The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today
that the remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been
identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Capt. Herbert C. Crosby, of Donalsonville, Ga., Sgt. 1st Class Wayne C. Allen,
of Tewksbury, Mass., and Sgt. 1st Class Francis G. Graziosi, of Rochester, N.Y., all U.S. Army.
Burial dates and locations are being set by their families.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men to explain the
recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of
the Secretary of the Army.
On Jan. 10, 1970, these men were returning to their base at Chu Lai, South Vietnam
aboard a UH-1C Huey helicopter. Due to bad weather, their helicopter went down over Quang
Nam Province. A search was initiated for the crew, but no sign of the helicopter or crew was
spotted.
In 1989, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) gave to U.S. specialists 25 boxes
containing the remains of the U.S. servicemen related to this incident. Later that year, additional
remains and Crosby’s identification tag were obtained from a Vietnamese refugee.
Between 1993 and 1999, joint U.S./S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command (JPAC), conducted three investigations in Ho Chi Minh City and two investigations in
Quang Nam-Da Nang Province (formerly Quang Nam Province). A Vietnamese informant in Ho
Chi Minh City told the team he knew where the remains of as many as nine American servicemen
were buried. He agreed to lead the team to the burial site. In 1994, the team excavated the site
and recovered a metal box and several bags containing human remains, including those of these
three soldiers.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from
JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and
dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing
Americans, visit the DPMO web site at or call (703) 699-1169.