The remains of Capt. James E. Cross, of Warren, Ohio, and Capt. Gomer D. Reese III, of Scarsdale, N.Y., have been identified, the Pentagon announced Sept. 25.Cross and Reese were flying a U-17B light aircraft on an orientation flight on April 24, 1970, over Xiangkhoang Province, Laos, when their aircraft was struck by enemy ground fire, crashed, and burned, with no signs of survivors. Based on surveys and excavations of the crash site between 1994 and 1998, in 2004, and in 2007, US and Laotian officials recovered human remains and crew-related items that led to the identification of both airmen, DOD said.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.
