That’s something that has always seemed unreliable to me so far as establishing the time of death in various incidents, beloved though it is of the endless parade of crime / forensic shows on TV.
A blast violent enough to shatter a body might also move the hands on a watch.
Or a watch might run out of wound spring, or movement wind up, or battery power some time later.
My thoughts exactly, just quoted the newspaper.
I’ve missed this thread until now.
Ain’t it marvellous how time changes attitudes?
If these two poor bastards had been found at the time not only would they not have got a State funeral, they would have been buried very quietly to avoid becoming a focus for anti-war protesters or just because the Government didn’t want to upset the increasingly hostile public by drawing attention to some more of the the sorry human consequences of Australia’s cunning plan to make Vietnam the mire into which to draw America so that it got locked into South East Asia and Australia’s defence from the yellow hordes poised to make the Domino Theory a reality.
State funeral for Vietnam War airman
Posted Mon Sep 7, 2009 7:17am AEST
Updated Tue Sep 8, 2009 9:16am AEST
Hundreds of mourners have attended a State Funeral in Adelaide for Vietnam War pilot Michael Herbert.
The airman failed to return from a routine night bombing mission over southern Vietnam in 1970, at a time when he had only two months remaining on his tour of duty.
Their remains and the bomber’s wreckage were found in July in dense jungle.
The funeral at St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide was followed by a procession through Victoria Square in the city and a F-111 fly past.
Flying Officer Herbert’s body was returned to Australia recently, along with that of Pilot Officer Robert Carver.
Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Michael Warby says finding them was a significant achievement.
“We may never know what caused the aircraft to crash unfortunately, but the most important thing is that we’ve recovered the remains of Robert and Michael.”
Shane Herbert was 11 when his brother was lost and delivered a eulogy at the funeral service.
“The experience of Michael’s loss and not knowing for 39 years has shaped the character and the spirit of my family,” he said.
“I pray that we move to a more open compassionate and peaceful heart space for us all.”
Closure
John Bird was in the same squadron as both pilots and says he and his comrades are glad to have the closure of a funeral service despite it being many years later.
“They were both wonderful young men, they’ll always be young men to us and it’s just sad it took so long for us to find them but now we have,” he said.
“Everyone’s been just been wonderful, the Vietnamese Government, the Air Force has been superb and everyone involved has just been absolutely wonderful.”
A friend from Officer Herbert’s squadron, Alan Curr, says he never thought a funeral would happen.
“The fact that we’re back here today to bury Herbie is an outstanding achievement and result for everybody,” he said.
A service was held for Flight Officer Carver in Queensland last week.
Friends of mine on another board describe recovering remains from an aircraft months after the crash.
It was a light FAC stuck in a treetop.
One guy’s electric watch was still running.