Pilot flies father’s remains home 52 years after he was killed in Vietnam

Southwest Airlines Captain Bryan Knight flew his father’s remains to Dallas after he was killed during the Vietnam War in 1967.

A Southwest Airlines pilot has flown his father’s remains back home to the US after they were identified from the Vietnam War.

Captain Bryan Knight flew his father, Colonel Roy Knight Jr, to Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas on Thursday, more than 50 years after he was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1967.

The airline said Capt Knight had last seen his father when he was five, and said goodbye to him as he left for Vietnam from the same airport in Dallas.

Capt Knight, who is an air force veteran, said in a statement that he was “honoured” and “lucky” to have been able to fly his father’s remains home.

Col Knight served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War, and was shot down on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos in 1967.

His remains were found and positively identified earlier this year, 52 years after his death.

An honour guard from the air force met the plane carrying his remains at Love Field Airport, along with Southwest crew, the airport’s fire department and family members.

In a statement to Southwest Airlines, Capt Knight said: “To be able to do this, to bring my father home, I’m very very honoured and very lucky.

“When I first got the call it was almost surreal because I really didn’t think it would ever happen… he’s really coming home… we’re going to have a place where we can honour him.

“The support and all that’s happened has been phenomenal.”

Jackson Proskow, who was at the airport in Dallas waiting for a flight when the plane flown by Capt Knight came in, said the arrival was “incredible”.

Mr Proskow wrote on Twitter: “As we wait at the gate, we’re told that Captain Knight is coming home to Dallas.

“When he left from this very airport to fight in Vietnam his five-year-old son came to the airfield and waved goodbye.”

Southwest Airlines said: “Earlier this year, Capt Knight learned that his father’s remains were positively identified, which began the mission of returning Col Knight to his home in north Texas.

“On Thursday, his son flew his father home to Love Field where he was received with full military honours to express a nation’s thanks for his dad’s service to our country.

“Our Southwest Airlines family is honoured to support his long-hoped homecoming and join in tribute to Col Knight as well as every other military hero who has paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the armed forces.”

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

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Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)