Cañon City pilot lost in Vietnam in '66 is buried at Air Force Academy

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Cañon City pilot lost in Vietnam in '66 is buried at Air Force Academy

By The Associated Press

Posted: 07/16/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

AIR FORCE ACADEMY — An Air Force pilot from Colorado who disappeared in North Vietnam 45 years ago was buried Friday in a cemetery on academy grounds.

The remains of Col. Leo Boston of Cañon City were identified three months ago using DNA testing. He was buried next to his wife, Dorothy, who died in 1988 without knowing whether her husband would ever be found.

"There were many times when we thought we would never see this day," said one of Boston's daughters, Stephanie Danielson.

Boston flew an A-1 Skyraider, and his mission was to locate downed Air Force comrades in Vietnam — using bombs, rockets and gunfire to protect them until help arrived. He disappeared in 1966 in dense jungle in Son La Province while looking for a downed flier. New scientific methods helped to identify Boston's remains.