Posted on 08/02/2009 4:32:09 AM PDT by naturalman1975
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.
A high-resolution photo of Captain Speicher is available at http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=2934
Contact: Navy Public Affairs (703) 697-5342.
Prayers of Gratitude that the family can rest easier with the positive knowledge of Capt. Speicher’s demise. He is one of our heroes.
I believe January 17, 1991 was the first official day of the Gulf War.
Rest in peace, Captain Speicher.
You won't be forgotten.
I believe he was at Lt. Commander rank when shot down. promoted to Commander and then Captain in his absence.
RIP
RIP, finally. A little peace for the family.
Captain Speicher has been the subject of much speculation in the past. Iraqi operatives loyal to Saddam probably snuck his remains back to the crash site after holding him as a political prisoner for years. Or so WND will have us believe.
May he rest in peace now, I’m sure that in some way it must be a relief for the family to now know his fate.
RIP
Listening on Fox, some Iraqis approached Marines in Anbar and two of them led to the site. They claim that the Captain was buried long ago by Bedouins. I imagine that they treated him with respect in doing so and to keep him from enemy hands.
I am grateful that his family can have their son back. Welcome home, Captain.
Amen.
Patriot ping.
R.I.P. Brave Warrior.
Welcome home, Captain.
Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice; you may now rest in peace.
RIP Captain Speicher. Welcome home. May your family find comfort in God’s arms and rejoice in thier loved one being returned home after so many years.
Thanks be to God.Welcome home Captain.
America’s finest. R.I.P., sir. Welcome home.
BravoZulu, Welcome Home Captain Speicher.
Welcome home Michael.
Until They Are Home
If you want on or off my MIA/POW Ping List, please FReep Mail or Ping me.
Welcome home Captain- prayers up for his family.
Welcome home sir and thank you.
BTTT
Gone but not forgotten.
please see my home page for his story
Capt. Morgan J Donahue USAF - 12/13/1968 - Laos
Gone but not forgotten.
see my home page for his story
Hand Salute....................two
Welcome home! :)
We salute his service to our country. And we don’t forget all that have gone before him and afterward in often totally heroic actions. May his family and friends finally find total closer. May he rest in peace.
The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo;
No more on Life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
On fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents to spread,
And glory guards, with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.
No rumor of the foe's advance
Now swells upon the wind;
Nor troubled thought at midnight haunts
Of loved ones left behind;
No vision of the morrow's strife
The warrior's dreams alarms;
No braying horn or screaming fife
At dawn shall call to arms.
Their shriveled swords are red with rust,
Their plumed heads are bowed,
Their haughty banner, trailed in dust,
Is now their martial shroud.
And plenteous funeral tears have washed
The red stains from each brow,
And the proud forms, by battle gashed
Are free from anguish now.
The neighing troop, the flashing blade,
The bugle's stirring blast,
The charge, the dreadful cannonade,
The din and shout, are past;
Nor war's wild note, nor glory's peal
Shall thrill with fierce delight
Those breasts that nevermore may feel
The rapture of the fight.
Like the fierce Northern hurricane
That sweeps the great plateau,
Flushed with triumph, yet to gain,
Come down the serried foe,
Who heard the thunder of the fray
Break o'er the field beneath,
Knew the watchword of the day
Was "Victory or death!"
Long had the doubtful conflict raged
O'er all that stricken plain,
For never fiercer fight had waged
The vengeful blood of Spain;
And still the storm of battle blew,
Still swelled the glory tide;
Not long, our stout old Chieftain knew,
Such odds his strength could bide.
Twas in that hour his stern command
Called to a martyr's grave
The flower of his beloved land,
The nation's flag to save.
By rivers of their father's gore
His first-born laurels grew,
And well he deemed the sons would pour
Their lives for glory too.
For many a mother's breath has swept
O'er Angostura's plain --
And long the pitying sky has wept
Above its moldered slain.
The raven's scream, or eagle's flight,
Or shepherd's pensive lay,
Alone awakes each sullen height
That frowned o'er that dread fray.
Sons of the Dark and Bloody Ground
Ye must not slumber there,
Where stranger steps and tongues resound
Along the heedless air.
Your own proud land's heroic soil
Shall be your fitter grave;
She claims from war his richest spoil --
The ashes of her brave.
Thus 'neath their parent turf they rest,
Far from the gory field,
Borne to a Spartan mother's breast
On many a bloody shield;
The sunshine of their native sky
Smiles sadly on them here,
And kindred eyes and hearts watch by
The heroes sepulcher.
Rest on embalmed and sainted dead!
Dear as the blood ye gave;
No impious footstep here shall tread
The herbage of your grave;
Nor shall your glory be forgot
While Fame her record keeps,
For honor points the hallowed spot
Where valor proudly sleeps.
Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
In deathless song shall tell,
When many a vanquished ago has flown,
The story how ye fell;
Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight,
Nor time's remorseless doom,
Can dim one ray of glory's light
That gilds your deathless tomb.
Originally written to commemorate the Kentucky Militiamen who fell during the Mexican-American War, this poem can now be found at most US military cemeteries.
At last, welcome home.
Thanks for the ping. May his family have peace.
Welcome home faithful servant.
Good to have you back, Captain Speicher. Rest in Peace.
Thank you for the ping, Stonewall. It took my breath away to hear this news today.
RIP
Thanks for the ping. I wept when I heard the news this morning. Prayers for his family and undying gratitude and debt for his service.
Whoops, thanks Stonewall Jackson.
It stopped the forward momentum of the car I was driving.
Glad to be able to share this day with you, amm.
Others didn’t understand.
Thank you sir for your brave sacrifice.
Condolences to your family and those that knew you.
I am glad for his loved ones they finally can receive his remains. Now they can find final closure. We salute his brave actions and service to this nation. His death was not in vain.
Bless his family. I am glad they finally have his remains.
Captain Speicher.
You've been missed.
May you rest in peace. Job Well Done.
Not unexpected, but sad, nonetheless.
Welcome home, shipmate. May you finally rest in peace, and may God grant your family, friends and loved ones His comfort.
This is what I imagine also and hope and pray is true. It is truly gratifying, as painful as it is, that Michael Scott Speicher can finally have the homecoming and honorable burial that he so richly deserves, the GREAT American Hero that he is. He has and had the most dedicated and loving family and friends I have ever seen. He touched my heart many years ago and I have followed the story since reading No One Left Behind. God bless his soul and God bless the USA.
Amen.
I have followed this story, as I suspect many have, for years now. It used to make me sick to think of this man as some sort of odd war trophy kept by Saddam. We hear many stories of POWS and MIAs, but this one really affected me. I am grateful that his fate is finally known, and that the worst rumors appear not to be true. We may never know the full story, but I am happy for the solace that this news must provide his family.
Welcome home Captain Speicher. Your country never forgot you and never stopped caring about you. Welcome home, Sir.
Navy family ping
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