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Remains of U.S. Pilot Missing 18 Years in Iraq Found

Remains of the first American lost in the 1991 Persian Gulf War have been found in the Anbar province of Iraq after a nearly 20-year search, the U.S. Navy said Sunday.

The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has positively identified the remains of Captain Michael "Scott" Speicher, whose disappearance has bedeviled investigators since his jet was shot down over the Iraq desert on the first night of the 1991 war.

The Navy said the discovery illustrates the military's commitment to bring its troops home.

"This is a testament to how the Navy never stops looking for one of its own. No matter how long it takes," Commander Cappy Surette, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy, told FOX News.

Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, added, "we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Captain Speicher and his family for the sacrifice they have made for our nation and the example of strength they have set for all of us."

ANCFlyer wrote:

RIP and thank you for your service.

Navy officials announced early Sunday that Marines in the western Iraqi province of Anbar had found remains that have been positively identified as those of an American fighter pilot shot down in the opening hours of the first Persian Gulf war in 1991.

The Navy pilot, Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, was the only American missing in action from that war. Efforts to determine what happened to him after his F/A-18 Hornet was shot down by an Iraqi warplane on Jan. 17, 1991, had continued despite false rumors and scant information.

Link To Story

Someone took the time to bury him. Now he can be returned home to be among his fallen brothers and sisters.

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=47673

Speicher Hailed as Hero, Laid to Rest in Hometown


090813-N-1522S-007 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 13, 2009) Members of a Navy honor guard carry the remains of Capt. Michael Scott Speicher to All Saints Chapel at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Fla. Speicher was killed when his F/A-18 Hornet was shot down over Anbar province, Iraq on the first day of offensive operations during Desert Storm on Jan. 17, 1991 (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leah Stiles/Released)

Story Number: NNS090814-23
Release Date: 8/14/2009 6:36:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Gay, Naval Public Affairs Support Element East, Detachment Southeast

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Thousands of people, both military and civilians, showed their respects as the remains of the first casualty of Desert Storm, Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, were brought to Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville after being found in Iraq after 18 years.

The remains arrived at the NAS Jacksonville flight line Aug. 13 and were then taken by motorcade to All Saints Chapel on base, where they remained overnight for people to give their final respects for the fallen Navy pilot.

"I think his return is symbolic of the Navy's desire to never forget a lost shipmate and to always continue to pursue and find those that are missing or lost," said Rear Adm. Townsend Alexander, commander, Navy Region Southeast.

The following day the flag-draped casket left the chapel in a police escorted procession en route to Speicher's interment ceremony. During the trip the motorcade made stops at Speicher's church, his high school, the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall and Cecil Field, the military base where Speicher was last stationed before the war.

"It is a very significant day," said Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, the official escorting officer for Speicher's remains. "I was in a squadron with Scott Speicher, and we were flying together the night he was shot down, and this is a bittersweet day for us in that we are glad that we finally have a resolution of his status and that we are bringing him home to his family, but it's also a sad day in that now we know we lost a shipmate."

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton attended a ceremony that was held at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall in Speicher's honor.

"At a time in our nation's history when we need heroes more than ever, Captain Speicher reminds us we need not look any farther than those brave Americans who serve in our armed forces. He represents the best of the best," said Crist. "I am honored to speak for almost twenty million fellow Floridians when I say we thank Captain Speicher for his commitment and his dedication to our country and our people and our freedom. We are deeply grateful for his sacrifice."

Thomas Fuller, the pastor of Lakeshore Methodist Church where Speicher taught Sunday school, was outside the church where people lined the streets to honor Speicher as the procession passed.

"I think that [Speicher] has kind of become an instrument of change," said Fuller. "I have been blessed in all the commitment the military, in recent months and days, has made in regards to never leaving anyone behind, and that is very important."

Speicher was laid to rest in a private ceremony at the Jacksonville Memorial Gardens Cemetery as his squadron, the Sunliners of VFA-81, flew overhead in a missing-man formation.