# Downed Vietnam era pilot returned home

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 10, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438 "2019-08-10T02:08:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438/1 "2019-08-10T02:08:11Z")

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Story here: [Vietnam War pilot's remains flown home to Texas by his son, a Southwest pilot](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1040561)

Excerpt:  
“The remains of a U.S. Air Force pilot who died while serving in the Vietnam War were personally flown home by the man’s son⁠ — 52 years after the two saw each other for the last time.

Col. Roy A. Knight Jr. was shot down May 19, 1967, as he led an airstrike in northern Laos. He was declared dead in September 1974 after search and rescue efforts had failed.”

Touching story.

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**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438/2 "2019-08-12T00:27:56Z")

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Such a moving story.

Jackson Proskow also has a good account of it [here.](https://twitter.com/JProskowGlobal/status/1159500767805485056)  
(Twitter thread link, and also a link to a YouTube video.)

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**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438/3 "2019-08-12T03:56:11Z")

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Is that a SkyRaider he’s standing in front of? Aviation buff, chime in.

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**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438/4 "2019-08-12T11:28:23Z")

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I do not understand the importance some attach to finding and returning the dead to their families. I understand it is important to other people, but I just do not get it.

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**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downed-vietnam-era-pilot-returned-home/838438/5 "2019-08-12T13:34:34Z")

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> [@Gatopescado](#):
>
> Is that a SkyRaider he’s standing in front of? Aviation buff, chime in.

Yes it is