Navy pilot identified after 40 years

[Woodmonkey]

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- "This is a picture of my cousin Skip, right after he graduated from Pensacola," said Diane Smith, as she showed us an album made by family of her cousin, Lieutenant Commander Ralph "Skip" Bisz. "He was so proud to be flying these A 4’s and learning how to fly off of an aircraft carrier. No one loved flying more than he did, no one."

The album includes a letter written in the early 70’s that would welcome the pilot home from Vietnam. That day would never come. "You hear terrible stories about the atrocities that they did to our men, that were captured and not turned over as POW’s," said Smith. "So, I always hoped that wasn’t the case."

It wasn’t. The navy has confirmed that Skip was killed when a surface-to-air missile hit his jet over North Vietnam in 1967, during a mission to destroy a petroleum depot. "They identified Skip's remains using a new technique called mitochondrial DNA identification," said Smith. She says navy representatives arrived at her home earlier this month, to explain exactly what happened. It was the closure her family had been desperately wanting for decades. "It’s am amazing thing," said Smith. "When I got the call, I couldn’t speak for days. The whole family came over."

Skip and Smith were inseparable during childhood. They both grew up in Miami. "Skip was an only child and so he was always with us," said Smith. "It was like having another brother." Now, Smith is comforted in knowing that Skip will find a final resting place on American soil.

"Every one of the men who served our country should be acknowledged for what they did," said Smith. "If they lost their lives, they should certainly be honored."

Lieutenant Commander Ralph "Skip" Bisz will be buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery in October.

The source