Col. Elton L. Perrine, Vietnam War MIA, was buried last week at Arlington National Cemetery.

June 4, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

6/3/2010 – WASHINGTON (AFNS) — Officials from the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office

US Army Col Elton L. PERRINE

US Army Col Elton L. PERRINE

announced June 2 that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Col. Elton L. Perrine of Pittsford, N.Y., was buried last week at Arlington National Cemetery.

On May 22, 1967, Colonel Perrine and Capt. Kenneth F. Backus completed a nighttime strike against the Cao Nung Railroad Yard near the town of Kep in North Vietnam. Seconds after the bomb run, a nearby aircrew reported seeing an isolated explosion approximately three miles east of the target, thought to be Colonel Perrine’s F-4C Phantom aircraft crashing. Search and rescue attempts were not initiated because of heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area.

Analysts from DPMO developed case leads with information spanning more than 28 years. Through interviews with eyewitnesses and research in the National Archives, four locations in Lang Son Province were pinpointed as potential crash sites, separated by as many as 10 miles.

Between 1999 and 2008, U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam teams, led by people from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, further analyzed leads, interviewed villagers, conducted two surveys and four excavations. The teams recovered small pieces of aircraft wreckage, human remains, personal effects and life-support equipment from the four locations.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of Perrine’s mother, in the identification of his remains. No remains connected to Captain Backus were recovered at the locations.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.

2 Responses

  1. barbara pattin

    March 29th, 2012 at 7:08 PM

    1

    I have been wearing Col. Perrines m.i.a. bracelet for 30 years and this brought me to tears. I am so glad that he has been returned to his family.

  2. Jeff M.

    April 9th, 2012 at 1:08 PM

    2

    Thank you for your sacrifice. You will always be remembered.
    There hasn’t been a day in the last 23-years that I haven’t thought of you and your family.


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