Vietnam vet’s remains ID’d
The remains of a Marine from Los Angeles killed during the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to his family for burial, the Department of Defense announced.
Lance Cpl. Luis F. Palacios will be buried Friday in Bellflower, the department said. Palacios was among 12 killed when their CH-46A Sea Knight helicopter was shot down on June 6, 1968, near Khe Sanh.
Eight bodies were recovered. But Palacios and three other Marines remained unaccounted for.
In 2007, military identification specialists, working with the government of Vietnam, excavated a spot where villagers said the crash had occurred. The remains of Palacios and Cpl. Kurt C. LaPlant of Lenexa, Kan., were identified. LaPlant’s ID tag was found.
The remains of Pfc. Jose Sanchez of Brooklyn and Lance Cpl. Ralph Harper of Indianapolis could not be individually identified, the Department of Defense said. The remains of LaPlant, Sanchez and Harper will be buried as a group at Arlington National Cemetery, at the families’ request.
-- Tony Perry
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