In dedication to my moms good friends dad who was lost on this day in 1972 during the Vietnam Conflict when his plane was shot down over Laos...she still gets teary eyed to this day.
And to all POW/MIA....You Are Not Forgotten.
A New Braunfels widow found comfort after 30 years, when her husbands remains were returned to the United
States.
United States Air Force Col. William Clare Coltman Sr., a fighter jet pilot, was classified Missing In Action Sept. 29, 1972
during the Vietnam Conflict. Six years later he was reclassified as Killed In Action.
Gail C. Coltman, her daughter, Kimberly, and son, William Jr., ended a search to find and repatriate his remains with a burial service at the Arlington National Cemetery this past week.
Since that life-changing day, Gail said the family pulled together to ensure that the memory of the best fighter pilot
that ever lived, stayed alive.
Coltman was a test pilot and an F-111 aircraft commander for the 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Nellis AFB in Nevada. It was during this time that he was called to a second tour of duty in Vietnam.
When I opened the door that day and saw the men and how they were dressed, I knew right away, Gail said.
She and her children had hoped for the best, giving no thought to the worst.
We were confident because we had been through it before. I just felt that he would always return home.
Gail said that after they got the news that he was MIA, they remained hopeful that Coltman was a prisoner of war, but later accepted the reality when all POWs were returned to the United States.
We all were going through the same thing, Gail said. It wasnt any harder or easier on anyone.
Gail said she was not the type of wife to worry and never discouraged her courageous husband.
In fact, this was his second combat mission, she said.
I always encouraged him because I knew that flying is what he loved to do.
Gail said her daughter Kimberly, a major in the U.S. Air Force, was the most instrumental in getting her fathers remains returned from Southeast Asia to the United States. She was wonderful. She called everyone she knew to make sure her daddy came home, Gail said. They werent
even going to start excavating until 2003.
Kimberly, who was 12-years-old when her father was reported missing, lobbied for a faster timetable.
The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii provided the family with information in February of 2001.
The results showed that Coltmans dental remains had been positively identified.
Coltmans remains were brought to U.S. soil along with 21 other American servicemen.
We were a very close family, she recalled. The past 28 years have been very frustrating, Kimberly said when
her fathers remains were returned. It is like a wound that never heals.
Gail said the April 3 memorial service was everything her husband deserved.
The service included prayer, singing, a 21-gun salute and the presentation of the flag that draped the Coltman casket.
It is a bittersweet feeling more than ever was expected, and the closure we have always wanted.
We couldnt have asked for a more perfect ending, she said. Some people dont get to have the opportunity that we
have. It also allows us to realize all of the hard work paid off.
On Sept. 29th 105 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
And to all POW/MIA....You Are Not Forgotten.
A New Braunfels widow found comfort after 30 years, when her husbands remains were returned to the United
States.
United States Air Force Col. William Clare Coltman Sr., a fighter jet pilot, was classified Missing In Action Sept. 29, 1972
during the Vietnam Conflict. Six years later he was reclassified as Killed In Action.
Gail C. Coltman, her daughter, Kimberly, and son, William Jr., ended a search to find and repatriate his remains with a burial service at the Arlington National Cemetery this past week.
Since that life-changing day, Gail said the family pulled together to ensure that the memory of the best fighter pilot
that ever lived, stayed alive.
Coltman was a test pilot and an F-111 aircraft commander for the 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Nellis AFB in Nevada. It was during this time that he was called to a second tour of duty in Vietnam.
When I opened the door that day and saw the men and how they were dressed, I knew right away, Gail said.
She and her children had hoped for the best, giving no thought to the worst.
We were confident because we had been through it before. I just felt that he would always return home.
Gail said that after they got the news that he was MIA, they remained hopeful that Coltman was a prisoner of war, but later accepted the reality when all POWs were returned to the United States.
We all were going through the same thing, Gail said. It wasnt any harder or easier on anyone.
Gail said she was not the type of wife to worry and never discouraged her courageous husband.
In fact, this was his second combat mission, she said.
I always encouraged him because I knew that flying is what he loved to do.
Gail said her daughter Kimberly, a major in the U.S. Air Force, was the most instrumental in getting her fathers remains returned from Southeast Asia to the United States. She was wonderful. She called everyone she knew to make sure her daddy came home, Gail said. They werent
even going to start excavating until 2003.
Kimberly, who was 12-years-old when her father was reported missing, lobbied for a faster timetable.
The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii provided the family with information in February of 2001.
The results showed that Coltmans dental remains had been positively identified.
Coltmans remains were brought to U.S. soil along with 21 other American servicemen.
We were a very close family, she recalled. The past 28 years have been very frustrating, Kimberly said when
her fathers remains were returned. It is like a wound that never heals.
Gail said the April 3 memorial service was everything her husband deserved.
The service included prayer, singing, a 21-gun salute and the presentation of the flag that draped the Coltman casket.
It is a bittersweet feeling more than ever was expected, and the closure we have always wanted.
We couldnt have asked for a more perfect ending, she said. Some people dont get to have the opportunity that we
have. It also allows us to realize all of the hard work paid off.
On Sept. 29th 105 service members made the ultimate sacrifice.
