THE WALL OF FACES

Cleaning out my old jewelry box the other day, I came across my POW/MIA bracelet I bought when I was 13 years old after my brother left for the Vietnam War. My bracelet says Capt.Richard Elzinga 3-26-70 and I wore it everyday until my brother came back home in 1975. It was an honor to wear it and I am so happy I can put a face with a name. My brother came home from Vietnam safely, but the later effects of agent orange caught up with him, and now he is at peace, resting in the Camp Robinson Memorial Gardens in Little Rock, AR. Thank you to all of the brave men who fought for the United States of America! You will never be forgotten!

Major Richard Gene Elzinga, Served with Detachment 1 Udorn (Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base), 56th Special Operations Wing, 7th Air Force.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. I am heartened you returned home though I wish it had been under very different circumstances. May you rest in eternal peace.

Like so many others that have posted a remembrance, I also wore a bracelet with your name on it and still have it all these years later. I have never forgotten your name. Thank you, Sir, for your service. You paid the ultimate price, as did your family, and will never be forgotten.

I still have the bracelet with your name and date of MIA. I visited the wall in DC but didn’t see your name. Now thanks to Google, I know more. Thank you for your service. My husband came home and has had a good life despite the horrible effects of Agent Orange.