Release No. 09-02-11
Sept. 6, 2011
WASHINGTON
(AFRNS) -- The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office
announced Sept. 1 that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action
from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family
for burial with full military honors.
Air Force Maj. Thomas E. Reitmann of Red Wing, Minn., will be buried Sept. 8 in Arlington National Cemetery.
In
1965, Reitmann was assigned to the 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron
deployed out of Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to Takhli Air
Base, Thailand. On Dec 1, 1965, he was flying a strike mission as the
No. 3 aircraft in a flight of four F-105D Thunderchiefs as part of
Operation Rolling Thunder. His target was a railroad bridge located
about 45 nautical miles northeast of Hanoi. As the aircrew approached
the target area, they encountered extremely heavy and accurate
anti-aircraft artillery. While attempting to acquire his target and
release his ordnance, Reitmann received a direct hit and crashed in Lang
Son Province, North Vietnam. Other pilots in the flight observed no
parachute, and no signals or emergency beepers were heard. Because of
the intense enemy fire in the area, a search-and-rescue team was not
able to survey the site and a two-day electronic search found no sign of
the aircraft or Reitmann.
In
1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam repatriated remains to the
United States believed to be those of Reitmann. The remains were later
identified as those of another American pilot who went missing in the
area on the same day as Reitmann.
