Remains believed to be those of American soldiers killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars are honored in a ceremony at Hickam. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

They arrived aboard a historic Air Force plane, a gray and white C-141 Starlifter known as the "Hanoi Taxi" — the first aircraft to transport POWs to freedom in 1973, a trip that passed through Hawai'i. The plane was piloted by Air Force Reserve Maj. Gen. Edward J. Mechenbier, himself a POW.

Mechenbier, 61, was shot down in an F-4C fighter over North Vietnam in June 1967 and spent nearly six years as a POW before taking his first ride in the Hanoi Taxi.

Today, 21 metal caskets draped with U.S. flags were offloaded two by two and marched past by joint color and honor guards and loaded onto twin blue buses for the short trip to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Facility at Hickam.

"I'm very honored to be part of this great ceremony today where we recognize that Americans missing in action during the Korean and Vietnam wars have finally arrived back on American soil," said Mechenbier, who is from Ohio. "The focus of today's ceremony is really about the brave Americans we honor. We should be proud of our great nation to make these efforts to bring home our fallen heroes 30 years after the Vietnam experience and 50 years after the Korean experience."

Mechenbier, who is retiring, recognized O'ahu resident Nick Nishimoto, a Korean War veteran, and Jim Hickerson, a pilot who was shot down off Haiphong Harbor in 1967, was held as a POW, and was released in 1973.

"I'm so lucky I came back in great shape," said Hickerson, who flew through Hawai'i in 1973 in a plane similar to the Hanoi Taxi.

Teams from POW/MIA accounting command recovered the remains during the 77th joint field activity in Vietnam and the 32nd joint recovery operation in North Korea.

From Vietnam, remains were recovered from sites believed to include the 1968 losses of an Army UH-1D Huey helicopter in Quang Tri Province and an Air Force O-2A Skymaster in Quang Binh Province.

From North Korea, remains were recovered from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir that were lost during bitter fighting by the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division during November and December 1950. An additional seven sets of remains were recovered from Unsan where the 8th Cavalry Regiment fought in November 1950.

On Feb. 12, 1973, the first American POWs left Vietnam as part of "Operation Homecoming." Over six weeks, more than 600 POWs were flown to Hickam on their journey home.

The Hanoi Taxi, which was used to transport troops to Kuwait last year, is scheduled for retirement sometime this year.