Posted on 07/08/2005 5:24:28 AM PDT by robowombat
Navy Board Suggests New Speicher Search Associated Press July 8, 2005
WASHINGTON - A new Navy review of efforts to determine the fate of missing pilot Capt. Michael Scott Speicher is recommending that the U.S. government undertake an intensified search in Iraq and that his status be affirmed as "missing-captured," Sen. Bill Nelson wrote in a letter to the Navy's top civilian.
"I urge you to accept the board's recommendation regarding Capt. Speicher's status. I also encourage you to work to implement the board's recommendation regarding an intensified search effort," the Florida Democrat wrote to Navy Secretary Gordon England, who also is the acting deputy defense secretary.
Speicher, of Jacksonville, Fla., was shot down over central Iraq in an F/A-18 on Jan. 17, 1991, opening night of the Gulf War. Some aircraft wreckage was later found but his remains were never recovered. Speculation arose over the years - including during the months leading up to the latest Iraq war - that he was being held by the Iraqis.
The Iraqi government under President Saddam Hussein maintained from the start that Speicher perished at the crash site. No evidence to contradict that has surfaced since the fall of Baghdad more than two years ago, but the new Navy inquiry concluded there was no credible evidence of his death, either.
In response to Nelson's statements regarding the board of inquiry's recommendations, the Navy public affairs office said the inquiry is not complete and therefore it would not comment directly on the board's findings.
Two officials who have seen the inquiry's findings and recommendations confirmed to The Associated Press that Nelson accurately portrayed the outcome. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's confidentiality and because England has not yet seen it.
The board of inquiry met and reached its conclusions last week, the officials said.
The Navy has changed its position on Speicher's status over the years. Hours after his plane went down, the Pentagon declared him killed in action. Ten years later, the Navy changed his status to MIA, citing an absence of evidence that he had died. In October 2002, the Navy switched his status to "missing-captured," although it has never said what evidence it had that he was in captivity.
"Over the years we've learned a great deal, but I am not satisfied we have fulfilled our responsibility to Capt. Speicher or to his family - or to all members of our military," Nelson wrote in his letter.
He said some areas of Iraq that remain dangerous due to insurgent activity should be searched for possible additional evidence, and former Iraqi government officials in U.S. custody may have more information.
"Other witnesses have been identified but not yet located or brought in for interrogation," Nelson said.
A Pentagon team assigned to search for evidence of Speicher after the fall of Baghdad completed its efforts in May 2004. In congressional testimony shortly afterward, Marine Brig. Gen. Joseph J. McMenamin, who led the search team, said all in-country leads regarding the pilot's fate had been exhausted.
McMenamin also said, however, that some leads could not be fully pursued because of the security threat from the Iraq insurgency. Another problem, he said, was that nomadic Bedouin tribesmen who may have information of value are difficult to find. And some who might have information about Speicher may be intimidated by the threat of retribution by members of the former Saddam regime who are still at large
With military write off of men in the past, why the continued effort on Speicher???
I do not know the answer to your question, but I do know that all our servicemen deserve that we never give up. God Bless them all, I'm eternally grateful. Prayers for Capt.Speicher and his family.
What?
I was about to ping you on this but see you already rolled in hot and pickled.
"Shack"
From experience, I had friends shot down by the Russians, with one or more that may have survived. Military explanation, lost on routine training flight. The military and government denied them for nearly forty years.
From your lack of acceptable social intercourse, one has to wonder if you were a military lifer
Perhaps the military is looking for a hero to search Iraq for the MIA. There seems to be heros here that are well qualified.
"With God, all things are possible"
I haven't lost faith yet- at least, not entirely.
are you suggesting that you have reason to believe the Russians (or one of the former USSR countries) is holding U.S. Military prisoners shot down during the cold war?
Read headline too fast, I thought the Navy was going to start so bizarre cavity search ritual.
My brother remains a MIA to this day. The military/government wrote he and thousands of others off with the stroke of a pen.
During the Korean thing, I had friends shot down by the Russians. Stroke of a pen, lost at sea on training mission.
My question was why the continued interest in this one person. If that offends you, I suggest that perhaps there are others that have a an even more personal interest.
Well spoken, PD!
If you have time, google can provide pages of questions and answers concerning possibility of Russians keeping our people.
13 June 1952 A USAF RB-29 (44-61810) of the 91st SRS was shot down by Soviet fighters over the Sea of Japan, 18 miles from the Soviet coast, near Hokkaido. Soviet MiG-15 pilots Fedotov and Proskurin reported intercepting the aircraft in the area of Valentin Bay, nine miles from the Soviet coastline. They reported that the RB-29 fired on the Soviet fighters, when intercepted. The Soviet pilots returned fire and the US plane descended, burst into flames and crashed into the water at a distance of about 18 miles from our coastline. Official US records state that the aircraft was on a classified surveillance mission of shipping activity over the Sea of Japan. The plane was followed by radar over the course of the flight until 1320 hours at which time the radar contact was lost. Empty life rafts were spotted by search aircraft the next day. Radio Moscow stated on June 16 stated that one officer survivor had been picked up by a Russian vessel about two days before. The name of the survivor was not given and efforts to confirm the report were unsuccessful. The crew of Sam Busch, Robert J. McDonnell, Roscoe G. Becker, Eddie R. Berg, Leon F. Bonura, William R. Homer, Samuel D. Service, James A. Sculley, William A. Blizzard, Miguel W. Monserrat , Danny Pillsbury and David L. Moore were all listed as missing, presumed dead.
A few years ago I was a guest of NSA at Fort Meade, when the military/government finally acknowledged these men, nearly forty years later. Sadly, only a few had family at the awards presentation, purple hearts etc.
Their families passed on never knowing what those men had been doing for their country.
As for the Guam incident you mention...
If that happened in 1952, I was on Guam at the time and we flew two search missions looking for the aircraft. Our search was to the southwest near the Philippines. They were classified as weather recon aircraft but also contained sniffing equipment for detecting nuclear activity.
Thanks,
I've been out looking a bit...
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