Homecoming after 18 Years

The first Gulf War began in January 1991 and I can still remember seeing the images on CNN and most every other news show of tracer fire being shot by anti-aircraft batteries as US warplanes began fighting against Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces in what would be one of the most decisive air campaigns in history. What I don't recall quite as clearly was hearing about US Navy pilot Michael "Scott" Speicher whose plane was shot down in the early hours of the war. Since then no information on Speicher was to be found anywhere and nearly a decade after his disappearance in January 1991, Speicher's status was changed from killed in action to missing/captured. No evidence was formally presented but it something managed to convince the Department of Defense that Speicher was perhaps in the clutches of Iraqi forces even after so long.

Shortly after the Iraq War began, US forces uncovered evidence in a prison where it was thought that perhaps Speicher was held prisoner. Scratches in a prison wall, the letters "M" and "Sp" were found though no other evidence was found that would have indicated that Speicher had been held there. Still, for the family of Speicher it was at least hope that perhaps their loved one was still alive someplace even after so long. Those hopes came to a tragic end this past weekend when Marines were directed to a site out in the desert where plane wreckage and the buried remains of a pilot were found. Forensic analysis has given preliminary confirmation that the remains belong to Speicher.

I can't imagine what the family must have gone through upon being told that their loved one was now confirmed to have been killed in action. According to the local bedouins, the wreckage was found and Speicher's lifeless body was found as well. Realizing that he had been killed, the bedouins quickly buried the body and left the area. It wasn't until recent activity with US forces in the area that locals were willing to come forward and take the US troops to the site of the crash and where Speicher had been buried. In a sense however I'm sure to a certain degree the family does feel relief. After all, the unknown fate of a loved one can be a terrible thing.

For the families of this Gulf War casualty the mystery has ended but for thousands of others the mystery lingers on for even longer than the fate of Michael Speicher. Thousands of soldiers from the first and second World Wars as well as Korea and Vietnam still remain missing to this day and for their families the mystery lingers. Although efforts are being undertaken to try and locate these missing soldiers it is not a concerted effort and the results have been few and far between so far. The recovery of Speicher's remains does give some hope however. Perhaps the fact that even after nearly 20 years the mystery could be solved means that other similar stories could be put to rest.