The return of the remains of a Utah-born serviceman missing in Southeast Asia for 23 years has increased questions for his son and given hope to other Utahns whose loved ones are still missing.
What the Pentagon believes are the remains of Petty Officer 2nd Class James Edward Martin, of Salt Lake City, have been identified in Hawaii and were to be brought Friday to the U.S. Air Force mortuary at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., the U.S. Pacific Command said.Martin's remains will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in April, according to his family.
Martin, age 26 at the time of his death, was one of nine Navy fliers aboard a twin-engine OP-23 observation plane downed in Savannakhet Province, Laos, on Feb. 17, 1968. The plane was struck by small-arms fire and burst into flames before crashing into the side of a hill at Ban Houei Ke.
"They were only able to positively identify one of the crew members," said son James E. Martin, Jr., from his home in Maine.
James Jr., who was 5 years old when his father was declared missing, said investigators found something that he did recognize - a boondoggle key chain he had crafted for his father.
Questions still linger for James Jr. - questions about what U.S. troops were doing in Laos in 1968 and questions about his father's death.
Petty Officer Martin was born in Utah and spent his early years in the state. At the time of his death, his wife, Vicki, and family were living in Maine, his son said.
The remains of the crew were repatriated in February 1992 following a joint U.S.-Laotian search and have been examined by forensics experts in Hawaii.
Martin is one of 389 veterans listed on Utah's Vietnam War Memorial on the state Capitol grounds.
The recovery of Martin's remains lowers to 18 the number of Utah servicemen still missing in Southeast Asia. Since the end of the war, the remains of only six Utah servicemen have been recovered, according to Pearl B. Rex-Hartzell, Spanish Fork, who is the state coordinator of National League of Families of Americans Missing and Prisoners in Southeast Asia.
Some 33 families are members of the Utah group.
Rex-Hartzell's son, U.S. Air Force Capt. Robert A. Rex, has been missing for 25 years since his F-105 fighter-bomber was shot down in Laos. The news of Laotian cooperation in the Martin case has given Rex-Hartzell hope.
"I don't believe any of the men are still alive, but I certainly hope they find the remains. To know Robert Alan went down in that place would be a great comfort," she said.
After hearing the news Wednesday she said she was going to call the Air Force again to see if there were any plans for expeditions into Laos. She had been hopeful that the 1992 exploration of crash sites in Laos would have helped investigators find her son's remains. She said she was told Laotian officials cut short those attempts.
The most recent identification reduces the total number of missing U.S. servicemen to 2,239. There are 505 cases remaining in Laos and 1,648 in Vietnam. Of the 24 Utahns missing in action at the end of the war, the remains of only six have been discovered.
More than 37,000 American soldiers remain unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.
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(List)
18 Utahns still missing in Southeast Asia
Utahns still missing in Vietnam War, their branch of service, hometown and the date they were shot down or reported missing:
- Col. Don C. Wood, Air Force, Salt Lake City, Jan. 16, 1966.
- Maj. Russell C. Goodman, Air Force, Salt Lake City, Feb. 20, 1967.
- Capt. John C. Ellison, Navy, Layton, March 24, 1967.
- Sgt. James F. Scheile, Army, Granger, July 12, 1967.
- Sgt. Harold E. Reid, Marines, Salt Lake City, Sept. 13, 1967.
- Lt. Cmdr. Peter H. Krusi, Navy, Smithfield, Nov. 3, 1967.
- Capt. George L. Hubler, Marines, Moab, Feb. 23, 1968.
- Spec. 4 Robert E. Jenne, Army, Salt Lake City, May 8, 1968.
- Cpl. Imlay S. Widdison, Army, Woods Cross, May 12, 1968.
- Maj. Robert F. Woods, Air Force, Salt Lake City, June 26, 1968.
- Lt. Col. Charles R. Connor, Marines, Salt Lake City, Oct. 28, 1968.
- Maj. Robert C. Wiechert, Air Force, West Jordan, Nov. 16, 1968. - Capt. Robert A. Rex, Air Force, Randolph, Dec. 8, 1968.
- Capt. Albin E. Lucki, Air Force, Salt Lake City, April 23, 1970.
- Capt. Clive G. Jeffs, Air Force, Salt Lake City, March 12, 1971.
- Sgt. Raymond J. Crow, Air Force, Salt Lake City, March 27, 1972. - Capt. John M. Christensen, Marines, Ogden, April 13, 1972.
- Capt. Ralph J. Chipman, Marines, Orem, Dec. 27, 1972.