The Defense Department has identified remains found in a search conducted in 2000 and 2005 of a crash site in Vietnam as those of Col. Eugene D. Hamilton of Opelika, Ala. Hamilton was flying an F-105D on an armed reconnaissance mission under Operation Rolling Thunder when enemy fire struck his fighter. Airborne searches of the area at the time found no trace of the fighter or the pilot, but Hanoi radio broadcast that it had shot down an F-105.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
