{"id":111144,"date":"2023-02-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/?p=111144"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:40:54","slug":"object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 53: Funeral Ceremony For Vietnam Unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:575px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6 figure{max-width:575px;}.kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6 .image-is-svg, .kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image111144_be6cf8-f6\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2023020301-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2023020301-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,690\" alt=\"Interment ceremony for Vietnam Unknown at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with President Ronald Reagan presiding, May 28, 1984. Testing later identified the Unknown as Air Force pilot Michael Blassie. (National Archives)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-111146\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Interment ceremony for Vietnam Unknown at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with President Ronald Reagan presiding, May 28, 1984. Testing later identified the Unknown as Air Force pilot Michael Blassie. (National Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On July 11, 1998, a casket containing the remains of 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie was interred in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cem.va.gov\/cems\/nchp\/jeffersonbarracks.asp\" rel=\"noopener\">Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery<\/a> in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Blassie\u2019s journey home took 26 years. Over that span he rested in Vietnamese jungles, forensic labs, and for fourteen years, as the Vietnam War Unknown in the nation\u2019s most revered crypt\u2014the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arlingtoncemetery.mil\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Arlington National Cemetery<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enemy fire ripped through Blassie\u2019s A-37 Dragonfly on his 132nd combat mission on May 11, 1972. His plane went into an inverted nosedive and exploded on impact in the jungles of An Loc near the Cambodian border. A recovery mission was immediately launched to secure the remains of the 24-year-old Air Force Academy graduate, but efforts were aborted due to heavy enemy presence. Blassie\u2019s parents were notified that their son was killed-in-action and his body unrecovered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unbeknownst to them, a South Vietnamese soldier found the crash site months later, along with Blassie\u2019s bones, his ID card, wallet, and other personal effects. The remains and possessions were sent to Saigon and labeled \u201cbelieved to be\u201d Lieutenant Blassie. In 1976 they were transferred to the Army\u2019s Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Two years later, his remains were analyzed with methods subsequently found to be questionable. The results came back with a height, age, and blood type different than Blassie\u2019s, leading the Army to designate the remains \u201cX-26.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blassie\u2019s family still believed him to be missing in action when the Defense Department in 1984 selected X-26 for interment in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. President Richard M. Nixon had first called for a Vietnam unknown to be laid to rest alongside the unknowns from the two world wars and Korea in 1971. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of those earlier conflicts, there had been no shortage of candidates for burial because of the military\u2019s limited ability to identify battlefield remains. Vietnam, however, posed a challenge due to advances in technology and forensic science. When the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 ended the U.S. involvement in the war, the military lacked a viable unknown to entomb at Arlington. As a result, Nixon\u2019s directive went unfulfilled for more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image111144_3966fa-c8.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image111144_3966fa-c8 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:900px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111144_3966fa-c8.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111144_3966fa-c8 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image111144_3966fa-c8 figure{max-width:900px;}.kb-image111144_3966fa-c8 .image-is-svg, .kb-image111144_3966fa-c8 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image111144_3966fa-c8 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image111144_3966fa-c8\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2023020302-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2023020302-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,320\" alt=\"Photo collage of Blassie\u2019s reburial at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-111145\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Photo collage of Blassie\u2019s reburial at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, July 1998. Pictured are his mother Jean (standing), brother George, and sister Pat at the gravesite the day after committal. (National Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1978, President Jimmy E. Carter dedicated a bronze plaque at Arlington\u2019s Memorial Amphitheater to honor those who served in the Vietnam War. Veterans groups, however, clamored for greater recognition. The political pressure increased after the unveiling of the somber Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC, four years later.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1984, President Ronald W. Reagan decided to act. Eager to pay tribute to Veterans of the conflict in a way that would promote national healing, Reagan ordered the Defense Department to procure a Vietnam unknown to be buried in a state funeral at Arlington. Only four sets of remains existed, all of which might be identified at some future date. Despite their awareness of this possibility, officials in Hawaii on May 17, 1984, picked X-26 and had the remains casketed along with physical evidence from the crash site that should have been destroyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The casket was flown on a C-141B Starlifter to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and then placed on display at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, for several days to permit visitors to pay their respects. On May 28, 1984\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/featured-stories\/memorial-day-postcards\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"103770\">Memorial Day<\/a>\u2014President Reagan delivered a short speech in an interment ceremony at the Tomb, eulogizing the men who had gone <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-38-national-pow-mia-memorial\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"106705\">missing in action<\/a> during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blassie rested in anonymity at the Tomb for a decade until investigative journalists concluded that he was he was likely the unknown soldier buried in the Vietnam crypt. A 1998 CBS expose on the case featuring the Blassie family intensified demands to examine the remains with new forensic techniques. On May 14, 1998, officials opened the venerated crypt and removed the casket with X-26 for analysis. The testing positively identified Blassie and, per his family\u2019s wishes, his remains were sent home for burial in a gravesite bearing his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VA serves as steward of a national cemetery system containing more than 150,000 unknowns, the vast majority from the <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/65-6x6-unknown-grave-markers\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"114201\">Civil War<\/a>. The identification of Blassie\u2019s remains and his interment in VA\u2019s Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery brought closure to one family and offers a measure of hope to other families still waiting on the recovery of their loved ones. The Vietnam crypt now sits empty and has been turned into a memorial honoring all <a href=\"https:\/\/express.adobe.com\/page\/PdW2fjQ9OtD0V\/\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. service members recorded as missing<\/a> in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image hd-bcve-wrapper hd-bcve-wrapper-js is--youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\" data-id=\"M39W-o-7IDY\">\n\t\t<button class=\"play-button\" aria-label=\"Play video\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload hd-bcve-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/M39W-o-7IDY\/maxresdefault.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<template id=\"hd-bcve-embed-html-M39W-o-7IDY\">\n\t\t\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe class=\"lazyload\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271440%27%20height%3D%27810%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201440%20810%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271440%27%20height%3D%27810%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M39W-o-7IDY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\t<\/template>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a 26 year journey from the Vietnam Unknown memorial to St. Louis, Missouri, a casket containing the remains of 1st Lt. Michael Blassie was interred in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in his hometown on July 11, 1998.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":117347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[86,116,20,125,85,87],"class_list":["post-111144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects","tag-mia","tag-monuments","tag-national-cemetery-administration","tag-national-cemetery-system","tag-pow","tag-vietnam-war"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 53: Funeral Ceremony For Vietnam Unknown","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/53-1-DA-SC-85-00819-Reagan-Interment.webp?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/53-1-DA-SC-85-00819-Reagan-Interment.webp"},"articleSection":"History of VA in 100 Objects","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"}],"creator":["Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":["mia","monuments","national cemetery administration","national cemetery system","pow","vietnam war"],"dateCreated":"2023-02-03T13:00:00Z","datePublished":"2023-02-03T13:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-04T16:40:54Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Object 53: Funeral Ceremony For Vietnam Unknown\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/object-53-vietnam-unknown-ceremony\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/53-1-DA-SC-85-00819-Reagan-Interment.webp?w=300\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/53-1-DA-SC-85-00819-Reagan-Interment.webp\"},\"articleSection\":\"History of VA in 100 Objects\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)\"}],\"creator\":[\"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"VA History\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"mia\",\"monuments\",\"national cemetery administration\",\"national cemetery system\",\"pow\",\"vietnam war\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2023-02-03T13:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-03T13:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-04T16:40:54Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/department.va.gov\/p.js"},"meta_box":{"external_links":"0","endorsement":"0","subheading":"","featured_image_alt_text":"Interment ceremony for Vietnam Unknown at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with President Ronald Reagan presiding, May 28, 1984. 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