JOINT POW/MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND (JPAC)
Public Affairs (808) 448-1937
public_affairs@jpac.pacom.mil
RELEASE NO. #06-13
Apr. 18, 2006
JPAC EXPERTS SEARCH FOR MISSING VIETNAM WAR PILOT IN LAOS
HICKAM AFB, HAWAII – A recovery team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command returned from Laos to Hawaii on April 9th with new evidence after excavating an area that may resolve questions to the mystery of a pilot who disappeared more than 30 years ago during the Vietnam War.
After a flight in the Khammouan province, an aircraft crewman disappeared in December 1969. The pilot was on a strike mission when his aircraft was hit with ground fire. According to records, two crewmembers ejected the F-4C Phantom II and parachuted into the hub of enemy operations.
A navigator from the crew was rescued after an extensive search-and-recovery operation, but the pilot from the crash remained missing.
During the mission, U.S. and Lao personnel discovered life support equipment that may help with the eventual identification of the missing pilot. Recovered evidence will now undergo forensic analysis in the JPAC laboratory in Hawaii . Life-support includes equipment associated with a pilot that may indicate his presence within a crashed aircraft, which may include items such as parachute or helmet pieces.
This mission is the 93 rd Joint Field Activity in Laos.
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"Until they are home"
