Mark Dennis case question

[MegtheEgg86]

Identifying a POW based solely on photographic evidence is also quite dicey, as malnutrition, injury, and exposure can greatly alter one's appearance, especially if the POW has been in captivity for years. Although the photograph of the POW eventually identified as Paul Galanti did resemble Dennis, there existed additional intelligence corroborating the correct identification of that POW.

Nevertheless, additional photographs of Galanti both before and after his time in captivity do resemble the POW in the Newsweek photograph. (Amusingly, in one of them, he's actually giving the finger to his captors.) He was held for seven years before being released in 1973.

https://blog.usni.org/posts/2010/09/...alanti-usn-ret

[EighthStreet]

This is one of the best write-ups I've read on here.

I've speculated about this around here before, but I suspect someone on the UM production staff had an axe to grind regarding the Vietnam war and was looking for any and all stories that made the military look bad in regards to their conduct during and after the war.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by EighthStreet

This is one of the best write-ups I've read on here.

I've speculated about this around here before, but I suspect someone on the UM production staff had an axe to grind regarding the Vietnam war and was looking for any and all stories that made the military look bad in regards to their conduct during and after the war.

To be fair, I think there's definitely plenty of reason for folks to grind an axe regarding the Vietnam War. But yes, there were more than a few stories on UM regarding Vietnam War issues in which one discovers upon further research that the evidence overwhelmingly suggests the military fulfilled its obligation, and that some loved ones--sometimes for rather understandable reasons and sometimes not--had a difficult time ultimately accepting what happened.

For a long time I've put these stories on kind of a spectrum. I've always thought Charles Shelton and say, the Baron 52 crew stories were mired with actual official corruption and misconduct, whereas I think the Curt Borton story is perhaps the best example of a family in utter confusion and denial. Mark Dennis is somewhere in between for me.

[Hambone2421]

My gosh, I just re-watched this segment for the first time in probably 15 years or so. The last time I viewed the segment, I remember UM having an expert on saying that the vertebrae from the grave and a known x-ray of Dennis were a perfect match. Now, all of these later they are not a match?? Wow! I remember thinking that Mark's brother, Jerry, just couldn't accept that it wasn't his brother, but now it turns out he was right.

One thing I do think bares mentioning is that just because there wasn't a POW named John King doesn't mean that the man wasn't in fact a POW and just gave a false name for whatever reason. I'm also curious why Jerry didn't try to get the man's phone number or stay in contact with him given the fact that he was most definitely focused on finding out what happened to his brother.

[Pelham Bay]

Originally Posted by Hambone2421

My gosh, I just re-watched this segment for the first time in probably 15 years or so. The last time I viewed the segment, I remember UM having an expert on saying that the vertebrae from the grave and a known x-ray of Dennis were a perfect match. Now, all of these later they are not a match?? Wow! I remember thinking that Mark's brother, Jerry, just couldn't accept that it wasn't his brother, but now it turns out he was right.

One thing I do think bares mentioning is that just because there wasn't a POW named John King doesn't mean that the man wasn't in fact a POW and just gave a false name for whatever reason. I'm also curious why Jerry didn't try to get the man's phone number or stay in contact with him given the fact that he was most definitely focused on finding out what happened to his brother.

DNA testing done in 2016 again confirmed the remains belonged to Mark V Dennis. Case closed.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

According to his statement, Lucas was one of three survivors, along with a Thomas C. McAlister (the pilot) and George C. Richey (the co-pilot). Lucas stated that prior to the crash he observed two men jump from the aircraft. Robert Stack states as much in his narration in the segment, but in his affidavit, Lucas says the men were actually on fire as they exited the Chinook.

I rewatched this segment last night and caught this for the first time. UM really wasted its time with this segment, but this one was blatantly brushed over. Mark Dennis died heroically serving his country in 1966. But I would love to know if "John King" really did exist and what motive would he have in lying about running into Mark in a POW camp, or was this interaction either a complete fabrication or heavily skewed to what Jerry Dennis wanted to hear?