COCOA BEACH, Fla. – The children of an U.S. Air Force captain are going to receive his dog tags 50 years after his helicopter crashed in Vietnam.
Florida Today reported that U.S. Rep. Bill Posey will present Richard Kibbey's identification tags to his relatives during a ceremony Monday at Patrick Air Force Base.
North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire hit Kibbey's helicopter in February 1967 and it slammed into a cliff near the Laos-North Vietnam border. Kibbey was listed as missing in action after the crash.
U.S. military recovery teams visited the crash area many times but no trace of Kibbey was found. But in September 2015 a farmer gave authorities Kibbey's dog tags as well as the remains of the helicopter pilot who was also killed.
Kibbey's children said they still hope to find his remains.