Capt. Scott Speicher to Come Home
August 2nd, 2009 by CJ
I remember attending High School at Nathan Bedford Forrest High School in Jacksonville, FL during Desert Storm when the news that Captain Scott Speicher was shot down and missing in Iraq. We heard this because Speicher was a graduate of NB Forrest HS as well. If you go there today, there is a memorial in his honor in the front office foyer. I've written about Speicher a few times on this site as well as I've never forgotten him. Part of my job in Iraq was also to ask locals if they had any idea where he may be. We followed a lot of dead-end leads.
Well, Capt. Speicher is no longer missing.
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has positively identified remains recovered in Iraq as those of Captain Michael Scott Speicher. Captain Speicher was shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet over west-central Iraq on January 17th, 1991 during Operation Desert Storm.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Speicher's family for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country," said Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy. "I am also extremely grateful to all those who have worked so tirelessly over the last 18 years to bring Captain Speicher home."
“Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be,” said Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations. “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Captain Speicher and his family for the sacrifice they have made for our nation and the example of strength they have set for all of us.”
Acting on information provided by an Iraqi citizen in early July, US Marines stationed in Al Anbar Province went to a location in the desert which was believed to be the crash site of Captain Speicher’s jet. ...
To read the rest of what CJ has to say, go here.
Keeping the Captain and his family in my thoughts.