HANOI - Representatives of the government of Vietnam handed over the remains of two U.S. servicemen to officials at the American embassy in a somber ceremony yesterday morning. Both men, members of the U.S. Marine Corps, had been listed as missing in action since 1969. The marines, identified as Private Gomer Pyle, of Mayberry, North Carolina, and his commanding officer, Sergeant Vince Carter of Long Island, were being held captive in the infamous North Vietnamese prison known as the Hanoi Hilton before abruptly disappearing from the records of the international Red Cross. It was believed for many years that both men were killed while trying to escape. However, recently declassified North Vietnamese army records indicate that both men were executed by their captors.
Senator John McCain, who shared a prison cell with Pyle and Carter, said he always suspected his comrades were murdered. “Gomer had the most annoying speaking voice, but when he sang, he sounded like he belonged with the Metropolitan Opera. None of us could ever figure it out.” McCain added that Pyle’s relentless optimism must have driven his North Vietnamese captors crazy with rage. “One time he broke out of the bamboo cage where we were kept, and he stood and waited for the guards to return. When he saw them, he flashed that goofy smile, and shouted ‘surprise, surprise, surprise!’ They just beat the hell out of him.”
The remains of both men will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery .
