Red River 44: Angel Flight

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First and foremost, a hat tip to Knottie's Niche, a Gold Star Mom's site "that's still dedicated to the troops and their mission."

My son is doing everything he can to become a Marine. He's a man now and has to make his own decisions. He wants Light Weapons Infantry...

It is some small comfort to know that if they have to bring him home at some point, there are people are out there that will not only understand, but who will handle this most important task in a way that reinforces that what we're doing really, really matters, and is really, really important.

I hope that day never comes. But I know that if it does...


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Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher... coming home at last.

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God bless you and yours, Captain.

Sunday August 02, 2009

Remains of missing US pilot Michael Speicher found after 18 years in desert

Tim Reid in Washington

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(HO/AFP/Getty Images)

It is believed that Captain Speicher was buried by nomadic Bedouin tribesmen

The remains of the first American killed in the Gulf War have been found in Iraq, solving a mystery that has vexed the US military since his jet was shot down on the first night of the 1991 war.

The Pentagon announced yesterday that the remains of Navy Captain Michael “Scott” Speicher had been identified from bone fragments unearthed in the Iraqi desert, after two Iraqi civilians contacted Marines to say that they knew where he was buried.

The discovery ends 18 years of uncertainty about the fate of Captain Speicher, who left behind a wife and two young children when he disappeared. The Pentagon initially declared him killed but the lack of remains, and claims by some Iraqis over the years to have seen him in captivity, led officials to change his status to “missing in action” and later “missing-captured”.

After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, an American military unit was detailed to search for the missing pilot. That lead to a number of false leads, including the discovery of what some believed were the initials “MSS” scratched on the wall of an Iraqi prison.

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