POW/MIA: “Prometheus” Unbound, The Last One Comes Home

"Prometheus" an AC-130A tail number 55-0044

In May 2008, I wrote of the final identification and return of the remains of two of the Prometheus’ crew, Maj Barclay B. Young and Sr. Master Sgt James K. Caniford, two of a crew of 14 lost one dark March night, 38 years ago. At the time, all but one MIA had been identified, that being (then) Capt Curtis Daniel Miller.
Today, closure has come for the crew of the Prometheus (c/s “Spectre 13″):

Air Force Pilot MIA From Vietnam War is Identified

The Department of Defense announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Maj. Curtis Daniel Miller of Palacios, Texas, will be buried on March 29 in the Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery. Miller was part of a 14-man aircrew, all of which are now accounted-for. Remains that could not be individually identified are included in a group that will be buried together in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.  On March 29, 1972, 14 men were aboard an AC-130A Spectre gunship that took off from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, on an armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos. The aircraft was struck by an enemy surface-to-air missile and crashed. Search and rescue efforts were stopped after a few days due to heavy enemy activity in the area.
In 1986, joint U.S.- Lao People’s Democratic Republic teams, lead by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), surveyed and excavated the crash site in Savannakhet Province, Laos. The team recovered human remains and other evidence including two identification tags, life support items and aircraft wreckage. From 1986 to 1988, the remains were identified as those of nine men from this crew.

Welcome home — and may all of you now rest in peace…