warrant officer gregory s. crandall's helicopter was shot down over savannakhet province, laos, on february 18, 1971. in may of that year the military listed him kia. according to arlington national cemetery records john manning, chief of the army's mortuary affairs branch stated that witnesses to the crash reported that the ..."helicopter burst into flames and exploded when it hit the ground.". it was also reported that there were a series of seven explosions. the remains of crandall and two other soldiers were recovered in february 1991 and on september 17, 1993, with full military honors, a full sized steel casket, and at the protest of the family, the remains of warrant officer gregory s. crandall, a single no. 4 maxillary premolar tooth, was buried.