Current:Home > FinanceU.S. pilot accounted for 57 years after vanishing during Vietnam War spy mission-LoTradeCoin
U.S. pilot accounted for 57 years after vanishing during Vietnam War spy mission
View Date:2024-12-23 18:46:39
An American pilot who disappeared during a Vietnam War-era spy mission has been accounted for almost 60 years later, officials said Monday.
John C.G. Kerr, originally from Florida, was 35 when he was reported missing in 1967. Kerr had been piloting an attack aircraft on a "solo nighttime armed reconnaissance mission" over Laos on August 22, 1967, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. He did not return from the mission, and failed to check in via radio, spurring U.S. forces to undertake an "extensive electronic and visual search" of the area where he had flown.
Neither Kerr nor the aircraft was found, but a broadcast that same day from the New China News Agency said that an American aircraft had been shot down, the DPAA said.
On June 4, Kerr was declared killed in action.
The DPAA did not provide any information about how Kerr had been accounted for, but the agency typically uses DNA testing and other scientific advancements to study the recoverable remains of fallen soldiers. Since 2021, the DPAA has been carrying out the Vietnam War Identification Project, which is a concerted effort to identify missing soldiers associated with the war.
Though there are 1,500 missing personnel still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, only about 1,000 of those missing persons are deemed "recoverable." Those recoverable persons are the focus of the identification project.
The project currently has "170 active accessions... believed to contain possible human remains." Those items are "very small fragments of bone" that are very degraded, the DPAA said, but new technological advances have made it easier to study them with DNA and isotope testing to attempt to identify who they came from. The accessions are compared against family DNA samples that are kept on file as reference sources, the DPAA said.
- In:
- Vietnam
- United States Military
- U.S. Army
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
TwitterveryGood! (1)
Related
- Patricia Heaton criticizes media, 'extremists' she says 'fear-mongered' in 2024 election
- The FDA is sounding the alarm about contaminated eye drops. Here's what consumers should know.
- Clerk denies tampering or influencing jury that found Alex Murdaugh guilty of murder
- Virginia’s governor declares a state of emergency as firefighters battle wildfires
- Jason Kelce Offers Up NSFW Explanation for Why Men Have Beards
- Georgia’s lieutenant governor wants to cut government regulations on businesses
- 2 demonstrators die in Panama during latest protests over Canadian company’s mining contract
- Ivanka Trump set to testify in civil fraud trial, following her father’s heated turn on the stand
- Father, 5 children hurt in propane tank explosion while getting toys: 'Devastating accident'
- Do you have a $2 bill lying around? It could be worth nearly $5,000 depending on these factors
Ranking
- Minnesota county to pay $3.4M to end lawsuit over detainee’s death
- Cyprus has a plan for a humanitarian sea corridor to Gaza and will present it to EU leaders
- What does 'TMI' mean? Don't divulge private info with this slang term.
- Dillon Brooks pokes the bear again, says he's 'ready to lock up' LeBron James in rematch
- The Best Gifts for People Who Don’t Want Anything
- Watch: Deer jumps over cars, smashes into truck for sale just as potential buyer arrives
- As price of olive oil soars, chainsaw-wielding thieves target Mediterranean’s century-old trees
- Mom of accused Cornell student offers insights into son's mental state, hidden apology
Recommendation
-
Women’s baseball players could soon have a league of their own again
-
Over 30,000 ancient coins found underwater off Italy in exceptional condition — possibly from a 4th-century shipwreck
-
Ivanka Trump set to testify in civil fraud trial, following her father’s heated turn on the stand
-
Biden administration guidance on abortion to save mother’s life argued at appeals court
-
5-year-old boy who went missing while parent was napping is found dead near Oregon home, officials say
-
Georgia’s state taxes at fuel pumps suspended until Nov. 29, when lawmakers start special session
-
Upping revenue likely the least disruptive way to address future deficits, state budget expert says
-
Chrishell Stause Shares If She’d Release a Song With Partner G Flip