U.S. Military Dog Tag Makes Propaganda Rounds

March 09, 2007 4:37 PM
Rhonda Schwartz Reports:

What appears to be the official military ID of Major Troy Gilbert, a celebrated F-16 pilot who crashed to his death on a combat mission last fall in Iraq, is being circulated on the Internet in an advertisement for an upcoming Iraqi insurgent propaganda video entitled "The Missing."

Gilbert was initially declared "missing in action" when his body was not found with his plane by U.S. troops at the crash site.

Shortly afterward a video appeared on al Jazeera, which included close-ups of the wreckage, leading to speculation insurgents might have moved Gilbert's body.

A spokesman at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, where Gilbert's squadron is based, told ABC News today they are not aware of the posting and are surprised the military ID is circulating on the Internet.

The Air Force changed Gilbert's status from missing to deceased on Dec. 6, 2006, saying there had been a DNA match with remains recovered at the scene.

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