thedrifter
08-04-09, 08:32 AM
Fellow pilot remembers fallen Navy airman
Gulf War veteran had hoped comrade he called 'Spike' was alive after '91 crash
By LEE G. HEALY
lee.healy@shj.com
Published: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 12:50 a.m.
Retired Navy Comdr. Barry Hull remembers many details about the night his superior and comrade, Navy Capt. Scott Speicher, was shot down in Operation Desert Storm.
The details of what happened after Speicher's F/A-18 Hornet crashed 18 years ago remained a mystery. Did "Spike" survive the attack, or was he killed? Is he in prison? Did he die in the desert while waiting to be rescues?
Most of Hull's questions were finally answered Sunday, when the U.S. Navy announced that remains found by Marines in western Iraq were positively identified as Speicher's. Iraqi citizens were said to have led the Marines to the burial site. Speicher was identified through dental records, but a cause of death has not been determined.
"When my mother told me, it did overwhelm me for a few minutes," said Hull, who now owns Sunliner Shell Rapid Lube and Sunliner Automotive Plaza in Duncan. "Then it really hit me that that is truly the loss of hope. ... For me, personally, I'd rather cling to hope. I truly thought I would go to my grave never knowing what happened to Spike."
Hull met Speicher as a student pilot, when Speicher was his instructor. They later became squadron mates on the USS Saratoga.
On Jan. 17, 1991, they were among only five pilots flying in the night sky to launch the first wave of air strikes in the Persian Gulf War.
Coincidentally, Speicher was flying a plane with Hull's name on it when he was shot down by an Iraqi warplane. Hull explained that pilots' names were often put on airplanes as a motivational tool.
"I went to bed thinking he must have diverted" to another ship, Hull said. "You maintain hope. We are rational creatures, and we are emotional creatures. The rational side says there's no way he's still alive. The emotional side says 'I'm human. I'm going to have hope,' and you cling to that hope."
The crash site was discovered two years later, but there was no sign of Speicher. The discovery only fueled Hull's hope that his friend could still be alive, or at least could have been at the time of the crash.
Today, Hull's hope is that the American military never again leaves mysteries of lost service men and women unsolved.
"Every American death, of course, is a tragedy," Hull said. "A lot of these tragedies are fairly cut-and-dry, though. That was not the case with Spike. Spike's situation came maybe from a lack of proper decision- making. What if he had a good ejection? What if he hit the ground alive and he died because we made the wrong decision? That pulls at people's heartstrings."
Hull will remember Speicher as a great pilot and a great man.
"I never heard a bad word about Spike. He was a mediator. He was very spiritual. He was a family man," Hull said. "He is one of the finest people I've ever known."
Ellie
Gulf War veteran had hoped comrade he called 'Spike' was alive after '91 crash
By LEE G. HEALY
lee.healy@shj.com
Published: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 12:50 a.m.
Retired Navy Comdr. Barry Hull remembers many details about the night his superior and comrade, Navy Capt. Scott Speicher, was shot down in Operation Desert Storm.
The details of what happened after Speicher's F/A-18 Hornet crashed 18 years ago remained a mystery. Did "Spike" survive the attack, or was he killed? Is he in prison? Did he die in the desert while waiting to be rescues?
Most of Hull's questions were finally answered Sunday, when the U.S. Navy announced that remains found by Marines in western Iraq were positively identified as Speicher's. Iraqi citizens were said to have led the Marines to the burial site. Speicher was identified through dental records, but a cause of death has not been determined.
"When my mother told me, it did overwhelm me for a few minutes," said Hull, who now owns Sunliner Shell Rapid Lube and Sunliner Automotive Plaza in Duncan. "Then it really hit me that that is truly the loss of hope. ... For me, personally, I'd rather cling to hope. I truly thought I would go to my grave never knowing what happened to Spike."
Hull met Speicher as a student pilot, when Speicher was his instructor. They later became squadron mates on the USS Saratoga.
On Jan. 17, 1991, they were among only five pilots flying in the night sky to launch the first wave of air strikes in the Persian Gulf War.
Coincidentally, Speicher was flying a plane with Hull's name on it when he was shot down by an Iraqi warplane. Hull explained that pilots' names were often put on airplanes as a motivational tool.
"I went to bed thinking he must have diverted" to another ship, Hull said. "You maintain hope. We are rational creatures, and we are emotional creatures. The rational side says there's no way he's still alive. The emotional side says 'I'm human. I'm going to have hope,' and you cling to that hope."
The crash site was discovered two years later, but there was no sign of Speicher. The discovery only fueled Hull's hope that his friend could still be alive, or at least could have been at the time of the crash.
Today, Hull's hope is that the American military never again leaves mysteries of lost service men and women unsolved.
"Every American death, of course, is a tragedy," Hull said. "A lot of these tragedies are fairly cut-and-dry, though. That was not the case with Spike. Spike's situation came maybe from a lack of proper decision- making. What if he had a good ejection? What if he hit the ground alive and he died because we made the wrong decision? That pulls at people's heartstrings."
Hull will remember Speicher as a great pilot and a great man.
"I never heard a bad word about Spike. He was a mediator. He was very spiritual. He was a family man," Hull said. "He is one of the finest people I've ever known."
Ellie