Another Belated Return
DPMO has announced the identification of another US MIA from Southeast Asia.
Maj. Howard V. Andre, US Air Force, formerly of Memphis, TN, was lost on July 8, 1969, near Xiangkhoang Province, Laos. He was declared formally accounted for (remains repatriated and positively identified) on 11 April 2013. Maj. Andre was the navigator for the aircraft piloted that day by Maj. James E. Sizemore. Both were lost when their A-26A was downed by ground fire during an armed reconnaissance mission conducted as part of “secret war” operations in Laos (Operation Barrel Roll). At the time of loss, both were assigned to the 609th Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand.
Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms. A belated welcome home.
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Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,650 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.
If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one. By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.
Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.
Category: No Longer Missing
Welcome home.
Welcome home, and rest in peace now.
I am saddened by the lack of information I was able to find on the net regarding Major Andre. I found only scant, official stuff and a story from 2010 regarding a POW/MIA VN Veterans ceremony out of Clarksville, TN. An empty chair was set up for Major Andre, as one was for many of the Fallen whose mortal remains had not returned to the country they so nobly served. Welcome home, Major. You were not forgotten. You are not forgotten.
Rest, finally, in peace, my brother.