Earlier this month, the remains of Capt. Gomer David Reese, were discovered in Laos by a search team from The Department of Defense. Capt. Reese was a Air Force pilot who was involved in covert missions over Laos during the vietnam war, when he was shot down in 1970. But just recently, during their sixth search since the end of the war, military investigators located the remains of the two missing pilots who were shot down 38 years ago. The remains along with a belt buckle and other items linked to the crash were positively identified by personnel at the military's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. The method that was used in identifying Capt. Resse's remains was through dental records. This is a significant discovery, considering the length of time since this this Scarsdale native went missing in action(MIA).
This article brings to our attention, the great effort of the military and the Joint POW/MIA search efforts, that have successfully uncovered the story's of two more unfortunate soldiers, with the help of forensic science. These discovery's are very important to the families of the soldiers, who have been left in the dark all these years. Resse's sister, Nancy Palazzo, said that "I didn't realize how meaningful it still is, that he's been found and will come how."In April, which will be the anniversary of the crash, Resse will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
I thought this was a good article, that incorporated forensic science, with an inspiring story about a long lost 'hero'. It was interesting to see how the use of dental records could be used to identify the remains of a body that has been in the jungle for almost 4 decades. What is even more intersting is the fact that these highly decayed remains were even located. The article could have gone into more detail involving the science and tactics behind finding and identifying the remains, but over it was well done.
2 comments:
Tom, great summary. I like how you talked about where he was found, how he died, and how they identified the body. It was very interesting. However, you could have gone into more detial about the dental records, and how Scarsdale a close town was involved. But still a great summary. This just goes to show how forensic odontologists really have important jobs solving mysteries such as this one.
Great choice of article Thomas. This shows that forensic science is even making its way into the military nowadays. I liked your overview on the body's location, the pilot's background, and how he was identified. But next time, just include a little more information on the dental records used to identify the pilot. Also you did not talk at all about the other pilot...you just used it in one sentence then left it out in the open. All in all, great job though.
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