Pentagon identifies remains of two Vietnam-era pilots

March 14, 2000
Web posted at: 6:27 p.m. EST (2327 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon has identified the remains of two pilots who were reported missing in action during the Vietnam war. The remains "are being returned to their families for burial in the United States," a Pentagon statement said.

The pilots are identified as Navy Cmdr. James W. Hall of Los Angeles and Marine Maj. Charles E. Finney of Saltillo, Mississippi.

The Pentagon says Hall was flying an A-7C Corsair on October 28, 1972, on a surface-to-air missile suppression mission when his aircraft came under fire.

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"Over the target area in Nghe An Province, North Vietnam, Hall was heard to radio to his wingman, 'Two SAMS (surface-to-air missiles) lifting at 12 o'clock.' No other radio messages were heard. The first missile missed the wingman's aircraft but the second struck Hall's aircraft."

Advances in DNA testing allowed the Pentagon to identify the remains, which were repatriated to the United States in 1989. Identification also was aided by a 1993-94 joint U.S.-Vietnamese excavation that found "several pilot-related items."

Shot down over Laos

Finney was flying an A-6A over Laos on March 17, 1969, when other aviators in the area observed an explosion that was believed to be Finney's aircraft, the Pentagon said.

His remains were located in 1995 and 1999 during a joint U.S.-Laotian excavation of the crash site in the Savannakhet province. The team recovered "numerous pieces of aircraft wreckage, personal effects and possible human remains."

Senior Producer Marty Kramer contributed to this report.

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