The remains of Vietnam was pilot who went missing while flying over the Northern Vietnam jungles in 1972 have finally been found and identified, after more than fifty (50) years, officials revealed.
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| Remains of Vietnam War pilot, Ronald W. Forrester, who went missing in the jungles of Northern Vietnam in 1972 found and identified. Photo: DPAA via abcnews.go.com |
According to abcnews.go.com:
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ronald W. Forrester, a 25-year-old from Odessa, Texas, was assigned to Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 533, Marine Attack Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing in the winter of 1972 while piloting an A-6A Intruder along with his co-pilot during a nighttime combat mission over the northern part of Vietnam when he suddenly stopped all contact and went missing, according to a statement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency released on Tuesday.
Officials said: “after entering the target area, Forrester’s aircraft ceased radio communications and never returned to base.
“Search and rescue teams could not locate any trace of the aircraft or the crew in the Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province. In September 1978, the Marine Corps changed Capt. Forrester’s initial Missing In Action status to Killed in Action.”
Following decades of investigation into the incident all to no avail, investigators found remains and material evidence last year which they believed to be associated with both missing aviators.
Scientists from the DPAA used “circumstantial evidence” recovered from the crash site as well as mitochondrial DNA evidence they were able to recover as well, in order to identify the remains of Forrester, officials said.
Forrester will finally be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on October 7, DPAA said.
