Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of Lt. Col. Robert E. Pietsch, 31, of Pittsburgh, and Maj. Louis F. Guillermin, 25, of West Chester, Pa., two airmen missing in action since the Vietnam War, announced the Pentagon. DOD officials are returning Pietsch’s and Guillermin’s remains to their families for burial with full military honors. Guillermin’s individual remains will be buried on Saturday in Broomall, Pa., according to DOD’s Sept. 30 release. The remains corresponding to both airmen, but not individually identified, will be interred on Oct. 16 in a single casket at Arlington National Cemetery. Guillermin and Pietsch went missing on April 30, 1968, during an armed reconnaissance mission when their A-26A Invader crashed in Savannakhet province, Laos. Between 1994 and 2006, joint US-Lao teams visited the crash site, recovering human remains, personal effects, and crew-related equipment that led to the identification of these airmen.
The advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter remains on track to fly in the next two years, the senior Air Force acquisition officer overseeing the program said Feb. 25, as the service continues on its ambitious schedule to debut the air superiority-focused fighter by 2028—only three years after the contract was awarded…
