Servicemen missing from Vietnam War identified Published Oct. 3, 2007 WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Officials from the Department of Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office announced Oct. 3 that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Airman 1st Class George W. Long of Medicine, Kan., and Army Capt. Warren R. Orr Jr. of Kewanee, Ill. Airman Long was buried Sept. 30 in Medicine and Captain Orr's burial is being set by his family. On May 12, 1968, these men were part of a crew on a C-130 Hercules evacuating Vietnamese citizens from the Kham Duc Special Forces Camp near Da Nang, South Vietnam. While taking off, the crew reported taking heavy enemy ground fire. A forward air controller flying in the area reported seeing the plane explode in mid-air soon after leaving the runway. In 1985 and 1991, U.S. officials received remains and identification tags from sources claiming they belonged to men in this crew. Scientific analysis revealed they were not American remains, but it was believed the Vietnamese sources knew where the crash site was located. In 1993, a joint U.S. and Socialist Republic of Vietnam team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, traveled to Kham Duc and interviewed four local citizens concerning the incident. They led the team to the crash site, and turned over remains and identification tags they had recovered in 1983 while looking for scrap metal. During this visit, the team recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage at the site. In 1994, another joint team excavated the crash site and recovered remains, pieces of life-support equipment, crew-related gear and personal effects. Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page