NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The Department of Defense says the remains of an Air Force colonel from New Haven missing during the Vietnam War have been identified and will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
The Pentagon says Col. Francis J. McGouldrick Jr. was on a night strike mission on Dec. 13, 1968, when his aircraft collided with another in Laos. He was never seen again and was listed as missing in action and presumed dead. He was 39.
Between 1993 and 2004, efforts by the United States and Laos tried to locate the crash site.
A possible site was found in 2007 and teams excavated it three times and recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage consistent with McGouldrick's plane.
His remains were identified using DNA.
Burial is set for Friday.
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