Body of Vietnam War pilot returns home

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —

After 54 years, the remains of U.S. Air Force pilot Col. Ernest Leo De Soto, who went missing during the Vietnam War, have finally come home.

De Soto’s remains arrived at the San Francisco International Airport June 29 from Pearl Harbor, where his family was escorted by military personnel to the tarmac in a solemn procession. A memorial service was held June 30 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame, California, followed by full military honors at the Golden Gate National Cemetery.

When asked about how it feels for Ernest to finally be home, his wife Joyce said it was a miracle.

He is one of more than 1,060 service members who have been identified through Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency efforts to recover the remains of service members lost in the Vietnam War.

De Soto was born Dec. 30, 1931, and was raised in San Francisco, California. In the 1950s, while his friends were being drafted for the Korean War, De Soto enlisted in the U.S.

Editor: Sebastian Oñate

Copy Editor: Todd R. Hansen

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Photo Editor: Robinson Kuntz

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