Name of South Dakota airman struck from POW/MIA list

Service, family recognized after remains of pilot missing since 1969 discovered in southeast Asia

The family of Col. Walter Renelt is presented with a folded POW/MIA flag following a retirement ceremony in Sioux Falls Friday, (Jay Pickthorn / The Dakota Scout)

Silence settled over a crowd at Veterans Memorial Park in Sioux Falls as a folded black flag became a possession of Col. Walter A. Renelt’s family.

The pilot’s offspring and the onlookers had gathered Friday night to honor the more than 80,000 American servicemen and women still missing or unaccounted for from past wars, including seven from South Dakota.

By the time the Sioux Falls American Legion’s 14th annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony concluded, that list had grown shorter.

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