Remains Identified as Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher

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Remains Identified as Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher

The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has positively identified remains recovered in Iraq as those of Captain Michael Scott Speicher. Captain Speicher was shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet over west-central Iraq on January 17th, 1991 during Operation Desert Storm.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Speicher's family for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country," said Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy. "I am also extremely grateful to all those who have worked so tirelessly over the last 18 years to bring Captain Speicher home."

"Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be," said Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations. "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."

Acting on information provided by an Iraqi citizen in early July, US Marines stationed in Al Anbar Province went to a location in the desert which was believed to be the crash site of Captain Speicher's jet. The Iraqi citizen stated he knew of two Iraqi citizens who recalled an American jet impacting the desert and the remains of the pilot being buried in the desert. One of these Iraqi citizens stated that they were present when Captain Speicher was found dead at the crash site by Bedouins and his remains buried. The Iraqi citizens led US Marines to the site who searched the area. Remains were recovered over several days during the past week and flown to Dover Air Force Base for scientific identification by the AFIP's Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner.

The recovered remains include bones and multiple skeletal fragments. Positive identification was made by comparing Captain Speicher's dental records with the jawbone recovered at the site. The teeth are a match, both visually and radiographically.

While dental records have confirmed the remains to be those of Captain Speicher, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology DNA Lab in Rockville, Maryland is running DNA tests on the remains recovered in Iraq and comparing them to DNA reference samples previously provided by family members. Results will take approximately 24 hours.

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VVA applauds recovery of Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher

VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA

IMMEDIATE RELEASE


August 8, 2009

No. 09-26

Contact:
Mokie Porter
301-996-0901

VVA Applauds Recovery of Capt. Speicher's Remains; Urges Redoubling of Efforts in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- "All veterans, indeed all Americans, can be relieved that one family's uncertainty about the fate of their loved one has been finally resolved," said John Rowan, newly re-elected National President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), referring to the recovery of the remains of Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher. Captain Speicher was shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet on January 17, 1991, during the first Gulf War. His fate until now had been uncertain.

Acting on information provided by civilians in Anbar Province, Iraq, Marines went to a desert location believed to be the crash site of Speicher's jet. Remains were recovered over several days and were flown to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, for scientific identification by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology's Armed Forces Medical Examiner, which positively identified the remains as Speicher's on August 1.

"Today, according to the Department of Defense, we still have 1,737 Americans missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War," Rowan said, "and there are thousands of troops from World War II and the Korean War whose remains have never been recovered.

"We should not and cannot shirk our responsibility as a nation to see that all of our troops are returned to freedom back home or to their families for proper burial with military honors. We hold the issue of last-known alive personnel as our highest priority. Our goal is now and always has been to achieve the fullest possible accounting of servicemen missing still in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Chinese territorial waters.