The Pentagon has identified the remains of 1st Lt. James L. Hull, a Lubbock, Tex., native who was killed on Feb. 19, 1971. The O-2A Skymaster Hull and another airman were flying crashed near Vietnam’s border with Laos. US forces recovered the other crewman’s body but couldn’t retrieve Hull’s, which was buried in the wreckage, because of enemy action. Investigations between 1993 and 1997 ultimately led to a crash site just inside Laos. In May 2006, a team got permission to excavate and recovered human and other remains.
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
