Remains of airman missing since 1971 to be returned
Associated Press
The remains of an airman killed during a mission near the Laos-Vietnam border some 36 years ago will be returned to his family, the military announced Thursday.
U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. James L. Hull, of Lubbock, and another crew member were flying an O-2A Skymaster when they crashed on Feb. 19, 1971.
Both men died. Hostile enemy action prevented the recovery of Hull's body, so he remained with the wreckage just inside Laos, according to the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office.
Teams from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command led several investigations to retrieve the Hull's remains with Vietnam and Laos between 1993 and 1997.
On one of those missions, a Vietnamese man showed the team a bone fragment and an identification tag belonging to Hull. The man said he got the items from a crash site just past the Laotian border. But the joint team wasn't allowed to cross the border.
The Vietnamese government did give the bone fragment to U.S. officials, but the tag remains missing.
During another investigation, the Vietnamese team allowed one of its citizens to walk to the scene and collect a fragment from the wreckage. Analysts determined it was the crash where Hull died based on the location, type of aircraft and retrieved wreckage.
Then in May 2006, a joint U.S. and Laotian team excavated the site and recovered human remains.
In August, the remains were determined to be Hull's, according to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. Scientists from the POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA from a maternal relative.
He will be buried with full military honors Nov. 13 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
More than 1,700 American military members and civilians remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, according to government figures.
© 2006 The Dallas Morning News Co.
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Air Force Pilot Missing in Action From Vietnam War Identified
Sat, 14 Oct '06
A Fallen Flyer Comes Home
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced this week the remains of a US airman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will soon be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is 1st Lt. James L. Hull, US Air Force, of Lubbock, TX.
Hull will be buried November 13 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC.
On February 19, 1971, Hull and a fellow crew member were flying a mission near the Laos/Vietnam border when their O-2A Skymaster crashed. Both men died, but Hull's body was buried in the wreckage and could not be recovered because of hostile enemy action.
Between 1993 and 1997, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) led three investigations with US and Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, and one trilateral investigation with a Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team. During the first investigation, the team interviewed a Vietnamese citizen who produced human remains and an identification tag for Hull that he claimed to have recovered from a crash site located just inside Laos. The joint team was not allowed to cross the border, and the investigation was suspended.
The Vietnamese turned over the bone fragment to US officials, but the ID tag's whereabouts are still unknown.
Additional investigations yielded some information concerning a crash site located just inside the Laotian border. The S.R.V. allowed a Vietnamese national to walk to the purported crash site and collect a fragment of the wreckage. Based on the location, type of aircraft and retrieved wreckage, analysts determined it was Hull's crash site.
In May 2006, a joint US and L.P.D.R. team excavated the site where they recovered additional evidence and human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA from a known maternal relative in the identification of the remains.
© 1999-2006 by Aero-News Network, Inc.
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DOD Identifies Remains of Pilot
Air Force Print News
Washington D.C. -ÊThe Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced Oct. 12 that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will soon be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is 1st Lt. James L. Hull, U.S. Air Force, of Lubbock, Texas. He will be buried Nov. 13 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On Feb. 19, 1971, Hull and a fellow crew member were flying a mission near the Laos-Vietnam border when their O-2A Skymaster crashed. Both men died, but Hull's body was buried in the wreckage and could not be recovered because of hostile enemy action.
Between 1993 and 1997, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command led three investigations with U.S. and Socialist Republic of Vietnam teams, and one trilateral investigation with a Lao People's Democratic Republic team. During the first investigation, the team interviewed a Vietnamese citizen who produced human remains and an identification tag for Hull that he claimed to have recovered from a crash site located just inside Laos. The joint team was not allowed to cross the border and the investigation was suspended. The Vietnamese turned over the bone fragment to U.S. officials, but the ID tag's whereabouts are still unknown.
Additional investigations yielded some information concerning a crash site located just inside the Laotian border. TheÊSocialist Republic of VietnamÊallowed a Vietnamese national to walk to the purported crash site and collect a fragment of the wreckage. Based on the location, type of aircraft and retrieved wreckage, analysts determined it was Hull's crash site.
In May 2006, a joint U.S. and Lao People's Democratic RepublicÊteam excavated the site where they recovered additional evidence and human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA from a known maternal relative in the identification of the remains.
©2006 Air Force Print News