Puzzle of what happened to missing pilot solved after 40 years
Evan Belanger
The Cullman Times
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
___________________
Cullman, Alabama (US):
When U.S. Air Force pilot Eugene David Hamilton's F-105 was shot down on a bombing mission over North Vietnam on Jan. 31, 1966, he left behind a mystery that lasted 40 years.Thanks to a team of volunteers, most of whom served in Vietnam, Hamilton's remains were unearthed from a previously unknown grave site last summer. Using dental records and DNA, the body was positively identified as being Hamilton.
Hamilton's plane was struck from the ground by anti-aircraft fire and is believed to have crash landed with him in it, most likely killing him instantly. It is believed his remains were buried by villagers in the area.For his widow, Carolyn Cranford, who has remarried and lives on Smith Lake in Cullman County, the news was bitter sweet.
She was officially notified in January after spending four decades wondering what really happened to her husband, even after the Department of Defense declared him legally dead in 1977.One of the children of Cranford and Hamilton, Aaron Hamilton, will soon travel to Hawaii to accompany his father's remains back to Arlington, Va., for burial.
Since his body was identified, Cranford has received boxes containing items recovered from the grave site in Vietnam, including shards of metal from his sunglasses, a charred piece of his flight suit name badge and a cigarette lighter Cranford believes Hamilton purchased in China. "I don't know why he had that. He didn't smoke," Cranford said.
Mar 26, 2006
Evan Belanger
The Cullman Times
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
___________________
Cullman, Alabama (US):
When U.S. Air Force pilot Eugene David Hamilton's F-105 was shot down on a bombing mission over North Vietnam on Jan. 31, 1966, he left behind a mystery that lasted 40 years.Thanks to a team of volunteers, most of whom served in Vietnam, Hamilton's remains were unearthed from a previously unknown grave site last summer. Using dental records and DNA, the body was positively identified as being Hamilton.
Hamilton's plane was struck from the ground by anti-aircraft fire and is believed to have crash landed with him in it, most likely killing him instantly. It is believed his remains were buried by villagers in the area.For his widow, Carolyn Cranford, who has remarried and lives on Smith Lake in Cullman County, the news was bitter sweet.
She was officially notified in January after spending four decades wondering what really happened to her husband, even after the Department of Defense declared him legally dead in 1977.One of the children of Cranford and Hamilton, Aaron Hamilton, will soon travel to Hawaii to accompany his father's remains back to Arlington, Va., for burial.
Since his body was identified, Cranford has received boxes containing items recovered from the grave site in Vietnam, including shards of metal from his sunglasses, a charred piece of his flight suit name badge and a cigarette lighter Cranford believes Hamilton purchased in China. "I don't know why he had that. He didn't smoke," Cranford said.
Mar 26, 2006
