J-10
02-25-2005, 08:19 PM
US fighter pilot downed in China during Korean War goes home for burial
Fri Feb 25,11:50 AM ET Politics - AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Remains recovered in China have been identified as a US fighter pilot who was shot down during the Korean War in a dog-fight near the Yalu River with North Korean MiGs manned by Russian pilots, the Pentagon said.
The American pilot was identified as Air Force Captain Troy "Gordie" Cope of Norfolk, Arkansas, whose remains will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors, it said in a statement.
Cope and his wingman were flying F-86 Saber fighters when they encountered six MiG-15s on September 16, 1952 during a combat patrol in an area known as "MiG alley" near the Yalu River, which separates North Korea and China.
"In the ensuing aerial dogfight, Cope lost contact with his wingman and was never seen again," the Pentagon said.
The first clue to Cope's fate came in 1995 when an American businessman noticed a metal dogtag belonging to Cope on display in a military museum in Dandong, China.
Inquiries with Chinese and North Korean governments yielded nothing, but in 1999 US defense analysts discovered documents in a Russian archive in Podolsk that described the shootdown and the ensuing ground search near Dandong.
They included statements and drawings by the Russian pilots of the MiG-15s as well as detailed reports on the ground search.
The site was excavated in May 2004 with the help of Chinese officials. Aircraft debris and human remains were found in October.
Some 8,100 US servicemembers are still missing from the 1950-54 Korean War.
From (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050225/pl_afp/uskoreachinamias_050225165053)
Fri Feb 25,11:50 AM ET Politics - AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Remains recovered in China have been identified as a US fighter pilot who was shot down during the Korean War in a dog-fight near the Yalu River with North Korean MiGs manned by Russian pilots, the Pentagon said.
The American pilot was identified as Air Force Captain Troy "Gordie" Cope of Norfolk, Arkansas, whose remains will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors, it said in a statement.
Cope and his wingman were flying F-86 Saber fighters when they encountered six MiG-15s on September 16, 1952 during a combat patrol in an area known as "MiG alley" near the Yalu River, which separates North Korea and China.
"In the ensuing aerial dogfight, Cope lost contact with his wingman and was never seen again," the Pentagon said.
The first clue to Cope's fate came in 1995 when an American businessman noticed a metal dogtag belonging to Cope on display in a military museum in Dandong, China.
Inquiries with Chinese and North Korean governments yielded nothing, but in 1999 US defense analysts discovered documents in a Russian archive in Podolsk that described the shootdown and the ensuing ground search near Dandong.
They included statements and drawings by the Russian pilots of the MiG-15s as well as detailed reports on the ground search.
The site was excavated in May 2004 with the help of Chinese officials. Aircraft debris and human remains were found in October.
Some 8,100 US servicemembers are still missing from the 1950-54 Korean War.
From (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050225/pl_afp/uskoreachinamias_050225165053)