Vietnam pilot's remains coming home, by Joe Salkowski , ARIZONA
DAILY STAR
(EXCERPT) Capt. James A. Wheeler is missing no more.
Nearly 37 years after Wheeler became the first Arizona pilot
lost in South Vietnam, his remains will be returned to his
hometown of Tucson for a proper military burial.
"We're going to be able to put some closure on this
now," said Jim Wheeler, one of the pilot's three sons.
"This is just going to be like a last tribute."
James Wheeler's Air Force A-1E Skyraider crashed on April 18,
1965, as he was flying a strike mission over enemy targets in
Chau Doc Province. Wheeler, 32, was listed as missing in action
because his remains were never recovered or identified.
Investigators from the United States and Vietnam excavated a
crash site in the area in 1998 and recovered human remains,
wreckage and pilot-related artifacts. The artifacts were
consistent with Wheeler's plane, which reportedly was the only
A-1E lost near the search site. "They had gone in in
1996 and done an excavation and didn't find anything," Jim
Wheeler said. "In 1998, they moved 30 meters away and found
it."
Although the small, charred bone fragments could not be
identified through DNA testing, investigators concluded the
remains could only belong to Wheeler. His widow and three sons
didn't learn of the discovery until January, when
government officials finally found them living in the Dallas
area. "He's still a big influence in my life,"
said Jim Wheeler, who was 9 years old when his father died.
"I have a letter he wrote me shortly before he died. I pull
it out and read it sometimes and to this day, it's still good
advice."
The pilot's three sons will travel to Hawaii in June to retrieve
his remains and escort them to Tucson. A memorial ceremony is
set for June 8 at 11 a.m. at South Lawn Memorial Park, 5401 S.
Park Ave. |
