Remains of Air Force pilot from Valley identified after 38 years

The Trumbull County man was active in area politics before heading off to war.

STAFF/WIRE REPORT

WARREN — The remains of a missing Mahoning Valley Air Force pilot have been identified 38 years after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Wednesday that dental records have identified the remains of Capt. James Cross of Warren.

Cross’ family, who still lives here, was unable to be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Cross and another man, Capt. Gomer Reese III of Scarsdale, N.Y., were flying an orientation flight over Laos on April 24, 1970, when their plane was struck by enemy fire and crashed.

According to Vindicator files, Cross was active in area politics as chairman of the Ohio Young Americans for Freedom and president of both the Trumbull County Teenage Republicans and the Trumbull Young Americans for Freedom.

After entering the Air Force in 1967, he was deployed to Vietnam in June 1968 and again in August 1969. During the War, Cross was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star.

The government announced Cross’ death in late May 1970 when his Air Force U-17 aircraft was discovered crashed and burned in Laos.

Investigators in the mid-1990s interviewed Laotian citizens who claimed they witnessed the crash. Remains and items linked to the crash turned up over the years, but the pilots were not identified until spring of this year.

The men’s remains will be returned to their respective families for burial.