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2 Soldiers To Return Home 40 Years Later

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - The remains of two U.S. soldiers killed during the Vietnam War when their helicopter gunship was hit by enemy fire have been identified and will be returned 40 years after the men went missing, the Defense Department announced.

The bodies of Chief Warrant Officer Bobby McKain of Garden City, Kan., and Warrant Officer Arthur Chaney of Vienna, Va., will be returned to their families for burial at Arlington National Cemetery in coming weeks with full military honors, the department said Friday.
Military officials identified the men's remains after a lengthy investigation.

A U.S. citizen with "ties to Southeast Asian refugees" in 1985 turned over to U.S. officials human remains that he thought originated from the crash of an AC-130 aircraft in Laos, the department said. Officials disproved a link between the remains and the AC-130 crash, but later concluded that some of the remains were those of McKain and Chaney. Investigators identified McKain's and Chaney's remains using DNA and dental comparisons.

The Washington Post

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