The remains of Navy pilot Michael Scott Speicher, the only American missing in action from the first Gulf War, have been found and positively identified.

There had been speculation over the past 18 years that Speicher, whose F/A-18 Hornet was shot down by an Iraqi warplane on January 17, 1991, might have been taken into captivity after parachuting from his jet or crash landing.

An official statement released Sunday puts all rumors to rest.

Last month, Marines in western Iraq had received information from local citizens about the crash of an Amercian jet and the burial of the pilot.

“One of these Iraqi citizens stated that they were present when Captain Speicher was found dead at the crash site by Bedouins and his remains buried,” the statement said. “The Iraqi citizens led U.S. Marines to the site.”

Last week, a search of the area recovered remains that included bones and skeletal fragments.  Dental records confirmed the identity of Speicher, although further DNA tests will be conducted to compare the remains with samples provided by family members.

Speicher’s wife, Joanne Speicher, was 31 when her husband’s plane went down over Iraq.  The couple had two small children, Meghan, then 3, and Michael, a year old.  In the only public interview Joanne ever gave on the subject, she told Ladies Home Journal that she believed her husband died instantly that night.  Believing that made it possible for her to go on.

“I’m at peace,” she told the magazine in the June 1991 issue. “I feel like it’s over, and he is in a better place. I would have been angry if he died in a car crash. This was his life, and Scott wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

Over time, she fell in love with Scott’s closest friend, fellow Navy pilot Albert “Buddy” Harris.  Harris was devastated by Speicher’s death and began spending time with the Speicher children, playing the role of surrogate father.  Joanne became Joanne Speicher-Harris when she married Buddy on July 4, 1992, 18 months after Scott’s plane went down.

Together, the couple had two children, and all four siblings go by the last name Speicher-Harris.

“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, in a statement. “I am also extremely grateful to all those who have worked so tirelessly over the last 18 years to bring Captain Speicher home.”

See Speicher family photo below.

Scott and Joanne Speicher with children Meghan and Michael from a 1989 church directory

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