Marine who died a hero heads home

Welcome home, Marine. Semper Fi.

For those that don't wish to subscribe:
Marine who died a hero heads home
After 38 years, remains of sergeant killed in Vietnam positively ID'd
08:36 AM CST on Thursday, February 24, 2005
By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO – James Neil Tycz died a hero May 10, 1967, when a hand grenade exploded near his face in Khe Sanh, Vietnam.

Of his seven-member reconnaissance patrol team, only three Marines survived the early-morning firefight with the North Vietnamese army, according to military records. The others were buried under elephant grass on Hill 665, unrecovered but not forgotten.

On Wednesday, over a kitchen table in Plano, Sgt. Tycz's family heard the news they've waited 38 years for: The sergeant's remains – three teeth – had been located in Vietnam and positively identified. He was coming home.

"It was a mixed blessing for me," said Phillip Dale Tycz, Sgt. Tycz's brother who lives in Plano with his wife, Ruth.

"I was happy they could find the remains so he could finally be repatriated. But I also knew some of my family would have a very mixed reaction. They put it behind them and didn't want to know anything else."

Mr. Tycz, heading family efforts to keep abreast of the search for their relative in recent years, was first notified of the discovery Jan. 10 by telephone. Hattie Johnson, head of the U.S. Marine Corps' POW/MIA Affairs office, flew in from Quantico, Va., to brief the family on details of the discovery.

The search

The search for the four Marines buried on Hill 665 is a story of science, detective work and perseverance that began in 1991, when two Vietnamese entered a U.S. POW/MIA office in Hanoi saying they had access to the remains of 10 U.S. servicemen, including Sgt. Tycz, according to military records.

The two men never substantiated their claims, but a month later another Vietnamese made a similar assertion in Hanoi. He produced three teeth, one bone fragment and identification for Sgt. Tycz but left after being told of military policy not to pay for remains.

From 1993 to 1998, teams worked in Vietnam on six occasions in search of the men.

They found circumstantial evidence, evidence of a firefight, but no burial.

A break came in 2003 when a team returned to the hill and recovered several fragments of teeth and bone. Last year, an excavation of the site near the border of Vietnam and Laos was completed.

In all, 31 teeth and tooth fragments were found and used in a Hawaii laboratory to identify the four Marines.

Military officials met recently in Tennessee, Georgia and Washington state with the families of the three other Marines.

"So many people don't realize what the government does for these men and women," Mr. Tycz said Wednesday.

"They don't give up on them."

More than 1,800 Americans from the Vietnam era are still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, according to the most recent statistics. Of those, about 970 are still being actively pursued.

Navy Cross

Sgt. Tycz was 22 when he died. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest medal, for his actions on Hill 665.

A live grenade had landed near a wounded Marine. The sergeant moved toward it, picked it up and attempted to throw it back at the enemy.

The grenade exploded after a short distance and Sgt. Tycz fell, critically wounded.

In the coming weeks, his three teeth will be flown in from Hawaii and placed in a container inside a flag-draped silver metal casket. A full uniform will rest alongside it.

Sgt. Tycz's remains will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, per his family's wishes.

"He will be under full military escort, just like it happened yesterday," said Timothy Nicholson, assistant program director for Navy Mortuary Affairs.

In addition to his brother in Plano, Sgt. Tycz is survived by another brother, Peter Carey Tycz of Milwaukee; and two sisters, Rita Blount of Escondido, Calif., and Patricia Kriesher of Downey, Calif.

Just a day after he died, Sgt. Tycz's mother received a letter from him. In it, he wrote:

"I had an interruption just now. Our lieutenant passed me the word that we go in at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. None of us want to go, but that's our job and I pray I will never fail to do it. ..."