The U.S. Department of Defense says it has identified an airman who has been missing in action (MIA) since the Vietnam War.

Air Force Maj. Burke H. Morgan, U.S. Air Force, of Manitou Springs, Colo., was buried Sept. 7 beside his wife, Mary, at the U.S. Air Force Academy, as part of his U.S. Air Force Academy graduating class' 45th reunion.

According to the Pentagon, Aug. 22, 1967, Morgan and a fellow officer took off from Nakhon Phanom air base, Thailand, in their A-26A Invader on an armed reconnaissance mission over Laos. The crew had radio contact on their mission shortly after midnight, but were neither seen nor heard from again.

The Armed Forces Press Service reports scientists of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command were able to identify those remains using a variety of forensic methods, including analysis of skeletal and dental remains.