Spanish/American/Native

Vietnam War MIA pilot identified

08/03/01 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The remains of Maj. Victor J. Apodaca, Jr. of
Englewood, Colo., an Air Force pilot missing in action from the Vietnam War
have been identified and are being returned to his family.
 

"Achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing in action is
of the highest national priority," said Alan Liotta, acting deputy assistant
secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs. "The support we
received from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam enabled us to identify this
serviceman, and we look forward to continued cooperation."
On June 8, 1967, Apodaca and Capt. Jon T. Busch were flying an armed
reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh province in North Vietnam when their
F-4C Phantom was struck by enemy fire. Other U.S. aircrews in the area
reported receiving a radio transmission from Apodaca saying that he had lost
use of the hydraulic system on his aircraft. Soon after, a weak emergency
beeper signal was heard, but no aircrew saw where Apodaca's plane had
crashed. A visual and electronic search of the area continued into the next
day without results.
Scientists at the U.S. Army Central Identification Lab in Hawaii completed a
forensic analysis of remains that had been turned over by the Vietnamese and
confirmed Apodaca's identification through the use of mitochondrial DNA
testing.
Apodaca's remains will returned to his family for burial with full military
honors.

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