The Pentagon said yesterday it was weighing the possibility that DNA science may enable it to identify Vietnam-era remains buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The issue has arisen because of relatives' concern that the Vietnam war "unknown" may be First Lieut Michael Blassie, who was shot down near An Loc in May 1972 and who is listed as killed in action, body not recovered.
Pentagon officials said yesterday they were carrying out a painstaking review to minimise the potential consequences for the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington DC.
"What we want to do is to determine if the current science enables us with confidence to conclude that remains in the tomb could be identified?" said Capt Mike Doubleday of the US navy, a Pentagon spokesman.
"And secondly, if we have a possible association with a specific individual, is it in the best interest of all concerned that we go ahead and do so? "We certainly have an obligation to family members of those individuals who are still missing. We have an obligation to family members who have unresolved questions. We also have an obligation to all of those who have served in wars in the past and who view this site as very hallowed ground."
Unlike previous wars involving the US, the Vietnam war yielded only a "very, very small" number of remains that could not be positively identified, Capt Doubleday said. Because of DNA testing and other forensic advances, the Pentagon had some difficulty finding a Vietnam-era veteran to honour beside the unknowns from the two World Wars and Korea.
However, a set of remains was eventually chosen from those at the US Government Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. They were laid to rest during Memorial Day services in 1984 attended by President Ronald Reagan.
Prisoners-of-war activists have long accused the Pentagon of entombing someone prematurely in a rush to help close the books on the issue of the 2,100 or so Americans still listed as missing.