WASHINGTON - The Navy has been unable to determine whether Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher, the fighter pilot shot down over Iraq in January 1991, is dead or alive, but it decided to keep his official status "missing/captured" and intensify investigative efforts.
Read the story at Yahoo!/AP
*Editor's Note*
I don't know what Capt. Speicher is still alive. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if his body is among the thousands in mass graves. However, I also have zero doubt that he survived that missile strike and subsequent ejection. Many former Iraqi prisoners claim to have seen many American POWs in Iraqi prisons in post Gulf War I Iraq. More than one has mentioned him by name without prompting. It is believed he was even held at the now notorious Abu Ghraib. With all that said, Americans in general, but his family in particular deserves to know his fate, whatever it may have been, or may yet be.
I read that same story earlier. I remember hearing about it for the first time some years back. I can't imagine being separated from my loved ones for 14 years! Hopefully, they will find him alive and he can finally return to his family. If he's dead, he deserves an honorable funeral just as every hero does.
Posted by: mrs. muddy at September 8, 2005 11:29 PMIronically, I've been following his story since around '96/'97.
Everything I've read leads me to believe that he at the very least survived for several years in Iraqi prisons. He may yet be alive being held in Syria or elsewhere (and possibly other Americans who were thought to be MIA at some point.) Though, in the back of my mind, I believe he was probably executed, died of disease, starvation or just being tortured to death.
His wife has remarried.
Posted by: skywalker at September 9, 2005 01:00 AMAlso, on that note, I'd like to say that the AP's (and other news agencies) reporting that no evidence to prove is he survived the crash is false. There has been a lot of evidence:
People in the area of the crash reported seeing a parachute on that night, one man even claimed to assist the pilot.
Prisoners claimed to have spoken to an American named Michael in various Iraqi prisons throughout the 90s. One of these later came to the US and tried to contact his family for him!
His initials have been found scrawled in cells in various Iraqi prisons. One had a date with it: 9-15-94.
Most evidence found since the fall of Baghdad in 2003 is classified, so the AP doesn't know if it exists or not!
The man survived for at least 3 years. In fact, it may very well be the only reason he is not int he US now, is that his named was not submitted to the Iraqi government for repatriation until 2001! In 1991, his presumption of death (which came without any evidence of death, but rather came from a slip of the tongue during a press conference) meant his name was not submitted for re-patriation. 10 years later, even if he had survived, I don't think that the Iraqi government was about to admit they'd been holding an American prisoner for 10 years.
Posted by: skywalker at September 9, 2005 01:31 AMActually, the first time I heard this story was when a lawyer working for the family was on 20/20 (or "Primetime" or "Dateline" or one of those shows). She was talking about the same thing. There were some things, though, that she couldn't talk about because it was highly classified. They had me convinced.
As far as the former Iraqi government admitting to it. Yeah....Unfortunatly, I think one would have a better chance at winning the lottery while being attacked by a shark wiht lightening striking you all at the same time.
Posted by: mrs. muddy at September 9, 2005 07:31 AM