Vietnam War Airman’s Remains Recovered

The remains of Maj. Thomas E. Reitmann of Red Wing, Minn., an airman missing in action since the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family, announced the Defense Department Thursday. Reitman’s burial with full military honors is scheduled for Sept. 8 at Arlington National Cemetery, according to DOD. Reitmann’s F-105D Thunderchief took a direct anti-aircraft-artillery hit on Dec 1, 1965, during a four-ship raid on a railroad bridge located about 45 nautical miles northeast of Hanoi during Operation Rolling Thunder. His aircraft crashed in Lang Son Province, North Vietnam. He was serving with the 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Takhli AB, Thailand. After many years of joint US-Vietnamese teams searching in vain for Reitmann’s crash site, a local farmer in 2009 and 2011 turned over remains and a metal button that DOD forensic analysis identified as belonging to Reitmann.