June 30, 1998

MEMORANDUM

Subject: Identification of Remains Disinterred from Tomb of Vietnam Unknown

Earlier today Secretary of Defense Willian S. Cohen spoke by telephone with Mrs. George C. Blassie of Florissant, Missouri, mother of Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, who was killed in May of 1972 while flying an A-37 aircraft on a mission over An Loc, South Vietnam.

Secretary Cohen advised Mrs. Blassie that the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) at Rockville, Maryland completed the sequencing of mtDNA extracted from the remains removed from the Tomb of the Vietnam Unknown on May 14, 1998, with mtDNA family reference samples provided by seven of the nine families.

Secretary Cohen advised Mrs. Blassie that the results of the testing reported a match between the mtDNA sequence obtained from the remains and the family reference sample provided by the Blassie family. He advised her that these results were reported to the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI) and represented only one piece of the evidence considered by CILHI in recommending an identification. CILHI also considered anthropological and circumstantial evidence and has submitted, its recommendation for identification to three outside consultants, Secretary Cohen advised Mrs. Blassie that the Department expects the consultants to complete their independent reviews by the end of this week.

Following completion of the reviews by the independent outside consultants, the identification package will be provided to Mrs. Blassie for review. Afterwards, the report will be forwarded to the Armed Forces Identification Review Board (AFIRB) for the final stage in the identification process.

The remaining eight other families initially identified by the Department of Defense as possibly associated with the remains in the Tomb have also been notified of the results of the mtDNA sequencing by AFDIL.

A copy of Secretary Cohen's statement, which will be released to the news media later today, is attached.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact me at (703) 697-6631.

Attachment:

As Stated