Remains of servicemen missing in Southeast Asia return to U.S. soil

Friday, December 6th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AP) _ Remains believed to be those of U.S. servicemen killed in Laos and Vietnam _ including an American pilot who died during the Cold War _ were returned to U.S. soil in a ceremony Thursday.

One of the five sets of remains may be those of James B. McGovern _ better known as ``Earthquake McGoon,'' who became a household name for his daring exploits in China and Southeast Asia 50 years ago _ or his co-pilot Wallace A. Buford.

The two men were shot down in Southern Laos in the last days of the French Indochina war.

McGovern, 31, a former World War II fighter ace, and 28-year-old Buford were flying under secret contract to the CIA when they were killed on May 6, 1954. A French flight engineer also died in the crash.

Their C-119 Flying Boxcar was about to drop an artillery gun to beleaguered French colonial troops at Dien Bien Phu when the plane was riddled by ground fire, staggered 75 miles southward into Laos and crashed near a river.

A team from the Army's Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii recovered the five sets of remains, which include anything from a tooth or bone fragment to nearly complete skeletal remains, officials said.

The remains, delivered in five flag-draped caskets, were carried off a C-17 Air Force jet and met by a joint-service honor guard before being taken to the Army laboratory for identification.

More than 100 people attended Thursday's ceremony.

``We do this to support those who never made it through the war,'' said Korean War veteran Bob Hamakama, 71, who said he comes to every repatriation ceremony as a tribute to his fallen brothers.

The remains were recovered from four different aircraft crash sites, three in Laos (in 1954, 1971 and 1972) and one in Vietnam in 1969.

The five sets of remains may include as many as 11 missing servicemen, officials said.

Since 1973, the remains of 739 American soldiers have been identified. There are 1,902 Americans servicemen still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia _ 1,445 in Vietnam, 391 in Laos and the remainder in Cambodia and China.