Pentagon forensic scientists have identified the remains of Maj. Richard G. Elzinga, of Shedd, Ore., an Air Force pilot who went missing in action on March 26, 1970, along with his co-pilot, when his O-1G Bird Dog failed to return from a familiarization flight over Laos. They have returned his remains to his family; his burial, with full military honors, will take place Friday at Arlington National Cemetery. Search and rescue crews looked for Elzinga and his co-pilot in vain for two days after controllers lost radio contact with their aircraft. Between 1994 and 2009, DOD teams found Elzinga’s remains during on-site investigations and several field surveys with Laotian counterparts. (DOD release)
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.