Remains of U.S. pilot shot down in Korean War found in China

[Renew Deal]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Closing a curious chapter of Korean War history, the Pentagon announced Friday it had identified the remains of an Air Force pilot whose jet crashed on Chinese territory after being shot down during a dogfight with a Russian flying for North Korea.

The case puts a spotlight on a Russian role in the 1950-53 Korean War that was kept quiet for decades and helped feed speculation inside the American government that the Russians had attempted -- and perhaps managed -- to capture U.S. pilots to exploit them for intelligence purposes.

Capt. Troy "Gordie" Cope, of Norfork, Arkansas, was piloting what was then the Air Force's best fighter, the F-86 Sabre, on September 16, 1952, when he encountered MiG-15 fighters -- purportedly North Korean but flown by Russians -- over the Yalu River that separates North Korea from China.

Cope, 28, was shot down and never seen again.
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http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/25/koreanwar.pilot.ap/index.html

[teryang]

1. Be interesting to know the "details of the crash site"

Chinese and N.Korean sources have maintained that American aircraft flew into China during the conflict.

[Igel]

3. Woudn't surprise me.

They fought against the UN forces in S. Korea, so it's not like they were bystanders.

I don't know the timeline of the crashes and when the Chinese army got involved, though, so any incursions might have begun before Chinese involvement.

[Historic NY]

2. I had a friend who did searching for MIA's from Vietnam...

he was military and former instructor at West Point.