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Within the same day, CVW-17 lost an A-6 (Wetzel/Zaun), also down in western Iraq and included in stats for the first 1,000 sorties. Also, Spike was not a "death" during the war--he was listed MIA. He was not considered KIA/BNR until May 22, 1991. Meghan was 18 months; Michael, his namesake, 3 years old.

Nothing in the article was sensationalized. It was determined to be air wing policy to turn off the ELT, against the advice of SPEAR--the Navy's premier operational intelligence unit. The radios VFA-81 carried on the first strike were new; VFA-83 didn't carry that model radio on the same strike.

Spike's case is unique in the history of the U.S. military in that he is the first and only person to be officially listed as MIA from any war. The behind the scenes investigation into his whereabouts is one of most significant as well. There is much that the fog of war taught us from January 17, 1991, and it continues to unfold around this particular case.

Your not telling me anything I don't already know. I knew Zaun and Wetzel as well. They were shot down on night 2 over western Iraq on a foolhardy low level by their squadron CO (later relieved of command). Zaun was a class mate of mine at the Academy.

I guess I don't like the article because it is not clear to me where it is going, if the authors are using Spike's story as a way to discredit/blame the military for someones personal gain or make our armed forces look something less than patriotic.