MADISON, Wis. — Federal officials have identified the remains of a U.S. Air Force pilot from Wisconsin who went missing during the Vietnam War nearly 60 years ago.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Tuesday that its scientists in December positively identified the remains of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Donald W. Downing of Columbus.
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Downing was piloting an F-4C Phantom II aircraft during an armed night reconnaissance mission over the then-Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1967 when his plane disappeared. Another plane in the formation reported a midair fireball and Downing’s plane didn’t respond to any further radio calls, according to the accounting agency.
Search-and-rescue efforts yielded nothing and Downing was reported as killed in action in April 1978. He was a captain when he disappeared but was posthumously promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Decades of investigation yielded nothing until a recovery team in May and June 2024 discovered life support equipment, aircraft wreckage and bone tissue at a site in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.
The accounting agency’s scientists used DNA testing and other evidence to identify Downing. His funeral will be held in Arlington National Cemetery on an as-yet-undetermined date.
