Posted on 11/05/2004 9:22:40 AM PST by cgk
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- First Coast News has learned a body has been found in Iraq and DNA testing is underway.
Multiple sources tell First Coast News Captain Scott Speicher's family has been notified.
They will not disclose the details of why they believe these are his remains only to say they have reason to feel confident these are his remains.
Test results are expected within weeks.
When I sat down with Buddy Harris, who was Speicher's best friend and is now married to Speicher's widow, he told me the family would never give up until they found what happened to him and brought him home.
They may be well on their way to learning the answer and putting this mystery and this man to rest.
From the deck of the USS Saratoga in the Red Sea., a husband and father of two from Jacksonville prepares to fight for the first time. 33 year old Lt. Commander Michael Scott Speicher, also known as "Spike", is ready for take off.
It's 1 a.m. January 17th, Speicher is part of the first mission flown over Iraq during the first Gulf War.
Within hours his squadron is in the heat of battle. The mission is deemed a success.
But when Speicher's unit returns He is the only one who is not accounted for.
From the first moments, fellow pilots and squadron mates believe the highly skilled Speicher ejected and survived.
But within hours the Pentagon announces Speicher is dead, killed in action in a mid-air explosion. There would be no recovery mission.
In 1993, U.S. Intelligence finds an American plane in better condition than expected in a remote desert in Iraq.
The plane's identification numbers confirm it is Speicher's plane.
The cockpit canopy was found some distance from the wreckage, raising the theory that Speicher ejected, survived and was captured.
First Coast News has learned the human remains, thought to be Speichers, were not found at the crash site.
The remains being tested were found in another part of Iraq.
After the initial discovery of the crash site, in an unprecedented move, the Pentagon changed Speicher's status from Killed in Action, to Missing in Action, and then later, Missing Captured.
The president even included Speicher and the fact that he was still in Iraq in a speech he gave to the nation.
Shortly into the second Gulf War, the initials M.S.S were found in a Baghdad prison.
Sources are now telling First Coast News they have information that indicates Speicher was captured after the crash and held as a prisoner for some time before he died.
However, DNA tests performed on the materials used to make the markings failed to confirm those initials found in a cell were made by Michael Scott Speicher.
His friends and family were not discouraged saying they knew the wall had been painted over several times and other things found in other prison cells supported their theory that Scott had been held at that prison.
We were the only local news station in country to sit down and talk with Buddy Harris, Speicher's best friend and now husband to Joanne Speicher Harris.
Buddy told us then that the family would never stop asking the question of what happened to Scott. And they were prepared no matter the answer.
"I cannot foresee a situation where we would just give up and go away.
I won't do it and I know my family backs me on his 100 percent in not giving up."
The family went through this once before.
Several years ago, then President of Iraq Saddam Hussein sent a pound of flesh to the United States claiming it was the remains of Scott Speicher.
The pilot's children at that time provided their DNA so the remains could be tested.
That test proved the remains were not their fathers.
The family has been through a roller coaster of emotions over the years.
They have learned to be very cautious about any new information they receive.
We expect they are taking the same approach with this latest news.
This remains a very big development.
If the tests indicate the remains are the missing the navy pilot Scott Spiechers', they will finally have an answer to the question they've asked for more than a decade.
We contacted the family's attorney, Cindy Laquidara, Thursday night for reaction to this new discovery. She had no comment for us at this time.
Now just two and-a-half months shy of the fourteenth anniversary of Speicher's disappearance, the answer may finally come in the form of DNA.
An American hero... A First Coast son... may finally return home after a very long mission.
© 2004 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
My prayers for the Speicher/Harris family.
Except in Korea, probably Indochina, Iran, World War II ("The World War II Working Group is investigating the possibility that some American POWs who remain unaccounted for from the Eastern camps may have been transferred to Soviet labor camps." http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/jcsd/grp_wwii.htm)
Prayers for MSS and family. I prefer him to be alive and found soon, but...
Heartbroken prayers for his family, his comrades, his country.
Don't be upset.
Ignorance is not bliss. Shut up already.
Can it be true, finally!
And may the faithful proud machines... who bore the sword of freedom on their wings... be given the honor such a burden brings... and we remember.
Keep them flying...keep them flying, so that all who see them will know... that their freedom was won by the blood that flowed... and remember.
And all who coursed through hostile skies, know that freedom requires a sacrifice... to those who paid the highest price... we remember.
With a place of honor so deserved... for what flesh and blood and steel have earned... but may the greatest glory be reserved, for the colors they so bravely served.
Keep them flying, keep them flying, so that all who see them will know...that our freedom was won by the blood that flowed... and we remember....
From We Remember, by Dwayne O'Brien
Theme song of USAF Heritage Flight
Maybe this will be Fox of Bridgewater, MA. KIA in Gulf War I and buried by his scud bust'n team.
BTTT
When the government tells you that the search for a military person has been called off, there is little one can do. When Scott was listed as KIA, I remember hearing in a story about him maybe 5 or 6 years ago that the paperwork stated that there was no sign of an ejection from his a/c.
I am so heartsick that these remains might be his. Good Lord, after all he has been through.
After years of following this story, I am convinced that Scott was alive last year right before we invaded Iraq. I fear that Sadaam or his sons decided to kill Scott then. If these remains are Scott's, I'll bet they show he hasn't been dead more than 20 months.
God bless this family. There is no excuse for having left Scott there. Our government let him down.
Oh, Tonk, I am speechless; my heart aches over this. :(
This whole story breaks my heart.
and...the fact sadaam could be so cruel to send a pound of flesh to Speichers family shows what a low life he is and is more than enough reason for me to wish sadaam dead. He is an animal and has no heart not to mention a soul.
God bless this young brave hero, husband and father of two. May be be resting in peace if he is gone.
Amen. This is one heartbreaking story and we don't know what they were going through..."Walk a mile in my shoes."
I'm completely with Pukin Dog here. I have read many, many articles and interviews and have seen video of footage of Buddy Harris.
He is a very true friend to Scott, still. He is a loving husband to Scott's widow, but remains a true friend to Scott.
It is really a wonderful story of love and devotion.
Tonk, thanks for the ping. This story about Scott has been one very dear to my heart, and when we went into Iraq I was praying and hoping that the dear man was still alive. BUT, perhaps in the end, it was better for the Lord to take Scott on Home. How many years would any SANE soul want to ENDURE the evils of Saddam, brrrrrrr. May God bless this poor family, and give them PEACE!!!
Wrong. Buddy Harris was and still is Scott's best friend.
It is Buddy that has spearheaded all of the efforts to find Scott all these years, even after he married Scott's widow.
Ah, thanks, buddy - I think.
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