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Remains of Vietnam War pilot identified over a half century after his plane vanished
The remains of a Vietnam War pilot were identified a half century after his plane vanished, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Wednesday in a statement.
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ronald W. Forrester, 25, of Odessa, Texas, was piloting an A-6A Intruder along with his co-pilot during a nighttime combat mission in the winter of 1972 when the plane suddenly vanished over the northern part of Vietnam. Forrester, a civil engineer major at Texas A&M and president of the college’s Marine Corps ROTC, started active duty three months after graduation, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
DPAA
He ceased radio communication on Dec. 27, the statement said, and the plane never returned to base. Forrester had completed 46 missions before he sat down to write a letter home on Christmas Day, two days before his disappearance, his parents told the newspaper. He wrote his family that he “believed in what he was doing,” and his missions could help end the long war, but also said his morale was low as it became increasingly harder to continue. The next day he was scheduled for his 47th mission.
Search teams were sent looking for Forrester and the co-pilot, but they found no trace of the pilots or the plane. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified the co-pilot as Capt. Ralph Jim Chipman. His remains were identified and he was laid to rest in Utah on Nov. 11, 2023, the city of American Fork said in a news statement.
DPAA
About six years after the plane vanished, in September 1978, Forrester was declared killed in action.
Chipman left behind his wife, Susan, a four-year-old son, Scot, and an 18-month-old son, Matthew.
Forrester left behind a then 2-year-old daughter, Karoni, a twin brother, Donald, and a younger brother, Larry, in addition to his parents.
Decades of search and investigation yielded no clues — until recently, when investigators discovered remains and other evidence believed to be associated with the missing aviators.
DPAA
Scientists from DPAA used circumstantial evidence recovered from the crash site, as well as mitochondrial DNA evidence, to identify Forrester. A Department of Defense division, the DPAA uses DNA, dental records, sinus records and chest X-rays to identify the remains of service members killed in combat. He was identified on December 4, 2023, the DPAA said.
Since 1973 DPAA has accounted for 1,000 American service members from World War II, over 450 from the Korean War and more than 1,000 service members from Vietnam.
Forrester will be buried on Oct. 7, 2024, in Arlington National Cemetery.
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Federal prosecutors have secured criminal charges against multiple Iranian hackers for allegedly targeting members of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign as part of a malicious cyber scheme, multiple sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News.
The Iranian hackers were indicted by a grand jury on Thursday and the charges could be announced as early as Friday, the sources said. The nature of the allegations and the names of the defendants were unknown as charging documents remain under seal. The exact number of people charged was also not confirmed.
ABC News and Politico first reported on elements of the charges.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on CBS News’ reporting. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Once publicly announced, the charges will mark an escalation in the federal government’s work to combat Iran’s alleged efforts to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. Federal officials have warned Iran is seeking to undermine Trump’s campaign.
The FBI launched probes earlier this summer after both the Trump and then-Biden campaigns experienced attempted phishing schemes targeting people associated with the candidates, sources told CBS News in August.
Last week, federal officials with the FBI and other intelligence agencies released a statement confirming, “Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails. There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied.”
The statement went on to say that “Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations…Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November.”
Iran’s United Nations mission previously denied it had plans to interfere or launch cyberattacks in the U.S. presidential election, telling CBS News in a statement last week that “the Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States,” adding that “Iran neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the U.S. election; and, it therefore categorically repudiates such accusations.”
Trump’s campaign revealed last month that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors were involved in stealing and distributing sensitive internal documents to members of the press.
FBI agents worked with both Google and Microsoft — two major tech firms and providers of email services — to dig into the apparent spearphishing attacks targeting those close to both presidential campaigns, according to two people familiar with the probe. A report published by Microsoft earlier this summer revealed Iran is evolving its tactics to affect the upcoming election.
Trump and former members of his administration have been increased targets of Iranian actors following the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Some former officials received increased protection because of death threats, and in July, federal prosecutors filed charges against a Pakistani national with ties to Iran for allegedly planning to assassinate American politicians, including possibly Trump.
Iran is not the only foreign adversary that U.S. officials say is seeking to undermine the upcoming presidential election. Intelligence agencies have warned Russia and China have launched cyber campaigns of their own to sew chaos, with Russia allegedly seeking to damage Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “We are seeing more threat actors, more threat actors getting into the game” of election interference, exacerbated by advancements in artificial intelligence.
The goal, according to Monaco, is to “sow discord, sow distrust in our election system and undermine confidence in our democratic process.”
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