By Barbara Simpson Posted: August 17, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 Did anyone in the Washington ruling party, from the president on down, notice that the remains of Navy pilot Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher were found, positively identified and buried with military honors in Jacksonville last week? If not, why not? He's not "just" another name in the pantheon of U.S. military war dead. Capt. Speicher was the first casualty of the first Gulf War. Speicher was a lieutenant when he was shot down in 1991 on the first night of the Gulf War. He was 33. It took 18 years of investigation, searches and a variety of tips, including those indicating he'd been taken prisoner and was alive. The plane wreckage was found; his body wasn't. Over those years, his "status" was changed several times: missing in action, killed, prisoner. The military had no answers but to be safe, Speicher received regular promotions. His current rank is captain. For whatever reason, an Iraqi working with Marines recently said he knew some locals who remembered a plane crash and knew the pilot had been killed. Nomads buried the body. Following the tip, the remains were found several days later and identified. For the first time, Speicher's family, including his wife and children, had evidence about what happened to Scott. They finally were able to honor his courage, his life and his memory and lay him to rest with the military honors he deserves. He was finally home; not the way they wanted, but home – after 18 years, six months and 11 days, not that they were counting. It's too bad that the man who is president was too busy traveling across country, making speeches, defending his medical plan to take a few minutes to honor Capt. Speicher. Yes, Barack Obama, it's just too bad. [READ COMPLETE STORY]
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