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)
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.