Long-lost pilot’s remains return home
JACKSONVILLE (AP) – The remains of Navy pilot Michael Scott Speicher returned to his Florida home on Thursday, 18 years after his FA-18 Hornet was shot down on the first night of the 1991 Gulf War.
Speicher’s remains arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station around 3 p.m It was to remain at the All Saints Chapel on the base overnight.
Speicher’s widow and his children placed roses on his flag-draped casket before it was loaded into a hearse. Sailors stood at attention and lined the runway as the hearse passed.
Buddy Harris, who was Speicher’s best friend and who later married his widow, Joanne, accompanied the casket on the flight from Dover, Del., to Florida.
“This is the ultimate definition of bittersweet. We got Scott home and that was the ultimate goal,” Harris said outside the base chapel as mourners slowly passed by the casket.
Two sailors, dressed in white, stood at each end of the casket, which was adorned with several roses and a baseball cap from the USS Saratoga. Speicher made his last flight from the Saratoga when his plane became the first to be shot down in the Gulf War.
“As sad as we are at the loss of Capt. Speicher, I think we should all be humbled with the service and sacrifice he and his family have shown our nation,” said Rear Adm. Tim Alexander, commander for Navy Region Southeast, at the airfield.
Linda Kupfer, who said she was a guidance counselor to Speicher’s children at a public school, was outside the chapel.
“I am glad this honor has been given to him. It’s about time,” she said.
A motorcade will wind through Jacksonville Friday, traveling slowly by significant places in Speicher’s life.
The hearse will go first to the Memorial Wall outside Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, where the names of Jacksonville’s war dead are engraved on a black marble memorial.
It will also drive past Lake Shore United Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday school, followed by Forrest High School, and Cecil Field, where his squadron was stationed.
His final resting place will be Jacksonville Memory Gardens, where his family will have a private ceremony.