Associated Press Newswires

Saturday, March 22, 2003





Family of missing Navy pilot lost in 1991 hope new war in Iraq may determine his fate

By RON WORD



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The family of a Navy pilot shot down over Iraq in 1991 hopes the latest war against Saddam Hussein's regime may help resolve lingering questions about what happened to the missing aviator.



U.S. troops will be looking for evidence of Lt. Cmdr. Scott Speicher's fate as they move throughout Iraq, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said before the latest conflict began.



Speicher and three other pilots flew off the USS Saratoga for a bombing run over Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991. Another FA-18 Hornet pilot saw a flash and lost sight of Speicher.



The next morning, the Defense Department announced that Speicher's plane had been downed by an Iraqi missile. The Pentagon has classified the pilot as "missing in action, captured"; Iraq officials said Speicher was killed in the crash.



"I know that we're going to be looking for him big time as we go into Iraq," Nelson said. "The flip side of that is if you're Saddam Hussein, and if you have Scott Speicher alive, you're probably going to use him for propaganda purposes or for some kind of shield. So, we just don't know."



Nelson, a Florida Democrat and a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, has urged the Pentagon to make finding Speicher a priority. He has worked with Sen. Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, on the Speicher issue.



Lt. Cmdr. Paula Storum, a Navy spokeswoman in Washington, said she could not discuss operational details, but said, resolving Speicher's fate "is always a priority for the Navy and its leadership."



An attorney for Speicher's relatives, Cindy A. Laquidara, said Wednesday that she could not discuss any possible rescue plans the

government may have to free the pilot. She said the family would not be available for comment, fearing it might complicate his case.



"Our goal is to bring Scott home after 12 years," she said.



Speicher's flight suit was found at the crash site and there have been persistent intelligence reports about a U.S. pilot held in Baghdad.



He is only case still unaccounted for from the war.



Speicher was declared killed in action several months after the crash. The Navy redesignated him missing in action last year on the basis of what officials said were intelligence reports from several sources.



Former high school classmates and former Navy pilots who flew with

Speicher have formed Friends Working to Free Scott Speicher. They have staged rallies and put up signs reading, "Free Scott Speicher" around north Florida on billboards and in store windows.