Bringing Jerry Zimmer Home

We have good news! JPACs recovery team is excavating Jerry’s and Al’s crash site right now, and they will continue looking for remains throughout the month of August, into the 1st week of September. Words cannot adequately express our family’s gratitude for all the support we’ve received throughout this two-year journey to bring home Jerry’s remains from Vietnam. Everything counted, believe me— from the hundreds of emails, to the boots-on-the-ground in Vietnam. Asking people to dredge up the past or pulling newcomers into this saga, was beyond the call, but everyone came through for Jerry. I hope we’re successful in bringing home his remains, but no matter what happens, we have all gone the distance together. Thank you so much.

I have been cleared by JPAC and its Vietnamese counterpart to visit the base camp, located below the crash site, close to the village of Son Vien. I want to personally thank the men and women who are working on the excavation in unbelievably challenging conditions. Getting to the crash site is considered moderately difficult, despite the 25-35 minute daily hike up the mountain, along a narrow, rocky trail, and I doubt that coming down is a cake walk. The area has been cleared of unexploded ordinance and jungle brush, but no one ventures off the trail or away from authorized areas, for safety reasons. Probably the worst part is the sauna-like heat. As many Vietnam vets will recall, it is unbelievably hot this time of year in the Central Highlands. In fact, the team’s heat meters on the first hike clocked above 106 degrees relative temperature!

We have been very fortunate that LTC Todd Emoto, USA, Commander, Det 2, is still in country, because of a three-month extension on his tour! While I was at the League meeting in Washington, D.C., LTC Emoto was recognized for his leadership that has produced excellent results during his two-year tour in Vietnam. Although Major Ed Nevgloski, USMC, former Deputy Commander, Det 2, has transferred back to Quantico, we will always consider that his efforts–especially during the investigation–were critical to proving the viability of our case.

Even though I’ve never met the key people who will be leading Jerry’s excavation, I have been told that JPACs Sean Tallman is the site’s anthropologist, and Captain Joe Hamer, USMC, is the team leader. They’ve been described as a “great team,” and I am looking forward to meeting them at the base camp. Unfortunately, I cannot make it to the crash site; I tried getting their in March 2009, but I slowed everyone down and eventually went back to the village. However, that unfinished hike was one of the defining moments for me, throughout this ordeal. As I hiked along, trying to keep up with Mr. Du—the gazelle-like, former Viet Cong, who kept disappearing beneath the jungle brush—I thought about our ground troops—the grunts—who lived in those jungles, 40 years earlier. I kept thinking to myself, “How did they get out alive?” The heat was oppressive, and I wasn’t carrying any gear, or looking for snipers, booby traps and whatever else, along the way. I’ll never forget that day. It gave me a deeper understanding of courage and sacrifice that was bigger than just saying the words.

I will be in Vietnam a very short time. In fact, I’ll probably be in the air, more than on the ground. I was able to get the last seat, in the very back row, of a Korean Air flight. In addition to meeting the JPAC excavation team, I will visit the people in the village to thank them for helping us find Jerry’s crash site. Then I will travel to Det2 in Hanoi to thank the guys in the Joint Operations Center (JOC), who track the day-to-day happenings in the field. They make sure that the anthropologist and team leader have everything they need for the job. In turn the people in the field file daily updates with the JOC so that LTC Emoto can keep JPAC headquarters, based in Hawaii, in the loop.

I will try to send a couple of blogs from Vietnam. I hope you will check back. Your prayers would be appreciated.