[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14720]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               HONORING SPECIALIST DOUGLAS EDWARD DAHILL

 Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, this morning, at 10:45, in 
our Nation's most prestigious military cemetery, Douglas Edward Dahill, 
a Vietnam war veteran from Lima, OH, was laid to rest. Forty years 
after being presumed dead, his family will gather at Arlington National 
Cemetery to honor his life in the hallowed place our Nation honors its 
heroes.
  Douglas Dahill's story--and that of his family--is simultaneously 
exceptional and familiar. Dahill voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army 
after graduating from Lima Senior High School, following in the 
footsteps of his grandfather, father, and uncle, who had all served in 
the U.S. military during times of war.
  Dahill was part of Detachment B52 Delta's Reconnaissance Team 6, 
which was dropped behind enemy lines on April 14, 1969 in South 
Vietnam's Quang Nam Province. Three days later, on April 17, 1969, 
Dahill and his team came under intense enemy fire in Thua Thien. They 
radioed a request for air strikes and support. But their call was never 
heard. Thunderstorms prevented air support from assisting Dahill and 
his team. The following day, a search team went looking for Team 6, but 
found no trace of their whereabouts. More than 8,000 miles away, in 
Lima, OH, an Ohio military family would begin their long, painful wait 
for news of their beloved son and brother.
  For nearly four decades, the status of Delta's Reconnaissance Team 6 
went unresolved. Like so many American families during the Vietnam war, 
the Dahill's were forced to cope with Douglas' unknown fate. When the 
Vietnam war ended, and after American Prisoners of War, POWs, were 
returned home, approximately 2,646 Americans were still unaccounted 
for. Initially, the U.S. partnered with the Republic of Vietnam to 
conduct joint searches for Americans missing in South Vietnam. This 
joint effort resulted in the recovery and identification of 63 American 
servicemembers, but Dahill was not among them.
  When the Communist regime took over Vietnam in 1975, joint efforts to 
recover those missing in action were halted, and American families 
could only hope that Vietnam would unilaterally recover and return the 
remains of their missing loved ones. In 1991, Vietnam returned uniform 
parts and a small quantity of human remains that were allegedly 
associated with Delta's Reconnaissance Team 6. But the technology at 
the time was not able to conclusively identify the remains. It wasn't 
until approximately 1 year ago that a portion of these remains were 
positively attributed to Specialist Douglas Edward Dahill.
  Since U.S. Government efforts began, the remains of more than 900 
Americans killed in Vietnam have been returned and identified. However, 
1,682 servicemembers--77 of whom are from Ohio--remain unaccounted for. 
The Department of Defense, and Congress, must continue to support 
recovery and identification efforts so that more missing Americans can 
be laid to rest and more American families may know peace and closure.
  Douglas Edward Dahill is survived by his sister Carol Long and 
brother John Dahill. On behalf of a grateful State and Nation, I thank 
Specialist Dahill and his service and sacrifice for our Nation. May he 
rest in peace in Arlington National Cemetery and in our Nation's 
heart.

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