Six former MIAs buried together
Fliers lost over Laos in 1966
From Elaine Quijano
CNN
 |  Burial at Arlington National Cemetery is limited to members of the armed services, veterans, presidents and their families. |
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 After 38 years, six former MIA soldiers are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- Their plane crashed in southern Laos 38 years ago during the Vietnam War. Last week, the remains of six Air Force servicemen were laid to rest in a single coffin at Arlington National Cemetery.
The U.S. military says the crew was aboard an AC-47 gunship that was conducting "a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos" on June 23, 1966.
About 9:25 p.m. that evening, "the aircraft radioed, 'we have a hot fire,' and another radio transmission was heard to order 'bail out.'" Witnesses reported seeing the plane on fire before it crashed into a heavily wooded area.
The U.S. military said "no parachutes from the crew were observed and no emergency beepers were heard." An aerial search of the site "found no evidence of survivors."
The men were Air Force Col. Theodore E. Kryszak of Buffalo, New York; Air Force Col. Harding E. Smith of Los Gatos, California; Air Force Lt. Col. Russell D. Martin of Bloomfield, Iowa; Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luther L. Rose of Howe, Texas; and Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Ervin Warren of Philadelphia.
In its statement, the Department of Defense did not name the sixth serviceman, but the Washington Post identified him as Harold E. Mullins.
In October 1994, a joint team of specialists from the United States and Laos traveled to the suspected crash site, led by a villager who took them to an area where personal effects, aircraft wreckage and a crew member's identification tag were found.
From May to June 1995, a joint U.S.-Laotian team excavated the site and recovered human remains.
Military scientists used an array of forensic techniques on the remains, including comparing dental charts and X-rays, as well as DNA.
It is unclear when the remains were identified, but for the families, Friday's burial brings to an end decades of unanswered questions.
"Now it's finally come to closure. And it's a good thing," said Kenneth Kryszak, who was 6 years old when his father, pilot Theodore Kryszak, was killed.
"He loved what he did," Kryszak told CNN. "He did his duty and was proud to. And he did it well."
