The Remains Of A Fallen Vietnam Veteran, Identified By The Water He Drank, Have Returned Home

[TomSea]

The Remains Of A Fallen Vietnam Veteran, Identified By The Water He Drank, Have Returned Home
May 31, 2019


Fifty-two years after he died in a Vietnam plane crash, Raul Guerra's memorial service was held at Risher Mortuary in Montebello, Calif.

Libby Denkmann/American Homefront

Close to 52 years ago, a young Navy reservist from Montebello, California died in a plane crash in a remote mountainous area in Vietnam.

For decades, the U.S government couldn’t recover Raul Guerra’s remains — initially because of weather conditions and later because of the steep terrain. Nearly 40 years later, even when his body was returned stateside, Guerra’s case posed another challenge: he was originally adopted in Mexico, and no blood relatives were available to provide a positive DNA match.

Forensic science had to advance for more than a decade before the Department of Defense could finally make a positive identification.

Read more at: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/the-remains-of-a-fallen-vietnam-veteran-identified-by-the-water-he-drank-have-returned-home

[Sanguine]

Interesting methods. I'm glad they were able to confirm.

[truth_seeker]

Fascinating story. My father went to East LA College after WWII. My mother grew up in, and I was born in Whittier.

Those two are a lot like guys I grew up with nearby.