Remains of U.S. troops returned from Vietnam

Welcome home and may we never forget the sacrifices made by you and your families.

TAMPA, Florida(AP) -- The remains of a Navy medic and three Marines killed in a Vietnamese firefight nearly four decades ago have been identified and returned to the United States for funerals.

Navy medic Malcolm "Mac" Miller, who was killed less than a month into his second tour in Vietnam, and two other team members will be buried next month at Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon announced Monday.

The funeral date -- May 10 -- marks the 38th anniversary of their deaths.

"Without having his remains actually here, there's always been that mystery of 'Is he still alive?"' said Miller's niece Dana Fisher, of Madison, Georgia. "This is a new beginning, because we know we can kind of go on with our lives and know that he's here and he has a home."

Families of the Americans reported missing after the 1967 clash with dozens of Viet Cong soldiers were told they were dead but that their bodies could not be recovered because of heavy fire.

Three surviving Marines were rescued by helicopter. A helicopter pilot, Capt. Paul T. Looney, was shot to death while hovering 20 feet above ground and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Survivors reported Miller was firing at the enemy when he was killed by a Viet Cong grenade.

The battleground has been surveyed by several joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams since Vietnamese citizens offered the first evidence of remains to U.S. officials in 1991, and two excavation teams found the remains.

The remains have been identified as Miller; Marine 2nd Lt. Heinz Ahlmeyer Jr. of Pearl River, New York; Marine Sgt. James N. Tycz of Milwaukee; and Marine Lance Cpl. Samuel A. Sharp Jr. of San Jose, California. Sharp was buried Saturday in San Jose.

A total of 748 Americans listed as missing in Vietnam have been accounted for since the end of the war.