A Texas sailor will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery today – almost 46 years after he was killed in Vietnam.
Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Technician William B. Jackson of Stockdale – near San Antonio – died in a helicopter crash with three other servicemen in 1967. The Department of Defense says the men were on a rescue mission looking for a downed pilot when their helicopter was shot down.
Their remains weren’t returned to the U.S. until 1982 and they weren’t fully identified until last year. U.S. personnel excavated remains in 2000 that were later identified using "forensic tools and circumstantial evidence" as all four crewmen.
The crew will be buried as a group today with full military honors.
According to the Department of Defense, the remains of more than 900 Americans killed in Vietnam have been identified and returned to their families in the last 40 years.
