Air Force Captain Eric James Huberth and fellow pilot Captain Allen R. Trent have been missing in action since May 13, 1970. They were flying on a classified mission over Cambodia when they were shot down in their F-4D Phantom.
Huberth wanted to become a veterinarian, but when his application and admission were denied he graduated from Cal State Northride and joined the Air Force as a pilot trainee, much to his mother's dismay. Huberth was a proficient combat aviator and was awarded the Flying Cross during his short time in Vietnam.
On his final mission, Huberth's Phantom was sent on a classified low-altitude bombing run. The Phantom took ground fire and crashed into a hillside. There was no indication Huberth or Trent were ejected from the aircraft. A search and rescue team was dispatched at the site of the crash, but enemy activity in the area was aggressive and the mission was aborted. Repetitive telegrams were received daily by his family, but eventually slowed to a trickle and stopped. A recovery team searched the crash site in 1995 but was unable to find anything. The site was closed. The Defense POW/ MIA Accounting Agency say that Huberth and Trent's case is still active.
There are 733 Americans who served in Vietnam with the same status as Huberth. They are listed by the government as "Presumptive Finding of Death." Remains of more than 1,000 Americans missing in the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to their families for burial.
Huberth's three sisters are still waiting for closure. They are waiting for a funeral, a 21-gun salute, and a folded flag.
Click here to read the full story.
Questions-
- Do you know of any POWs or MIAs?
- Do you have a veteran in your family? When and where did they serve?
- What does Veteran's Day mean to you?
- Do you believe after 45 years the Huberth and Trent families are likely to get closure?
My Opinion-
I do not know of any POWs or MIAs in my family. My Grandpa Eugene served in Germany during the time of the Berlin Wall from 1960-1962 in the Army. My Great-Grandpa Tilford served in WWII and was a Navy Seabee. Veteran's Day is a day set aside to honor veterans and to thank them for their endless sacrifices and their service to our country. I hope that the Huberth and Trent families receive closure. Every family deserves closure, even if it is a funeral. Many families don't or will ever know what happened to their loved ones and spend their whole lifetime never knowing.
Replies
Super job!!
I don't know any POWs or MIAs, and I have none in my family. Veteran's Day is an important holiday in American History, because it shows patriotism, and pride for our country and the people that fought and fight for our freedom. I think that there is a chance that the Huberth and Trent families could receive closure.
Veterans are a huge part of our history and we have them to thank for our freedom and our rights. I hope that they do. Lord knows that they deserve closure. Do you celebrate Veteran's Day in any particular way?
I dont know any POW's or MIAs but my grandpa was in the army. I think they should have closures because they where a part of it and everyone that has gone through it and in it she be honored either found dead or never found.
Many veteran's families experienced the war secondhand whether they experience secondhand. Everything can change.
I do not know of any POWs or MIAs, but I know that they are very important and often forgotten. I have 3 veterans in my family. Both of my grandpas served in the Korean War, and my cousin served in Afghanistan. To me, Veterans day is a very special day that everyone should know about and acknowledge. I think it's just as important as any other holiday, because America wouldn't be what it is today without the veterans that we honor. I certainly hope that these families get closure, because it's what they deserve!
America wouldn't be America as we know and love today without our veterans. They are truly selfless people and so extraordinary. Every family deserves closure in their lifetime and I hope that these families receive it. This one veteran walked up to Cassie and said he didn't feel like he deserved the credit that veterans got. He said he never saw the battlefield, but I believe the veterans who were heroic enough to enlist deserve to be honored. It killed me inside to think that this man had lived his life thinking he had done nothing for the war effort, when he stepped up and did something very courageous.
My brother is a veteran...kind of. He went through all of basic training and was sent to NC to finish training in his specified job. He worked so hard that he got nerve damage and othe things of that nature. I hope these MIAs are found and returned home safely.
Do you think the MIAs remains will ever be found or that they will just be presumed dead for a long time? Your brother sounds extremely tough and an extremely hard working young man. What was your brother's specified job going to be? All veterans matter and have made a lasting impact on our world today.
I do not know any POWs or MIAs. I do have a veteran in my family, my two uncles served for the Navy when they were younger. Veterans day does mean a lot to me, as it should to everyday, because it is one specific day out of the entire year that we take to thank our Veterans for all that they do, because they do not get thanked enough. I think if they have been missing for 45 years that they are probably not going to get closure, the bodies are probably long decayed by now and un-recognizable to know who it is.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next