Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday honored a 21-year-old Arkansas National Guardsman and U.S. Air Force enlistee whose remains were returned to the state decades after he died in a plane crash.
In a proclamation signed Wednesday, Hutchinson ordered the state's flag be flown at half-staff for Sgt. Robert Dale Van Fossen from sunrise Thursday to sunset Saturday. His remains were flown to the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport/Adams Field in Little Rock on Thursday, governor spokesman J.R. Davis said.
Fossen, born May 3, 1931, "demonstrated his patriotism and commitment to his country through joining the Arkansas National Guard," the document states.
Soon after signing up, Fossen graduated from Greenbrier High School in 1949 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
Fossen learned Russian to be a communication specialist. On Nov. 22, 1952, he boarded a plane with 51 other military members to fly to the Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Ala.
The plane flew through harsh weather and disappeared, the proclamation stated. Some wreckage was discovered eight days later about 50 miles outside Anchorage, but conditions prevented emergency responders from finding the lost men.
About 60 years later, a Black Hawk Army Nationa Guard unit found debris near the crash site. Since then, officials have made annual missions to the glacier and have identified 33 of the 52 men on board, including Fossen.
Arkansas "is proud to bring home Sergeant Van Fossen and to honor his life, accomplishments and service to his nation," the governor wrote.
In addition to the flag flying at half-staff, Saturday will be "Robert Dale Van Fossen Memorial Day in Arkansas," according to the proclamation.