task force's advance team. Air Force Master Sgt. Steven Moser of California was stationed with the task force at Camp Smith. Sgt. 1st Class Tommy Murphy of Georgia was also stationed in Hawai'i, with the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory.

Most of the family members came to and left the ceremony quietly, occupying an area of the flight line well away from the media.

Murphy's co-workers from the Central Identification Laboratory stood in the area for visitors.

"He was the most wonderful person," said Bessie Smith, who works in the personnel-administration section. "A great big guy with a great big heart."

Maj. Andrew Irwin, executive officer for the laboratory, said Murphy was well thought of and trusted with the difficult assignments.

Johnie E. Webb, Central Identification Laboratory deputy, said his staff has been hard hit by the deaths of Murphy and the others assigned to the task force. Twelve staff members were sent to recover the remains. Others at the lab in Hawai'i will finalize the identification process next week.

"They're hanging in there," Webb said. Grief counselors will be on hand to help them.

Childress, of the task force, said a chaplain had also been sent to Hanoi to help the task force team in Detachment 2.

"It's a tight-knit group," he said. "There were only six Americans, and three of them have been killed."

Childress said Moser had served twice at Camp Smith and had previously been assigned to Hanoi.

He said Cory was a charismatic man known for his leadership skills, and Lewis complemented Cory well in leading the group.

Flynn was a light skinned, fair haired man who amazed the Vietnamese with his language skills, he said, and always managed to accomplish the impossible.

Petty Officer Pedro "Pete" Juan Gonzales was a man who enjoyed the adventures his job as a Navy diver provided and understood the importance of his mission, his younger brother, Petty Officer Jose Gonzales said after the ceremony.

"He knew it made a difference," he said.

Childress said that although the next Joint Task Force-Full Accounting mission into Vietnam, which was scheduled to begin early next month, may be delayed, the mission in general will continue.

"We will celebrate their lives by continuing the mission," he said.