Friends hold D.C. vigil for downed pilot

Friends hold D.C. vigil for downed pilot

(EXCERPT) , By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes European edition,
Monday, January 19, 2004

WASHINGTON — Hope mixed with fear make up the fleeting thoughts of a
lost friend that hit Jim Stafford at the oddest of times — during
church, over a pancake breakfast, while showering.

Where is his friend, Scott Speicher? Is he eating well, able to
shower, in good health?

But never do Stafford’s thoughts drift to “is he alive?” the
46-year-old Floridian said Saturday at a candlelight vigil held on the
western lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Saturday was the 13th anniversary of
the Navy pilot’s disappearance over Iraq. Speicher was 33 when his
F/A-18 Hornet was downed by an Iraqi missile over southwestern Baghdad
on the very first night of Operation Desert Storm.

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---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com