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GI killed in 1965 to be buried at Arlington

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A soldier who died more than 40 years ago in a Vietnam jungle will be buried next month at Arlington National Cemetery.

The remains of Army Spc. Thomas Rice Jr. will be buried April 9 after a memorial service for him and three others who were aboard a helicopter that went missing in 1965, Rice’s sister Faye Smith told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg.

“This is the final goodbye because now we know we’re actually fixing to bury his remains,” Smith said.

Rice’s family held a memorial service for the 23-year-old soldier after he was officially declared dead in 1966. Family members still wondered whether he had died or was being held prisoner.

Smith says her late mother, Jessie, would “just walk the floor and pray and cry, wondering was her child somewhere sick. Was he hungry?

“We really hated that our parents are not still here to see this final closure, because my mom and dad never gave up,” Smith said.

About 500 people attended a second service last year after his remains were recovered and identified.

More than 20 of Rice’s family members plan to attend the services at Arlington National Cemetery.

Also aboard the chopper were Army Spc. 5th Class Donald C. Grella, Chief Warrant Officer Jessie D. Phelps and Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth L. Stancil.

Rice joined the Army after graduating from Carver High School and later re-enlisted.

Smith was just 10 years old when her brother went missing, but she remembers that he got up early to chop wood and start a fire so the house was warm on cold mornings. Smith said her brother also sent part of his pay back home to help the family.

“This was a brother that I think anyone would love to have had,” Smith said.