Transport
- Finally going Home
It would take 7
days to cross the Pacific Ocean and arrive at the Alameda Naval Air
Station in California, on 24 May 1984.
During the journey across the Pacific, the casket of the Unknown
Soldier was positioned
in the helicopter hangar, under a constant deathwatch by the crew and
Marines of the USS BREWTON. This warrior would never be alone
again.
Francisco
A. Nieto, HT-2 on board the USS BREWTON, remembers the following:
"The
helo deck was off limits, however we did pay our respects to the
individual. I recall the chaplain holding mass and I was in attendance.
I did not have the opportunity to introduce myself to any of the honor
guards, they simply seemed too intense. Looking back, they where just
disciplined."
Mark
C. Danziger, of the USS BREWTON, also remembered the Marines on
duty:
"We
had Marine Guards on board the ship during the trip. They were extremely
formal
while on guard duty. Strict parade rest, rifle, no
talking, like a statue…even though we were
way out at sea. I was very impressed by that. Most people loosen up a
little at sea, but not these guards. Off duty, the Marines were just
normal guys."
The USS BREWTON
arrived in California under the escort of the USCG Cutter MIDGET.
While a military band played a hymn and a 21-gun salute was fired, a
Joint Armed Forces Casket team of pallbearers, proceeded by the American
flag, carried the casket to a waiting hearse for the trip to Travis Air
Force Base.
At Travis AFB, the
pallbearers transferred the remains in solemn procession to the base
chapel where a Guard of Honor then took up position around the casket,
which remained on public view until the next morning.
On 25 May 1984,
after a simple ceremony, the Unknown Soldier was transferred to a US Air
Force C-141B Starlifter, for the trip to Washington D.C. The
Unknown Soldier arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, where he was greeted
by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the presidents of various veterans
organizations and the former US Commander in Vietnam, General William C.
Westmoreland.
The pallbearers
then carried the casket to a hearse for the trip into Washington. The
procession arrived at the Capitol Plaza at 3 p.m., with the party moving
solemnly up the East Capitol steps into the Rotunda, where President
Reagan waited along with members of his cabinet, Congress and other
dignitaries.
A brief
wreath-laying ceremony followed, during which the President delivered a
eulogy. Observing that the Unknown Solider symbolized "the
heart,
soul and spirit of America," he said that:
"We
may not know of this man's life, but we know of his character. We may
not know his name, but we know his courage. He accepted his mission and
did his duty. And his honest patriotism overwhelms us."
The body of the
Vietnam Unknown Soldier would lay is state for the next three days, to
be viewed by tens of thousands of visitors.
