Airmen pay respect during repatriation ceremony

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jess Harvey
  • 36th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) --  The sun peeked through the clouds as the four flights of servicemembers, a colorful array of Navy whites, Air Force blues, battle-dress uniforms and flight suits, were called to attention.

A lone Soldier stood guard in the aft of the C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, with its doors swung open like an eagle’s wings, harboring two transfer cases draped in red, white and blue.

That was the setting for the repatriation ceremony here May 29 as Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier stepped up to the podium to speak. He is one of the prisoners of war of Vietnam who returned home on the original flight of the Hanoi Taxi and who flew the same plane to recover the remains of his fallen comrades.

He opened by explaining what Memorial Day means.

“This weekend is a time of remembrance,” General Mechenbier said. “A time to remember, not just these two, but to remember the names of those who are missing in action and to remember the families who still wonder about the fate of loved ones.”

He said he was one of the privileged servicemembers who was able to return more than 30 years ago.

“We were the lucky ones, those who survived, and [we] have the obligation to remember those who were not,” said General Mechenbier, the only Airman still serving to have spent time at what was referred to as the Hanoi Hilton, a POW encampment, during the Vietnam War.

The general, a pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours, was stationed at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, when, on his 80th mission over North Vietnam, his F-4C Phantom II fighter was shot down. He was captured and remained a POW from June 1967 to February 1973, when he was one of 40 POWs to return on the first flight of Operation Homecoming flown by the Hanoi Taxi on Feb. 12, 1973.

“We rejoiced individually and as a nation as 591 POWs stepped on American soil during Operation Homecoming in 1973,” General Mechenbier said. “At the same time, we were dismayed to learn the stories of torture and depravation they endured.

“And we wondered, where are the rest? Why so few?” he said. “With today’s ceremony, we hopefully will get to answer that question for two more families in an ongoing effort to make a full accounting of all those lost during Vietnam.”

He said there are currently more than 2,200 servicemembers still missing from Vietnam. From World War II, there were more than 75,000 missing servicemembers and more than 8,000 from the Korean War.

However, he asked those attending the ceremony to not think about those numbers.

“I’d rather you remember those numbers are fathers, husbands, brothers and sons,” he said.

But for one Airman here, those numbers really struck a chord.

“He said not to focus on the numbers, but it’s hard not to,” said Senior Airman Ednerson Joseph of the 13th Air Force and an honor guard member. “Those numbers represent an amazing sacrifice.”

For a civilian employee here, the general’s speech and actions really hit home.

“I feel a deep gratitude for all the guys who served in Vietnam,” said Richard Lamb of the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron and a native of Vietnam. His family left when he was 10 years old. He said they sacrificed a lot for the people of Vietnam, and he “just wanted to shake the general’s hand.”