Family to bury GI after 45 years

Vietnam veteran’s remains return to Mountain View

Forty-five years after he was declared missing, the remains of a soldier killed in the Vietnam War will be buried today in Mountain View, not far from his family's old homestead in rural Stone County.

The remains of Army Maj. Dale Richardson were found in 2012 by the Defense Department's Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency at a Cambodian burial site. They were identified using DNA from his sister, and family members were notified earlier this year.

Aubrey Richardson, who now runs his family's old farm near Mountain View, was nine years younger than his first cousin Dale. Now 65, he remembers Dale Richardson as outgoing and fun-loving, as someone who "didn't want to sit around."

"He wanted to see what the world was about," Aubrey Richardson said. "I think that's why he went into the Army. He wanted to see things happen."

Dale Richardson was born in Stone County but moved to Illinois when he was young. His home of record is listed as Mount Sterling, Ill.

According to the Defense Department, Richardson, 29, was aboard a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter in May 1970 that was traveling to South Vietnam. The pilot flew into Cambodian airspace to avoid a storm, and the helicopter was hit by enemy fire.

All eight people on board survived the crash into Kampong Cham province, according to a Defense Department news release. Some of the soldiers were captured, one fled and Richardson was killed during a firefight at the crash site.

The POW/MIA Accounting Command first started searching in 1992 for the soldiers from the crash, including Richardson, who were still missing.

From 2009 to 2011, teams excavated two areas with unsuccessful results before receiving a tip from a Cambodian who had witnessed the crash in 1970.

During the third excavation, workers recovered military gear and Richardson's remains.

According to Defense Department records, 14 Arkansas service members who disappeared during the Vietnam War have been accounted for since then.

Fifteen others remain missing.

For Aubrey Richardson, the discovery of his cousin's remains provided closure.

He said that after the crash, he remembers his family rushing to read the newspaper in the mornings and to watch the news in the evenings, hoping to see Richardson in the latest group of soldiers to be released from enemy forces.

"I used to hear people tell people, 'Now you can have closure,' but I never really understood that until this happened," Richardson said. "It's the first time I've ever really had this feeling. I know now that it's a comfort. It makes you feel better inside."

On Thursday, a flag-draped casket holding Dale Richardson's remains arrived at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field in Little Rock, and Patriot Guard Riders escorted the remains to Mountain View, ride captain Richard Gentry said.

Mountain View Mayor Roger Gardner said all flags in the city were flown at half-staff, and students from Mountain View High School stood along the highway to welcome the motorcade into town.

On Friday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued a proclamation ordering U.S and state flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset today as a tribute to Richardson and an expression of public sorrow.

Richardson's funeral will be held this afternoon at Flatwoods Cemetery in Mountain View, where he will be buried with full military honors.

"I extend my deepest sympathy to Major Richardson's family and loved ones as he is finally laid to rest on American soil," Hutchinson said in a statement Friday.

"We join together to remember him and to commemorate his bravery, his service and his sacrifice for our state and for this great nation."

Aubrey Richardson said he expected a big crowd for the funeral service, including Dale Richardson's brother, sister and daughter. Dale's wife, Dianne, has died since the crash.

"It just means a lot to us to know the people are remembering him," Aubrey Richardson said.

"A lot never knew him, but just knowing they care enough about somebody that gave their all to the service -- the ultimate sacrifice anybody could give."

Metro on 08/29/2015

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