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Defense POW/MIA Accounting AgencyFulfilling Our Nation's Promise

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## News Release

# Airman Missing From Vietnam War Identified (Bennett)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced todaythat the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were identifiedand will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Air Force 1st Lt. Robert E. Bennett III, 25, of Springfield, N.J., will be buried on July 7, inMontrose, Colo. On Dec. 13, 1967, Bennett and another officer were flying an F-4C Phantom IIaircraft that crashed during a close-air support mission in Tra Vinh Binh Province, SouthVietnam. Both men ejected and were seen landing in the Co Chien River. The other officer wasrescued immediately by a nearby U.S. Navy patrol boat. Before he could be reached, Bennettsank into the water and presumably drowned.

In 2010, a Vietnamese citizen reported to authorities that he discovered human remainsand military equipment while dredging sand from the Tien River. The remains, foundapproximately 2,000 meters from Bennett’s last-known location, were turned over to the JointPOW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC).

Scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification toolsincluding mitochondrial DNA – which matched a hair sample found in Bennett’s military medicalrecord – in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missingAmericans, call (703) 699-1420 or visit the DPMO website at www.dtic.mil/dpmo.

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