Remains in Laos Identified as Air Force Captain from New Jersey
TRENTON, NJ(AP) -- Defense Department officials have identified the remains of an Air Force captain from Lambertville who was missing in action in the Vietnam War.
Captain Stephen Rusch was a weapons system officer on a fighter jet that was apparently shot down over Laos in 1972.
Authorities searched the crash site in 1995. The Pentagon received a copy of Rusch's ID tag in 2001.
Human remains and U.S. coins were excavated in 2002 and 2003.
The Pentagon says scientists used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
Rusch, who was 29 when his plane disappeared, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday.
