Missing airman's remains identified
Thursday 20 March 2008 at 10:16
by NC Sentinel
Frederick News Post - Frederick, MD, USAMissing airman's remains identified
After nearly 40 years, Middletown service member's death in plane crash confirmed
Originally published March 20, 2008
By David Simon
News-Post Staff
After nearly 36 years, James Caniford and his family can stop wondering.
Wednesday morning, the Fort Myers, Fla., resident received a call from the Air Force. An official told him that a recent dig in Laos had unearthed enough material to confirm that his son, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. James Kenneth Caniford, was killed in a plane crash during the Vietnam War.
Known as Jimmy, he was the only Vietnam War service member to be classified as a Prisoner of War or Missing in Action from Frederick County. Nationwide, there are roughly 1,800 unaccounted-for service members from the Vietnam War.
The confirmation is unofficial at this point, Caniford said, and the family plans to meet with Air Force officials next week to discuss details about bringing his son's remains back to the United States. It's possible he could be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Jimmy's younger sister, Shelly Caniford, said hearing the news was terrible, but good -- in part because the family feared Jimmy might have been taken prisoner.
"I thought I'd have to die to see my brother again," she said. "We know he died in the plane crash -- Dad can bring him home and that's a good thing."
The Canifords, originally from Middletown, spent more than 30 years piecing together much of what happened to Jimmy on March 29, 1972.
Early that morning, Jimmy joined 13 other airmen on board an AC-130 gunship on a mission in the heavily defended province of Savannakhet in southern Laos. As an illuminator operator, Jimmy's job was to spot targets on the battlefield.
Before takeoff, Jimmy shared a hot dog and a soda with Ken Felty, a crew member from another plane.
During that mission, three AC-130s flew together, escorted by an F-4E Phantom II. Something went wrong with Felty's plane, which was supposed to fly first in the formation.
Jimmy's crew took the lead instead.
About 3 a.m., the escort spotted three surface-to-air missiles. The first one grazed the gunship, but the second one struck Jimmy's plane, which exploded in flight, sending the pieces tumbling to the ground.
The escort didn't see any parachutes open.
Wreckage burned on the ground, and search and rescue efforts continued for the next two days but no signs of survivors were found. While the wreckage was visible from the air, enemy forces kept ground crews away.
For Jimmy's family, that's when the wait started.
It ended Wednesday the same way it began -- with contact from the Air Force.
"I had mixed emotions when I answered the phone," said Caniford, 83. "I had been looking for this. ... You always hang on to hope."
Diana DiLoreto, Jimmy's older sister, said the news was bittersweet.
"I'm relieved that there's closure -- more for my parents than for myself," she said. "I always prayed that they would have an answer before they died."
Less than a year apart in age, DiLoreto was Jimmy's best friend.
"You know what I've wanted all along -- to put flowers on his grave," she said. "Now I can finally do that."
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