Dead U.S. Flier’s Name on Helmet Shown on Libya TV

Libyan television showed film of what it said was the helmet of an American flier who took part in the April 15 U.S. bombing raid on Libya.

The television program, monitored in Britain late Thursday night, showed the helmet with the name Lorence visible on the front and said it had washed ashore west of Tripoli. Earphones and an oxygen mouthpiece with “28 Mar” written on it were attached.

One U.S. F-111 fighter-bomber that took part in the raid was lost and the U.S. Air Force identified the two crewmen as Capt. Paul Lorence, 31, and Capt. Fernando Ribas-Dominicci, 33. Both were based at the U.S. air base at Lakenheath in Suffolk east of London.

Lorence, of San Francisco, was the weapons system officer on the plane.

In Washington, the Pentagon said today it could not confirm the Libyan claim that the helmet belonged to Lorence but would review the film footage.

“It’s certainly conceivable that a helmet could have washed ashore,” one official said. “We’ve already said we believe that missing plane crashed in the Mediterranean Sea off the Tripoli coast.”

Commentary accompanying the film footage said the helmet was found Wednesday on the beach at Zawiyah, about 25 miles west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

The film also showed a piece of red metal on the same beach and said it was “wreckage of one of the raiding airplanes.” A commentator said more wreckage continued to wash ashore.