Capt. Michael Scott Speicher: service story from the records

Example report · public record

Capt. Michael Scott Speicher

An F/A-18 pilot flying from USS Saratoga, Lt. Cmdr. Speicher was shot down over Iraq on the first night of Operation Desert Storm, 17 January 1991, the first American loss of the war. His fate stayed uncertain for years until his remains were recovered in Iraq's Anbar Province in 2009.

Service: U.S. Navy 1980–1991
Unit: Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81), USS Saratoga (CV-60)
Conflict: Gulf War
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Born: 12 July 1957
Died: 17 January 1991
Honors: Promoted to captain while his status was unresolved

Summary sources: Wikipedia: Scott Speicher · Wikipedia: VFA-81. Related pages: Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81) · USS Saratoga (CV-60) .

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The full automatic report follows. It is a research summary, not an official record. Lines marked "Likely" are labeled guesses.

At a glance

Michael Scott Speicher

Likely match · Written for family readers — military jargon explained as you go.

Who: Michael Scott Speicher · born 1957 · died 1991-01-17
Service: Navy · 1980–1991
His job: Captain (rank and duty as listed in the casualty file)
Where: Kansas City, MO

Most notable moment (from the records):
Casualty file: 1991-01-17 with VFA-81.

Ranks explained

Every rate he held, decoded

Service records write ranks and rates in dense abbreviations — Army grades such as Pvt/Pfc; Navy rates such as ( S1c(SM) or SM2c(T)). Below is each rate that appears in his records — badge, plain English, pay grade, a rough Army equivalent, and what the specialty did day to day. Badges are diagrammatic WWII-style rating marks (specialty symbol + chevrons), generated for this report so the standalone file works offline.

Rate / rank

CAPT — CAPT

Pay grade: — · Rough Army equivalent: —

What it meant: Enlisted rate as written on the muster roll (OCR may distort the abbreviation).

Day to day (general, not personal): A sailor rated CAPT performed the duties of that specialty on a Navy ship.

Muster-roll abbreviation glossary

Abbreviation	Meaning
`c`	Class — as in S1c = Seaman First Class; 3c/2c/1c = Third/Second/First Class petty officer.
`CAPT`	CAPT

General reference from WWII Navy rating structure and common muster annotations. OCR on scanned rolls can garble letters (S1c↔Slc, MoMM1c↔MoMMlc); always check the page image.

02 · Where he served, then

Period photographs

**Headstone / memorial photo — Michael Speicher** — Grave marker photo from Find a Grave memorial 193289421. Find a Grave memorial photo (contributor-owned; shown for family research — see memorial page). File page ↗

Public-domain images from Wikimedia Commons for service places only (ships, training stations, campaigns). Hometown/residence photos are never used as service imagery.

Family input

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03 · Gaps and next records

What we still don't know

No VA-maintained burial record found under this name. Private-cemetery government headstones before 1997 are often missing from the VA dataset.

Discharge date, decorations and full unit list are in the personnel file (request with SF-180; a DD-214 copy from the family can be decoded here).

SF-180 / eVetRecs

Request his Official Military Personnel File (next of kin can request free).

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Headstone application

NARA series 'Applications for Headstones, 1925–1963' (and later VA files) often give serial, unit and dates.

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County discharge record

Many veterans recorded their discharge at the county clerk after the war — ask the county where he lived.

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Draft card

WWII draft cards (FamilySearch, free account) give birth date, address, employer and next of kin.

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