The remains of Capt. William Mauldin of Pickens, S.C., an Air Force pilot missing since the crash of his RF-51 Mustang in February 1952 during the Korean War, have been identified, the Department of Defense announced July 3. They will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors July 18 in Easley, S.C. Mauldin departed Kimpo AB, South Korea, on Feb. 21, 1952, on an aerial reconnaissance mission in North Korea, but was shot down during the mission and crashed near Sinan-ri. His remains were identified from among the 208 boxes of human remains turned over by North Korea between 1991 and 1994.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.