Remains of only American MIA from the Persian Gulf war found

The remains of the only American missing in action in the first Persian Gulf war have been found, the Navy announced Sunday.

Capt. Michael “Scott” Speicher, a native of Kansas City, was shot down while flying an F/A-18 Hornet over western Iraq in the opening hours of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991.

A tip from local Iraqi citizens in July led the Marines to Speicher’s remains.

“One of these Iraqi citizens stated that they were present when

Speicher was found dead at the crash site by Bedouins and his remains

buried,” says a statement issued by the Navy. “The Iraqi citizens led

U.S. Marines to the site who searched the area. Remains were recovered

over several days during the past week and flown to Dover Air Force

Base for scientific identification by the AFIP’s Office of the Armed

Forces Medical Examiner.”