Defense Department forensic scientists have identified the remains of Maj. Larry J. Hanley, 26, of Walla Walla, Wash., an airman missing in action in Southeast Asia since 1969, announced Pentagon officials. DOD is returning Hanley’s remains to his family for burial with full military honors; that burial is scheduled to take place in Hanley’s hometown on July 13, states the Pentagon’s July 8 release. On Nov. 4, 1969, Hanley, an F-105D Thunderchief pilot, was attacking an enemy anti-aircraft position, when his aircraft crashed in Khammouan Province, Laos, according to the release. Since the exact location of the crash site remained unknown, Pentagon officials declared Hanley missing in action; in 1979, his status changed to killed in action. In February 2012, US officials received human remains found at a crash site in Khammouan Province. The forensic scientists used dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA matches to help identify Hanley.
Some lawmakers in the Senate are advocating for a more bipartisan approach to paying for the Pentagon’s $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense project, arguing that the effort’s goal of bolstering homeland defenses has support across ideological lines but the process for funding it has been politically charged—leaving the program’s…