By MICHELLE CHAMBERLAI
After nearly 28 years being considered missing in action since his plane was shot down in the Vietnam War, a former BYU graduate was given his final resting place in the Randolph City Cemetery in Utah on July 25.
Robert A. Rex, an agriculture economics major at BYU, graduated in 1966 while serving in the reserves for the U.S. Air Force. After graduation, he joined the Air Force full time and graduated from pilot training as the top student in a class of 80.
Rex was performing a routine bomb run when he failed to resurface from his dive. It was never determined if he was shot down, if his aircraft malfunctioned or if a bomb he was carrying prematurely went off, said his brother Ron Rex, a civilian employee in the Air Force.
In February 1994, the United States was given permission to excavate crash sites in certain areas of Vietnam, and a team of 10 was sent to the crash site believed to be the place where Rex died.
The team set out in May 1994 and spent two weeks on the site. The family was skeptical that any remains would be found after three decades and the many Vietnamese military who may have combed the area years previous to the excavation.
“A dime, a quarter, a plastic comb, 26 bone fragments and several small plane parts were found at the site,” Rex said. The team used four-inch-thick sieves to sift the soil around the site and were able find several items showing that a U.S. pilot had crashed there.
The remains were returned to the United States, and the bone fragments were put through a series of DNA tests, which were not substantial enough to prove the identity of the person, according to an Air Force news release.
By 1996, Rex’s mother, Pearl Rex-Hartzell, heard of new DNA test processes and requested the Air Force re-test the matter.
Personnel at the Air Force labs notified Rex’s family that the tests strongly correlated to the blood samples family members and gave them the option of having the bone fragments re-tested at different facilities.
The family opted for additional tests at the University of Utah which produced results similar to the Air Force. The information was submitted and the family was granted a full military honor memorial service in behalf of their deceased relative.
Anna Marie Rex, a sister-in-law to the deceased, said the services were emotional and relieving for family members.
Many family members were present at the July 25 memorial service, and Ron Rex said he felt a sense of closure that had been needed for more than 27 years.
The BYU Air Force ROTC has information about Rex and other Air Force personnel who were killed in wars involving the United States. Each year the department selects individuals to receive a Patriots’ Award, and in 1992 they selected Pearl Rex-Hartzell, Rex’s mother.
She was selected for her involvement in helping prisoners of war and missing in action military personnel, and for her patriotic service throughout her life, said Jinny Richman, department secretary for the ROTC.
Rex-Hartzell said she needed to experience the service to be able to say goodbye to her son.
“Even though we all figured he was dead, there was a small feeling he could have lived or become a prisoner of war. As his mother, I had to hope he didn’t suffer much when he met his end,” she said.
