COMING HOME:

Remains of pilot missing 18 years in Iraq found: Capt. Michael Scott Speicher's jet was shot down over the desert on the first night of the 1991 war. The inability to find his body led to nearly two decades of speculation. (Tony Perry, 8/02/09, Los Angeles Times)

The military has identified the remains of a Navy pilot shot down on the opening night of the Persian Gulf War, officials announced early today.

The F/A-18 Hornet flown by Capt. Michael Scott Speicher was shot down on Jan. 17, 1991 while on a combat mission over western Iraq. He was considered the first U.S. casualty of the war.

The inability to find his body led to nearly two decades of controversy and uncertainty about how to classify his disappearance or whether Speicher survived the crash and was being held as a prisoner. Now, the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware has identified remains found in Al Anbar Province as those of Speicher.

"The teeth are a match, both visually and radiographically," the military said in a formal statement.

Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of Naval operations, has notified Speicher's family. "The Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be," Roughead said.