A U.S. pilot who disappeared while on a spy mission during the Vietnam War has finally been found, military officials said Tuesday.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Donald W. Downing was assigned to the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th Air Force, in September 1967, the U.S. Department of Defense POW/POW Accounting Agency said in a release Said in the manuscript. On September 5, 1967, 33-year-old Downing flew one of two aircraft on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over the then Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
As the two planes flew toward their target, the first plane saw "a large, bright fireball in the sky," according to the agency. Downing did not respond to a radio call from his F-4C Phantom II. Although search and rescue efforts began during the day, electronic and visual searches of the area turned up nothing.
More than a decade later, on April 28, 1978, Downing was reportedly killed in action. He was later posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the DPAA said. His name, along with the names of other unaccounted for Vietnam War soldiers, is inscribed on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the American War Memorials Commission Missing Persons Court at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
The DPAA says the incident has been investigated for decades with little success. Finally, in the spring of 2024, a rescue team discovered life support equipment, possible physical evidence, aircraft debris, unexploded ordnance, and possible bony material (bones) at a site in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.
DPAA uses the intersection of "history, diplomacy and science" to make identifications, said Ashley Wright, the agency's public affairs specialist. told CBS News in 2024. Researchers and experts search archival records to learn about the last time the fallen soldier was seen, and investigative teams speak to surviving witnesses and examine the area for clues. Wright said rescue teams would then be dispatched to the area, just like the ones that found evidence at the Downings crash site in 2024.
Then, once everything is back in the lab, multiple scientists combine their expertise to help with identification. A forensic odontologist is a type of dentist who can match evidence to dental records. Wright said tests that reveal the deceased's diet could be used to determine which country the soldiers came from - Americans were more likely to eat a corn-based diet. Family members are asked to provide a DNA reference sample, which helps show a genetic match.
Evidence from Downings' crash was brought to the DPAA laboratory in June 2024. The DPAA said its scientists used anthropological analysis, multiple forms of DNA analysis and material and circumstantial evidence to determine the remains were those of Downings.
The DPAA said his family had received a full briefing on his status but did not specify which members were included. Downing is survived by his wife and four children, as well as his parents and four siblings, according to news clippings released after his disappearance. News clippings said Downing was reported missing in action just days before the couple's seventh wedding anniversary.
The Missing Persons Court will place a rosette next to his name to indicate he has been found. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.