Missing Korean War Airman identified

  • Published
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Department of Defense officials announced Feb. 25 that the remains of an Air Force pilot, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will soon be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Capt. Troy Cope of Norfolk, Ark., will be buried in Plano, Texas, on May 31.

On Sept. 16, 1952, Captain Cope and his wingman, both flying F-86 Saber fighters from Kimpo Air Base, South Korea, encountered six North Korean MiG-15s. Captain Cope was flying a combat air patrol in an area known as “MiG Alley,” where the Yalu River separates North Korea from China. In the ensuing aerial dogfight, Captain Cope lost contact with his wingman and was never seen again.

In 1995, an American businessman saw a metal dogtag belonging to Captain Cope in the military museum in Dandong, China. He copied the data and reported it to U.S. authorities, yet inquiries to both the Chinese and North Korean governments yielded no further leads.

Then in 1999, during archival research by analysts of the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office, documents about Captain Cope’s shootdown were discovered in Russian archives in Podolsk. These documents included statements and drawings by the Russian pilots who were flying the MiG-15s for the North Koreans. Also included were detailed reports on the ground search carried out by Russian and Chinese officials in Dandong where the crash site was located.

After discussions between American and Chinese officials in 2003, a team of specialists from the Joint POW and MIA Accounting Command excavated the site in May and found aircraft debris and human remains. Dandong citizens and officials assisted the team throughout the excavation.

“Without the assistance of the people of Dandong, this would not have been possible. The family of (Captain) Cope and the American people express (their) appreciation to all those who helped us bring (Captain) Cope home again,” said Jerry Jennings, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/missing personnel affairs.

Of the 88,000 Americans missing from all conflicts, 8,100 are MIA from the Korean War.