We consulted extensively with Congress and with family and veterans' organizations before going forward. The majority of public and private opinion backed our decision, difficult though it was. We are not a warlike people, but we have repeatedly fought to uphold our values and our freedoms around the globe. Throughout our nation's history, men fought and fell and now lay buried where they fell. This solemn story is told across the continents of Europe and Asia and here at home, where thousands of white headstones are arrayed in neat lines that silently testify to the courage of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
War brings death but it can also bring oblivion.
At Arlington Cemetery, we as a nation have tried to honor the memory and sacrifice of those unknowns. Today, awesome advances in technology have allowed us to give weight to the wishes of the family of a fallen warrior-and to make him unknown no more. Through DNA testing, we now know that Air Force 1 st Lt. Michael J. Blassie was in the Tomb of the Vietnam Unknown. He now he rests in peace in his hometown, beside his father.