Bringing home Scott Speicher
How Marines in Anbar province helped solve the mystery of what happened to a Navy pilot lost in the Gulf War
One of the enduring questions of the Gulf War has been answered, said JoAnne Thomas in Right Pundits. The remains of Navy pilot Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher—the first casualty of Operation Desert Storm in 1991—have been identified through dental records. Speicher was classified as killed in action when his fighter jet was shot down in the opening hours of the war, but later he was classified as missing-in-action, then missing-captured.
It must be a relief to Capt. Speicher's family to finally know what happened to him, said Merv Benson in Prairie Pundit. Locals led Marines to the spot where Speicher's plane was shot down in Anbar province, and said that Bedouins had found the pilot's body at the crash site and buried it. "I hope he gets a hero's burial in this country now."
"I am so glad that the remains have been identified, and the mystery solved," said Michael A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection. Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher wasn't captured and tortured—it appears that he died on impact. That should be comforting not just to the family, but to all Americans, because the Speicher case had taken on "a special meaning in our consciousness."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published