M.I.A. SOLDIER FOUND AFTER 39 YEARS
BROUGHT HOME
AS FALLEN HERO
New York - October 13, 2007
by Josh Randall
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that . After being missing in action in Vietnam for thirty- nine years the remains of Lieutenant, Jack E. Buchannon, of the United States Marine Corps, have been found and identified and he will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Lt. Buchannon was stationed at the Con Thien, firebase located in the Quang Tri Province of South Vietnam during the Vietnam war. On January 19, 1968 after a small fire fight in a little village that was assisting the enemy up along the demilitarized zone the lieutenant did not return from patrol. He was declared to be M,I.A. the following day, January 19, 1968. It is believed that his remains were unearthed after a strong monsoon like rainstorm. The final identification was made and confirmed at the Laboratory for Forensic Odontolgy at the United States Naval Base, in Honolulu, Hawaii with the use of the missing soldier’s dental records on September 29th .
The fallen soldier’s parents Mr. Jack Buchannon (a former marine and WWII veteran) and his wife Patricia were notified by a special envoy sent by the Department of the U.S. Navy and the State Department the following day.
The fallen soldier’s parents were delivered a message from the president stating that for his extreme courage at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States that for his gallantry their son Jack E. Buchannon, Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps will be receiving our country’s highest honor. He will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by the president in a special ceremony that will be held in Washington, D.C., on Veteran’s Day, this November 11th.
To date there are still 1763 veterans listed as being M.I.A. in Vietnam.
This is a story about friendship, patriotism, heroism and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Many of our Veterans are haunted by secrets and memories buried deep in their hearts and minds never to tell their stories, until now!
M.I.A. in Vietnam since 1968, the remains of Lt. Jack E. Buchannon, U.S.M.C., are found, and identified.
He’s brought home, awarded the medal of honor and buried as a fallen hero.
His three best friends, all ex-marines and Vietnam veterans meet after the funeral to raise a toast to their friend, but as old war memories come crashing back to life their little get together suddenly turns into an intense edge of your seat psychological drama as we peer in on the lives of four veterans thirty-nine years after their war has been over, only to learn that the men who fight in wars are changed forever!
