Vietnam victim finally comes home
By Paul Hammel
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN Ñ A Laurel, Neb., soldier killed in Vietnam, who was listed as missing in action for 44 years, will finally come home Oct. 3.
A funeral for Spec. Donald Grella has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 3 at the Laurel/Concord High School gym in the northeast Nebraska community, according to GrellaÕs sister, Shirley Haase of Omaha. Burial will follow at the Laurel cemetery, in a plot next to his parents.
Grella, then 24 years old, and his Army Special Forces comrades were shot down over the jungle-choked central highlands of Vietnam on Dec. 28, 1965.
The wreckage of their helicopter and the remains of Grella and his three fellow soldiers were identified earlier this summer. A U.S. search team was able to locate and excavate the crash site in March after years of delays and insufficient leads.
Visitation will be Friday evening, Oct. 2, at the United Lutheran Church in Laurel.
© Omaha World-Herald