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2009-08-02 Iraq

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Posted by Plastic Snoopy 2009-08-02 10:18|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 Rest in peace, sir, and thank you for your service.

Posted by Cornsilk Blondie 2009-08-02 11:21|| 2009-08-02 11:21|| Front Page Top

#2 Rest easy.

Good to see the last of my brothers in arms from ODT/ODS is home.

Posted by OldSpook 2009-08-02 12:37|| 2009-08-02 12:37|| Front Page Top

#3 ...On the one hand, I am gratified beyond words that Captain Speicher is coming home. On the other hand, I have some serious questions for the US military investigators who kept finding traces of him someplace he never was. I do not doubt their motivation for a second - but I am concerned they were under pressure to come up with something so that the Government in general and the DOD in particular could not be accused of leaving anyone behind this time.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2009-08-02 13:23|| 2009-08-02 13:23|| Front Page Top

#4 Mike,

I think that what was probably in play was the Iraqis instantly sensed how important CAPT Speicher was to us and fed information to gullible investigators to curry favor, monetary advantage, etc.

I worked on projects with the Iraqi Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs, and I was usually called in on cases where a team had gotten bamboozled by some ingratiating minor bureaucrat who had blown his importance completely out of proportion and had gotten some minor project of his hooked up with some major league funding.

Nevertheless, I'm glad CAPT Speicher has been returned home where he belongs.

Posted by Dreadnought 2009-08-02 18:52|| 2009-08-02 18:52|| Front Page Top

#5 Sorry about the duplicate item.

Mike, when I said "who knows?" -- the though had occurred to me that this would be the logical place to dispose of him if the Iraqi government had in fact held him in captivity for a time. Or perhaps the Bedu just decided to keep him. I certainly hope that's not the case, but I'm not sure we'll ever hear about it if it was. I do remember from that series of articles in the Virginia Pilot that someone had actually searched the wreckage area after the war. Did they miss the grave? Or was he only buried later?

All we really know is that the Iraqi government handed over a box that they said contained Speicher's remains in 1991. Subsequent DNA testing proved that it wasn't him, and, added on to the other circumstances, he was reclassified as "missing" and later "missing-captured."

Now we finally have him and I'm greatful.

Posted by Plastic Snoopy 2009-08-02 18:55|| 2009-08-02 18:55|| Front Page Top

#6 Dreadnaught,

Thank you for the background info - that was stuff I was unaware of. I hate the idea though that he or his remains may have been used as a bargaining chip.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2009-08-02 20:25|| 2009-08-02 20:25|| Front Page Top

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