Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy.
/ FOX21: file photo
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLO. -- An Air Force Academy graduate from 1963 who had been missing since the Vietnam War was identified and returned home for proper burial over the weekend.
Capt. Thomas E. Clark was shot down in the war on Feb. 8, 1969 while flying an F-100D Super Sabre. He was 29 years old when he died and was stationed in South Vietnam.
The other three American pilots on his final mission did not see a parachute or any signs of Clark, and search and rescue teams were not able to immediately locate a crash site.
Clark was promoted to Major after being declared dead in 1973.
Crews recovered aircraft wreckage and military equipment in 1991 and 1992, and locals gave investigators two military ID tags that identified Clark. Crews discovered human remains shortly after the crash and found dental remains in 2009 that also helped identify him.
Clark's funeral parade was Friday in St. Mary's, Penn., and his funeral was Saturday in his hometown of Emporium, Penn.
More than 1,600 Americans remain unaccounted for from the war.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM