U.S. Army Chaplain (Capt.) Loren Omer gives remarks

U.S. Army Chaplain (Capt.) Loren Omer gives remarks as part of military funeral honors with a funeral escort for U.S. Army Lt. Col. Robert Nopp who died during the Vietnam War in Section 55 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 18, 2018. From the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) news release: On July 13, 1966, Nopp was assigned to the 131st Aviation Company, serving as a pilot aboard an OV-1C aircraft, on a night surveillance mission from Phu Bai Airfield over Attapu Province, Laos People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR). Visibility was poor due to heavy thunderstorms. Radar and radio contact were lost with the aircraft, which was not uncommon due to the mountainous terrain in that part of Laos. When the aircraft did not return as scheduled, search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found. Also lost in the crash was Army Staff Sgt. Marshall Kipina, 21, of Calumet, Michigan, the aircraft’s observer. During the 1990s and 2000s, joint U.S./LPDR teams investigated the incident and recommended a potential crash site in Attapu Province, LPDR for excavation. The site, located in extremely difficult terrain, required multiple missions to excavate. The teams recovered osseous material, personal equipment and material evidence. Analysis of the aircraft indicated the crash was of the same aircraft Nopp was flying, and an ejection seat component indicated at least one person was in the aircraft when it crashed. Kipina was identified concurrently with Nopp. To identify Nopp’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence. Kipina was buried the same day as Nopp at Arlington National Cemetery, both in Section 55. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released)