Have any of the military cases on the show ever been solved?

[bluejazz87]

I can't even remember one ever close to being solved at all. They might as well be UFO cases.

EDIT: To be more specific I mean the unexplained deaths and/or disappearances.

[Hops3098]

Several military related ones that I can think of being solved:

Jim Baczkowski did find Capt. Linda Sharp, the Army Nurse who helped him in Vietnam

Similar one, Jim Meade, a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, found Lt. Karen Stephens.

Carl & Brigitta Dentai found Philip Pelletier, a US soldier who helped them survive in the aftermath of World War Two

Fritz Vincken found one or two of the American soldiers with whom he'd spent Christmas of 1944 with during the Battle of the Bulge

They caught Edward Zakrewski, the US Airman who murdered his wife and kids

Also I believe that they eventually delivered all of the WWII letters found in some lady's attic.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Hops3098

Several military related ones that I can think of being solved:

Jim Baczkowski did find Capt. Linda Sharp, the Army Nurse who helped him in Vietnam

Similar one, Jim Meade, a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, found Lt. Karen Stephens.

Carl & Brigitta Dentai found Philip Pelletier, a US soldier who helped them survive in the aftermath of World War Two

Fritz Vincken found one or two of the American soldiers with whom he'd spent Christmas of 1944 with during the Battle of the Bulge

They caught Edward Zakrewski, the US Airman who murdered his wife and kids

Also I believe that they eventually delivered all of the WWII letters found in some lady's attic.

Good post. A lot of the lost love cases were solved but not all of them. There are still a few that are unsolved including one letter from the WW2 letters segment that is on amazon.

Most of the unexplained death(suicide) ones if not all of them featured are unsolved unless you factor Jeffrey McDonald lol. I think the bombing of captain rogers' wife's van went unsolved as well.

[Hot Jock]

The fate of the S.S. Muskogee was also solved along with finding all of the families of the soldiers that died.

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/w..._Muskogee_Crew

[asmitty]

I was thinking of lost love cases when I read the original post of this thread. My first thought were cases like the disappearance of Justin Burgwinkel or the fate of Curt Borton where the military has been accused of covering something up.

[cdr369]

Chad Langford's case remains unsolved, as does Michael Carmichael and Bill Ray Hargrove's.

There are a couple other ones as well that were not solved, but their names have left me: (a) the story about the hazing, that later became a movie, and one of the prime characters was murdered after interviewing with FedEx, and (b) the story of the military linguist/ cook, who went AWOL, after visiting his girlfriend in California. There's never been any more details.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by cdr369

Chad Langford's case remains unsolved, as does Michael Carmichael and Bill Ray Hargrove's.

There are a couple other ones as well that were not solved, but their names have left me: (a) the story about the hazing, that later became a movie, and one of the prime characters was murdered after interviewing with FedEx, and (b) the story of the military linguist/ cook, who went AWOL, after visiting his girlfriend in California. There's never been any more details.

a) David Cox
b) Justin Burgwinkle

To my knowledge, both are still unsolved.

[cdr369]

Thank you and thank you. I'll jot these names down to refresh later.

[bluejazz87]

I'm sorry I meant the unexplained military deaths or disappearances. Not Lost Loves.

[unsolved243]

I think most consider the case of Robert "Curt" Borton to be solved. He went missing during the Vietnam War. His family was told that he was dead, but they thought they saw him in pictures of American POWs. Years later, his sister thought she saw him several times in Washington D.C., but the government insists he is dead.
After the story aired, there were remains found in Vietnam that were identified as his. (I think DNA testing confirmed it) but his family refuses to accept the remains.
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Robert_Borton

Another case from Vietnam, the "Baron 52" case, involved a plane that was shot down in Vietnam. Some of the airmen's remains were not found, so their families believed that they were alive. However, after the story aired, remains were found at the site that were identified as some of the missing airmen.
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Baron_52

Charles Shelton was shot down during Vietnam and was held prisoner of war for several years. The army stated that he had died in a prison, but his wife Marian learned that he may have been seen in Laos after he allegedly died. She searched for the truth for years, but committed suicide in 1990. A few years after the broadcast, the military changed his status to "killed in action" and his children accepted that he was dead, although his remains were never found.
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Charles_Shelton

[asmitty]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

a) David Cox
b) Justin Burgwinkle

To my knowledge, both are still unsolved.

I've had a theory for some time that David Cox's murder did have to do with the events surrounding his military service, but not in the same way that others have posited. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but I've always wondered if perhaps his fellow marines who were suing the production company with him either wanted to settle and he was a lone holdout, or they didn't like how outspoken he was being about the things that had really happened and took matters into their own hands to shut him up. Police did think he left home with someone he knew. My thoughts are that they took him into the woods for a discussion that turned violent. These were ex-Marines, so it's probable he (or they if it was more than one of them) were armed even if no violence was planned.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by asmitty

I've had a theory for some time that David Cox's murder did have to do with the events surrounding his military service, but not in the same way that others have posited. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but I've always wondered if perhaps his fellow marines who were suing the production company with him either wanted to settle and he was a lone holdout, or they didn't like how outspoken he was being about the things that had really happened and took matters into their own hands to shut him up. Police did think he left home with someone he knew. My thoughts are that they took him into the woods for a discussion that turned violent. These were ex-Marines, so it's probable he (or they if it was more than one of them) were armed even if no violence was planned.

It's a good theory, and if I recall, similar to one theory on a certain podcast we all know and (should) love.

I'm 99% convinced Justin Burgwinkel was suffering from some form of schizophrenia. However, it doesn't explain that strange phone call his girlfriend got, where the caller said "the mission's off." Was it a military mission, a drug mission, a mission to go get Taco Bell? (Dude. I would be enraged if I got my heart set on Taco Bell and someone called off the mission. Just saying.) That's the one part of the disappearance I can't wrap my head around. The rest of the circumstances surrounding Justin clearly point to mental illness.

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

However, it doesn't explain that strange phone call his girlfriend got, where the caller said "the mission's off." Was it a military mission, a drug mission, a mission to go get Taco Bell? (Dude. I would be enraged if I got my heart set on Taco Bell and someone called off the mission. Just saying.) That's the one part of the disappearance I can't wrap my head around. The rest of the circumstances surrounding Justin clearly point to mental illness.

That Taco Bell comment kills me! That was priceless! Yes, when your mind is set on getting some TB, let nothing stand in our way.

I agree that Justin Burgwinkel was either mentally ill, and/or into drugs and possibly stealing stuff. I think the "cloak and dagger" stuff was just a cover up for illegal activity which was probably selling drugs or stolen goods. Whether it was just an act or whether mental illness played a role, I'm not sure. But I don't believe for a second that he was into any real military secret operations.

[TheCars1986]

I've always felt that a lot of the military segments were deliberately played up to where there would be no solution. It's a shame too, because David Cox, IMO, is the only one presented that I believe was a clear cut murder. Burgwinkel, Langford, Jeffrey Digman, Hargrove & Carmichael, and even Ralph Sigler were all suicides. I think Ray Hickenbotham's case seems weird on the surface, but I get the feeling that a ton of information was either exaggerated or left out to make the segment more mysterious.

[asmitty]

Originally Posted by Todd Mueller

That Taco Bell comment kills me! That was priceless! Yes, when your mind is set on getting some TB, let nothing stand in our way.

I agree that Justin Burgwinkel was either mentally ill, and/or into drugs and possibly stealing stuff. I think the "cloak and dagger" stuff was just a cover up for illegal activity which was probably selling drugs or stolen goods. Whether it was just an act or whether mental illness played a role, I'm not sure. But I don't believe for a second that he was into any real military secret operations.

I've always leaned toward the mental illness theory with Justin Burgwinkel. The "shredding paper" his girlfriend witnessed when she tried to see what was in his briefcase is the kind of obsessive tic that can accompany many types of disorders.