WATERFORD, Conn. - The remains of three soldiers missing since their helicopter crashed in Vietnam in 1972 are expected to be buried together this fall at Arlington National Cemetery, the pilot's widow said Friday.
Army Lt. Arnold "Dusty" Holm of Waterford, Conn., was reported missing June 11, 1972, with his crewmen, Spec. Robin Yeakley of South Bend, Ind., and Pfc. Wayne Bibbs of Blue Island, Ill.
Their helicopter came under enemy fire, crashed and exploded in a jungle region southwest of Hue, near the Laotian border. Authorities pinpointed the crash site five years ago and were later able to excavate helicopter remnants and a small number of bone fragments, but they could not extract enough DNA to identify the men individually.
"They've really gone out of their way, and there's nothing else they can do to go forward," said Margarete Holm, Dusty Holm's widow, who now lives in Lebanon, Pa.
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She told the Norwich Bulletin and The Day of New London newspapers that she had hoped more remains would be found, but knew that authorities had to be realistic about the difficulty of the situation.
Authorities found the crash site in 2006 and recovered a helmet, logbook holder from a Scout helicopter like Holm's and parts of a machine gun.
The search team, coordinated by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, later conducted an excavation using techniques similar to an archaeological dig.
Holm, 28, was a prominent athlete at Waterford High School before enlisting in the Army in 1962 after graduation.
