(playful music)
(drums beating)
- The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
This ornate marble sarcophagus serves as monument
to all our fallen servicemen who remain unidentified.
Three soldiers are currently interned in the tomb,
but prior to 1998, there were four.
The remaining unknowns will likely never be identified.
But Michael Joseph Blassie is unknown no more.
His identity is no longer
one of history's greatest mysteries.
(smooth music)
- [Narrator] In Arlington National Cemetery,
atop a hill overlooking Washington D.C.,
sits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The tomb, Arlington's most iconic Memorial,
was built to honor the unidentified fallen heroes
of the United States military.
The original idea for the memorial was imagined
as the nation reeled in the aftermath of World War I.
With thousands of American troops missing
and unaccounted for,
the government sought out a way to honor their service.
March 4th, 1921.
Congress votes to approve the burial
of an unidentified American casualty from World War I.
The first soldier to be added to the tomb
is exhumed from an unmarked battlefield grave in France
and transported to the United States with great fanfare.
While the unknown soldier lies in state
at the Capitol Rotunda for two days,
over 90,000 people visit him to pay their respects
before he is moved to his final resting place,
the newly built Tomb of the Unknown
housed within the Memorial Amphitheater
in Arlington National Cemetery.
The tomb draws large crowds for years
after the first unknown was buried there
and quickly grows to represent the anonymous sacrifices
of all American service members at home and abroad.
- The Sentinels of the 3rd U.S. Infantry, The Old Guard,
serve as a solemn accompaniment to the tomb's inhabitants,
keeping a constant faithful watch of the Memorial
365 days a year.
In may of 1958, the tomb has expanded
to incorporate two new unknown soldiers.
One to honor those lost in World War II
and one to honor the soldiers who paid the ultimate price
in the Korean War.
As the soldiers are interred
beside their World War I comrade,
President Eisenhower awards each unknown
a medal of honor for their sacrifice.
For many years, the tomb lays undisturbed
until America is once again embroiled
in another military conflict overseas, this time in Vietnam.
(bombs exploding)
Despite the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War,
President Ronald Reagan bows to public pressure
and inters Vietnam Unknown to the tomb in 1984.
Reagan eulogizes the unknown with a promise
that the government would never stop the search
for those missing in action and never cease in its efforts
to grant Gold Star families closure.
But the internment of the Vietnam Unknown
will go on to become
one of the US military's most controversial
and long-running cases of mistaken identity.
In the years following the interment
of the Vietnam Unknown,
scientific progress opens new avenues
to solving the mysteries of the soldiers
designated missing in action.
Military families across the country are given new hope
in finding those that have been lost.
The Blassies are among these families.
After being told their missing son was shot down in Vietnam,
they receive no further information
on whether his body has ever recovered
and his final whereabouts remain a mystery to them.
However, the truth turns out to be much more complicated
and will go on to dominate headlines across the nation.
First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie
graduates from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970.
Blassie learns to pilot A-37s
on Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi,
before he is deployed to Vietnam.
In just under four months in combat,
Blassie flies over 130 successful missions
as a member of the 8th Special Operations Squadron.
(bombs exploding)
On the morning of May 11th, 1972,
Blassie departs on his 138th and final mission.
Blassie takes off from an American base in Bien Hoa
in an A-37 Dragonfly
and heads towards an enemy artillery outpost
on the outskirts of An Loc.
(machine gun fire) (bombs exploding)
Blassie's mission falls on the 28th day
of the Battle of An Loc,
an extended operation that will end up taking the lives
of over 10,000 U.S. soldiers.
One of those soldiers is Michael Joseph Blassie.
Shortly after striking his target,
a burst of tracer rounds is seen approaching Blassie.
His plane is hit and began streaming fuel.
No distress call is transmitted.
After flying a short distance,
the aircraft flips over and explodes on impact
(plane exploding)
in enemy territory.
Dispatched recovery teams are not able to reach the body
due to what one service member describes as,
"A murderous is hail of fire from enemy forces."
As a result, Blassie's body is not recovered
by American troops.
While this story is included in the official report
on the final whereabouts of Blassie's remains,
the answered questions surrounding his disappearance
loom larger.
The report on Blassie's disappearance
concealed a series of unfortunate missteps
that led to his critical misclassification as unknown.
Nearly six months after the downing of Blassie's plane,
a South Vietnamese patrol locates the crash site.
After searching the site, they find the remains of his body
at enough personal effects including his ID card
to verify his identity.
A contemporaneous radio log from the patrol at the time
identifies him and reports the recovery.
His personal effects and remains
are given to the Saigon mortuary with specific notation
stating that they are believed to be Lieutenant Blassie's.
From Saigon,
his remains travel to a recovery camp in Thailand
before making their way to the Army's
Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii.
In transit, his wallet and ID are either lost or stolen.
The army laboratory uses a controversial
and inaccurate technique to analyze Blassie's remains.
The method, which has since been invalidated
by the scientific community, incorrectly estimates
that the six bones recovered from the crash site
did not belonged to someone of Blassie's age and height
at the time of his death.
Furthermore, a test on a single hair
found with a portion of his flight suit
yields a different blood type than Blassie's.
As a result, the chain of custody documents
attached to Blassie's remains and effects are overruled,
and the bones are reclassified as a designated unknown.
In 1984, President Reagan and Congress
decide to inter a Vietnam Unknown.
The remains that are chosen are in fact,
those of Lieutenant Blassie.
(tense music)
Ten years pass.
In 1994,
due to thorough research by a former green beret,
the Blassie family is alerted to the possibility
that Michael's remains have been recovered.
After privately deliberating for years,
the family decides to issue a public demand
for a DNA test on the Vietnam Unknown.
A thorough internal review is commissioned
by then Secretary of Defense, William Cohen.
The investigation unearths the inventory of items
from the Saigon mortuary
that were initially paired with the remnants.
This compelling evidence
combined with sensational media coverage
leads Cohen to exhume the remains of the Vietnam Unknown
and order a DNA test.
To quote Blassie's sister,
Air Force veteran Colonel Patricia Blassie.
"He's not identified, but he isn't on identifiable."
The DNA test confirms their suspicions
and the Vietnam Unknown's identity is no longer a mystery.
Parts of Blassie's flight suit and safety gear
are discovered in the casket and given to his family
who were finally granted closure over two decades later.
(dramatic music)
- In accordance with the wishes of his family,
Lieutenant Blassie was re-interred
in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
in Jefferson, Missouri.
On September 17th, 1998,
National POW/MIA Recognition Day,
the Tomb of the Vietnam Unknown was rededicated
to honor all missing us service members
from the Vietnam war.
And so the tomb remains under constant guard
by an army sentinel.
The remaining unknowns will likely never be identified,
but Michael Joseph Blassie is unknown no more.
His identity is no longer
one of history's greatest mysteries.
(emotional music fades)