Howard Dean Attends Return of Brother's Remains from
Southeast Asia: Charles M. Dean was Killed in 1974 in Laos
washingtonpost.com
By Jaymes Song
The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 26, 2003; 5:23 PM
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- Democratic presidential
contender Howard Dean joined family members Wednesday
for the emotional return of the remains of three Americans
and an Australian missing since the Vietnam war. Dean
believes one of the Americans was his brother.
Remains tentatively identified as those of
Charles M. Dean and his friend, Australian
Neil Sharman, civilians traveling in Southeast
Asia when they were killed in 1974, were
discovered this month buried in a rice field in
central Laos. The other two sets of remains
were unearthed in northeastern Laos.
"While we are saddened that he is not still
with us, we are comforted by the fact that he
is finally coming home," Dean said.
He spoke with reporters just before four
caskets were unloaded from an Air Force
C-17 cargo plane and carried to a bus for
transit to the military's nearby forensic
laboratory. The procedure has been repeated
scores of times as remains of missing soldiers
and others continue to be recovered from the
Vietnam War era.
One casket was wrapped in an Australian flag
and the other three in U.S. flags.
Dean, his mother, Andree, and brothers Bill
and Jim, stood with their hands over their
hearts as the remains arrived on U.S. soil.
Charles Dean, who had worked in the
anti-war campaign of Democratic presidential
candidate George McGovern, and Sharman
were believed to have been imprisoned and killed by
communist insurgents.
"This has been a long and emotional journey for my mother,
Jim, Bill and me," Dean said. "We greet this news with mixed
emotions but are gratified that we have closure for this painful
episode in our lives."
Dean said his younger bother "touched the lives of everyone
who knew him. I miss him every single day, and I'll never stop
being inspired by his passion and idealism."
Sharman's brother, Ian, also attended the ceremony, and he
and Dean thanked the military for recovering the remains.
They have not been positively identified, but Dean has said he
is confident they include his younger brother because of
personal items found at the site, including shoes and a
bracelet.
As governor of Vermont, Dean had visited a site in Laos last
year to push for excavation. A U.S. investigation into the
disappearance had begun in 1991, and the first of two joint
U.S.-Laotian excavation teams began digging in August.
Charles Dean and Sharman were arrested by the communist
Pathet Lao on Sept. 5, 1974, during a trip down the Mekong
River in Laos. They apparently were suspected of being spies,
although the U.S. and Australian governments said they were
merely tourists and strongly protested their detention.
Although Charles Dean was a civilian, the government
considers the possibility that any remains recovered may be of
missing servicemen, so treats them as such.
The remains of 182 Americans have been recovered in Laos
since U.S.-sponsored recovery teams began operating in the
country in 1992. Some 387 Americans are still missing in
Laos from the Vietnam War era.
© 2003 The Associated Press |
