Pentagon Decides To Exhume Remains From Tomb Of The Unknowns

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 7) -- The remains of the Vietnam War veteran placed in the Tomb of the Unknowns 14 years ago will be exhumed next Thursday so they can be subjected to DNA tests for possible identification, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said Thursday.

Bacon said a panel appointed by Secretary of State William Cohen to look into exhuming the body said there was a 50 percent chance the body could be identified.

"Scientific advances have given us identification techniques that did not exist in 1984 when the remains of an American killed in Vietnam were placed in the Tomb of the Unknowns," said Bacon.

"After considering this and other information, Secretary Cohen concluded that he has an obligation to pursue the fullest possible accounting of Americans lost in battle," he said.

"If we can identify the remains now, we have an obligation to try. The families of fallen service members deserve nothing less," said Bacon.

Thursday, May 7, 1998

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• Currie To Face Grand Jury Again After Thursday Testimony
• Currie Returns For More Grand Jury Testimony
• Pentagon Decides To Exhume Remains From Tomb Of The Unknowns
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• North Carolina Results
• Ohio Primary Results

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