Saturday, 29 March 2008

Topeka airmen are on a mission of mercy to Cambodia

by Ben Bauman
Friday, March 28, 2008

Some Kansas airmen are on a mission of mercy. Members of the 190th Air Refueling Wing are making final preparations for a "final flight"

"They called me up and said 'can you help out?' And, I was like, 'I'm there,'" Tech Sgt. James Norris, Wichita said.

The crew of a KC-135 tanker is busily going through all the checks for a flight that would take them from southeast Topeka to southeast Asia.

"We've got a seven hour trip to Hawaii, then a 14 hour trip to Thailand, and then a quick trip over there. So we'll probably get a good 50 hours of flying just to get there and back," Norris said.

Their mission is to retrieve some remains of Vietnam-era U.S. servicemen recently found in Cambodia and bring them back to U.S. soil.

"I'm glad they're found and I'm glad we're bringing them home," Norris said. "And, I'm glad that I'm a part of the process of bringing 'em home and to reunite them with their families," Norris said.

This is the second such mission for the 190th. Another crew recently flew to Pulau to bring back remains of World War Two airmen. Like them, this crew feels privileged to be involved.

"It's an honor for me. I've spent 10 deployments overseas already. And I'm just glad to be with my guys here doing the mission," Norris said.

The remains will be delivered to the military forensic facility in Hawaii, for positive identification
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