COCOA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The children of an U.S. Air Force Captain are going to receive his dog tags 50 years after his helicopter crashed in Vietnam.
Florida Today reported U.S. Rep. Bill Posey on Monday will present Richard Kibbey’s identification tags to his relatives during a ceremony at Patrick Air Force Base.
North Vietnamese anti-craft hit Kibbey’s helicopter in February 1967 and it slammed into a cliff near the Laos-North Vietnam border. Kibbey was listed as missing in action after the crash.
U.S. military recovery teams visited the crash area many times but no trace of Kibbey was found. But in September 2015 a farmer gave authorities Kibbey’s dog tags as well as the remains of the helicopter pilot who was also killed.
Kibbey’s children said they still hope to find his remains.
