Home at last

It's been more than 40 years since the family of Lt. j.g. Norman L. Roggow learned he was missing in action and died in Vietnam. With the return of his remains, family and friends may now say goodbye to the young Navy aviator. Services are set for today (Friday) at Le Mars' Grace Lutheran Church. [Click to enlarge]

This Friday, Dec. 14, 2007, his family will hold a funeral service for the Navy aviator who lost his life, along with four crewmen, on Oct. 8, 1967 near Da Nang, Vietnam.

Roggow's family lived on the Roggow family farm in Cherokee County until purchasing the Le Mars Motel in 1967. His parents, Orville Edward and Linda M. (Beckman) Roggow were the parents of five children, Norman, Connace, Marva, Diane and Curtis.

Norman attended high school at Brooke Consolidated High School, at rural Peterson. He graduated from Wayne State College with a BA in business management and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy in February 1964. Upon completion of flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in June 1965. LTJG Roggow reported to VT-1 as a Flight Instructor. In October 1966, he reported to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron Eleven. He was transferred to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 111, Detachment 34 in April 1967.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Oct. 24, 2007, that the remains of five U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, had been accounted-for and would be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They were identified as Lt. j.g. Norman L. Roggow, of Aurelia, Iowa; Lt. j.g. Donald F. Wolfe, of Hardin, Mont.; Lt. j.g. Andrew G. Zissu, of Bronx, N.Y.; Atc. Roland R. Pineau, of Berkley, Mich.; and JO3 Raul A. Guerra, of Los Angeles, Calif.; all U.S. Navy.

Curt Roggow remembers his older brother as a guy who loved to have fun, a spontaneous individual. "He was a natural leader, at least in his little brother's eyes," Curt said from his home on Shawnee, Kan.

"Even though I was quite a bit younger (12 years), I always felt a certain connection with him," said Curt. "We had that level of communication like brothers."

"Norman enlisted in the service when I was in third grade," Curt recalled. "I was proud of him, we all were. My mom and dad were proud to have a son serving in the military." Norman was also the first in the family to graduate from college.

"When he went to Vietnam, there was some concern," Curt remembers. "The plane he was flying was not a fighter, but carried radar for flight support."

According to DPMO information, on Oct. 8, 1967, Zissu and Roggow were the pilots of an E-1B Tracer en route from Chu Lai Air Base, Vietnam, back to the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. Also on board were Wolfe, Pineau and Guerra. Radar contact with the aircraft was lost approximately 10 miles northwest of Da Nang, Vietnam. Adverse weather hampered immediate search efforts, but three days later, a search helicopter spotted the wreckage of the aircraft on the face of a steep mountain in Da Nang Province. The location, terrain and hostile forces in the area precluded a ground recovery.

Roggow was awarded an Air Medal, National Defense Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Vietnam Service Medal with a Bronze Star, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

"As far as we know, nothing given to us back then or more recently suggests the plane was shot down. It was flying in bad weather," Curt said.

"I still remember the sinking feeling I had when I saw two men in military uniform walk in the front door," Curt said.

The first information the family received was notice that the plane was overdue. A day later a telegram from naval headquarters in Washington, D.C., arrived at the Roggow home, say Norman was missing in action "possibly in enemy territory, South Vietnam" and that weather was hampering search efforts.

"A few days later, we got the telegram that they'd found the crash site and all had died," Curt said. Because no body was returned, it was hard to know what to do. "We had a memorial service a few days later," Curt recalled.

The Roggow family had just moved to Le Mars in August 1967 from the farm eight miles north of Aurelia where the family lived. Roggow's parents owned the Le Mars Motel on Highway 75 South.

"People in Le Mars were very supportive and encouraging to our family," Curt said. "My mother expressed appreciation in how she felt many in the city reached out to us, and our church members, offering words of comfort and encouragement."

In 1993 and 1994, human remains were repatriated to the United States by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) with information that linked the remains to unassociated losses in the same geographical area as this incident. Between 1993 and 2004, U.S/S.R.V. teams, all led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident more than 15 times in Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue Province.

It was during this time that Roggow's sisters Connie and Marva were asked to donate blood samples for the DNA tests.

Between 2004 and 2005, the joint teams surveyed and excavated the crash site where they recovered human remains and crew-related items. During the excavation in 2005, the on-site team learned that human remains may have been removed previously from the site. S.R.V. officials concluded that two Vietnamese citizens found and collected remains at the crash site, and possibly buried them near their residence in Hoi Mit village in Thua Thein-Hue Province. In 2006, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the suspected burial site in Hoi Mit village, but found no additional remains. In 2007, more remains associated with this incident were repatriated to the United States by S.R.V. officials.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

"The DNA identification process was very interesting," Curt said. When the family met with officials in September of this year they gained more insight into how challenging the identification process was.

"The DNA is not the same as you see on the CSI shows," Curt said. "When dealing with bone fragments and teeth, it's a different DNA (mitochondrial) specifically from the mother, that narrows the field for identification."

"As it turned out, our family DNA was fairly unique compared to what they had in their samples," he said, which helped in the identification process.

The Roggow family has known for several years about the search and possible recovery of Norman's remains.

"We didn't know exactly when we'd hear something," Curt said. "And finally, it's 'oh, they did find something.' After 40 years, it brings back some of the memories and emotions."

The family contemplated holding a small funeral once the remains were returned to them.

"It's been amazing and encouraging of how many people have expressed words of comfort, support and encouragement, seeking to honor Norman even if they didn't know him or the family," Curt said.

The funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. this Friday, Dec. 14, 2007, at Grace Lutheran Church in Le Mars, with the Rev. Larry Fett officiating. Inurnment will be in Memorial Cemetery with military honors provided by the United States Navy and the Wasmer American Legion Post #241 of Le Mars. His family will be present to greet friends from 10 a.m. until service time at the church.

Patriot Guard Riders will be present for the services, according to www.patriotguard.org.

Iowa Governor Chet Culver has ordered all flags in the state be flown at half staff on Friday, Dec. 14, from 8 a.m. until sunset in honor of Lt. j.g. Norman Roggow.

The Governor's directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state. H.R. 692, signed by President Bush in June 2007, requires federal government agencies in the state to comply with the Governor's proclamation that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a member of the Armed Forces. Flags will be at half staff on the state Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex, and upon all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Lt. j.g. Roggow's named is on panel 27E, line 075 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. He served our country for three years.