Another serviceman laid to rest....

[sparrow803]

I know they are still finding remains but it baffles me how after all these years. Anyhow, I think it is remarkable.



RICEVILLE, Iowa --- Margaret Fox got a phone call earlier this year from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

More remains had been identified as belonging to her brother, Air Force Capt. Jerome "Jerry" Smith of Riceville.

He died when his plane was shot down Oct. 3, 1966 --- the day after he turned 30 --- in South Vietnam.

"I was just dumbfounded," said Fox, 78, of Riceville. "It's been 45 years."

Smith's body was recovered. His funeral was held Oct. 27, 1966 at his church, Immaculate Conception in Riceville.

The additional remains, identified by lab analysis and sophisticated DNA testing only recently available, were buried Sunday as family and friends gathered at Calvary Cemetery.

The remains were escorted to Riceville by staff from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

Members of the Patriot Guard and the American Legion Riders, Charles City Post 174 also attended the ceremony.

Smith is buried next to his mother and father, Ella and William Smith.

"The whole service was wonderful; it gives closure," Fox said.

Fox and another brother, Jim Smith of Cedar Rapids, are the last survivors of seven siblings.

Smith's service included taps, a prayer by the Rev. Ray Atwood, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, and a 21-gun salute.

"He'd be very honored," Fox's son, Greg Conger of Riceville, said.

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[Aussie George]

nice to hear. Those recovery guys do a hell of a job.

RIP Capt. Smith

[Rlong1985]

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command has a hard job. They go into the jungles and face areas that few have gone since the war; they search all over the world. Land mines and unexploded ordnance still litters the areas in which they must dig. The teams must hike to the locations, somethings far from any village or signs of civilization and begin their search. The truth is they will never bring all those missing home, the remains may no longer exist, or too little to identify. Without JPAC and the active duty military volunteers and civilian employees, the MIA would not make it home. My hat is off to these guys and wish my job allowed more to leave the rating for a tour and take part in such an honorable assignment.