Michael Scott Speicher | |
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Born | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | July 12, 1957
Died | unknown |
Buried | Jacksonville Memory Gardens, Orange Park, Florida, U.S. |
Allegiance | United States |
Service | United States Navy |
Rank | Captain (posthumous) |
Unit | VFA-81 Sunliners |
Battles / wars | Persian Gulf War |
Awards | Purple Heart |
Michael Scott Speicher (July 12, 1957 – unknown) was a naval aviator in the United States Navy who was shot down over Iraq during the Persian Gulf War becoming the first American combat casualty of the war. His fate was not known until 2 August 2009 when the U.S. Navy reported that Speicher's remains had been found in Iraq by the United States military. The official cause of death was "homicide by undetermined means" and DNA testing showed survival after his crash. He is also the most recent American to have been shot down in air-to-air combat.