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Old 05-10-2003, 05:10 AM
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SEATJERKER SEATJERKER is offline
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Default Another comes home...

...although i can only "cut, and paste", I find it extremely important to post up matters of such,...

...But what is most important is that I still choke up, and tear whenever I find that "Another comes home"...


Gloversville-- 33 years after plane crash in Laos, Navy man's body is coming home

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
First published: Saturday, May 10, 2003

More than three decades after Richard M. Mancini died in the Vietnam War, his body is coming home.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Mancini, 30, of Amsterdam, a career Navy man, was part of a crew of nine men on a top-secret mission when their plane crashed in Laos on Jan. 11, 1968.

Originally listed as missing in action, his status was classified to killed in action. The plane and the crew's remains were discovered in 1996 on the peak of Phou Louang. Identifying the men took seven years.

Until he had a son of his own, Mancini's son, Richard "Rick" Mancini, said he didn't miss having a father.

Rick Mancini was 18 months old when his father died. Now his son, Niko, is the same age.

"Growing up, I didn't feel I had missed out. I just didn't have a father," said Rick, 36. "I was in a situation that I had no real memories of my father. I'm saddened and disappointed that I can't remember those times. I know the fun and enjoyment I have with my boy."

On Monday, Rick Mancini flies to Hawaii to escort his father's remains home, the first leg of a journey that will end May 20 with a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.

"I'm feeling honored. I'm feeling, I guess, a bit overwhelmed with all the arrangements that need to make this happen," Mancini said. "There's a whole variety of different feelings. It's hard to put into words."

His mother, Rosemarie, never remarried after her husband of five years died. She is now ill and lives in a nursing home near Gloversville.

"My mom is feeling sad yet relieved," Rick said. "Whatever closure encompasses, she's going through that process. She wishes to have my father interred in Arlington."

One person who worked closely with Mancini said the son was an active source in securing the crew's return.

"Rich has been involved with this thing for a number of years. He's been very proactive seeking out information on his own," said Cmdr. Donald McKnight, who is stationed at the Navy Marine Reserve Office in Albany.

"He's been working with other family members of the crew and people that were in the squadron," McKnight said.

"This is really the Mancini story," McKnight said. "I was telling some fourth-grade kids today, we're all part of the big Navy family. It's my duty, my honor and my privilege to help."

Rick Mancini uncovered another family tie in his efforts to find his father.

David Rankin, the forensic anthropologist who identified the remains, is a cousin of Mancini's wife, Nancy. They won't be able to meet when Rick Mancini arrives at the base in Hawaii. Rankin will be in Vietnam working on another case.

"Not only is he family, but he is directly responsible for identifying all of them," Mancini said.

The other crew members were Cmdr. Delbert A. Olson, Lt. j.g. Denis L. Anderson, Lt. j.g. Arthur C. Buck, Lt. j.g. Philip P. Stevens, and Michael L. Roberts, Donald N. Thoresen, Kenneth H. Widon and Gale R. Siow. Their mascot, a dog named Snoopy, was also on board when the plane went down.

Mancini will return to Albany with his father's remains on Friday. Family and friends will gather from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Betz, Rossi & Bellinger Family Funeral Home Inc., 171 Guy Park Ave., Amsterdam. The funeral is at 9:15 a.m. Monday, May 19, at St. Michael's Church in Amsterdam.

Burial is to be Tuesday, May 20, at Arlington National Cemetery. When she dies, Mancini said, his mother will be buried there with his father.

On June 18, the unidentified remains of the plane's crew, including those of Snoopy, will be buried. Mancini also will attend that service.

As for the future, Mancini said, "It would be important for me to make periodic trips to visit my parents, my father first and my mother, as a sign of respect."



...He is from the Town where my wife's cousin is from, Gloversville N.Y. , home of "Harold Riley Simonds" USMC, also on "The Wall" from a misadventure at Quang Nam., May of 69, I believe...

..."WECOME HOME MR MANCINI"...

..."Your time in hell is done"...................
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  #2  
Old 05-10-2003, 05:48 PM
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"WECOME HOME Petty Officer 2nd Class
MANCINI"...

..."Your time in hell is done"...
God bless them all
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Old 05-12-2003, 05:32 AM
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Welcome home to Petty Officer Mancini. You've been gone a long time but have always been in our hearts.

Your Son will walk with you upon your arrival your Nation mourns your sacrafice and we who served with you honor you for your service to country.

God Rest and may you find peace on your home grounds after all these long years.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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