THE WALL OF FACES

I will never forget. Although we never met, he will always be in my heart. I had his bracelet for many years and made a promise to return it. While I may never know what will become of it, the bracelet now lies at his Arlington grave.

Gean is buried at Arlington Nat Cem.

October 26, 2000
VIETNAM WAR MIAS IDENTIFIED

Eleven U.S. Air Force servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial.

They are identified as Colonel Charles P. Claxton, Chicago, Illinois; Colonel Donald E. Fisher, Halfway, Oregon.; Lieutenant Colonel Edwin N. Osborne, Jr., Raiford, Florida; Lieutenant Colonel Gerald G. Van Buren, Toledo, Ohio; Lieutenant Colonel Gordon J. Wenaas, Mayville, North Dakota; Major Frank C. Parker III, Bridgeport, Pennsylvania; Chief Master Sergeant Jack McCrary, Madison, Tennessee; Chief Master Sergeant Wayne A. Eckley, Enterprise, Oregon; Chief Master Sergeant Gean P. Clapper, Altoona, Pennsylvania; and Chief Master Sergeant James R. Williams, Charlotte, North Carolina. The name of the eleventh crewmember is not being released at the request of his family. NOTE: Reported to be Chief Master Sergeant Edward Joseph Darcy.

On December 29, 1967, their Air Force C-130E Hercules took off from Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, on a special mission over North Vietnam. Approximately four hours into their mission, the crew made a radio report from an area near Lai Chau Province, North Vietnam. When they failed to return to base, a visual and electronic search was initiated. About a month later, the search was ended when the aircraft could not be located. In October and November 1992, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam team interviewed five witnesses who had knowledge of the crash site. Two of the witnesses had visited the area of the crash in 1967 or 1968 and provided information about the site. Some of the witnesses turned over identification cards or tags that contained the names of some of the crew members. The team visited the site and recovered some human remains.

In February 1993, the government of Vietnam turned over additional remains and a photocopy of more identification media. In October and November a joint team led by Joint Task Force-Full Accounting excavated the suspected crash site where they recovered aircraft wreckage, personal effects and human remains. In 1994 and 1995, Vietnamese citizens and government officials turned over additional remains. Department of Defense analysts concluded from the distribution of the aircraft wreckage that the C-130 hit a mountainside and that the crew was unaware of the impending crash. Nine parachutes were accounted for among the artifacts recovered, and there are no unresolved live sighting reports associated with this incident. Analysis of the remains and other evidence by the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii established the identification of the eleven servicemen.

The U.S. government welcomes and appreciates the cooperation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that resulted in the accounting of these servicemen. We hope that such cooperation will bring increased results in the future. Achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing in action is of the highest national priority.

All were buried together in Arlington National Cemetery on 15 November 2000.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/oct262000.htm

Ive worn a POW/MIA bracelet for six years now, for a friend of mine, who's father has been listed MIA since 29 Dec 67 . Tomorrow November 15, 2000, Gean P. Clapper will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetary.God bless your soul, sir . Welcome Home !