THE WALL OF FACES

Butch you owe me $5. The last time I saw Butch was his senior year. It would have also been mine but because of circumstances within my control, I was drafted, went to OCS and in the tradition of an Aggie became an officer of Artillery. The setting was the cookie pusher game of 67. Butch and I bet on being KIA in Nam. I was wounded first but that doesn't count. I miss you Butch and wish we could just forget the $5. Gig'Um My Friend!

While in Washington, DC on Memorial Day weekend 2002, I stopped by a POW/MIA display tent near The Wall. There were 2 bracelets for fellow Tennesseans - I chose the one for Captain John Baldridge and wear it faithfully and proudly each and every day in his memory. I have since had the honor of meeting one of his fellow classmates from Texas A&M, corresponded by e-mail with his daughter, and come to learn a lot about an American hero. I will be back at the Wall in June 2006 and will stop to pause, once again, at your place of honor to recall your sacrifice. Rest in Peace dear friend!
Friday, May 19, 2006

Wow! Never knew this site existed until today. I had posted years ago on the Viet Nam Memorial Wall which I am attaching next.

Thomas Hanisee
[email protected]
ROTC summer camp classmates
Bossier City, la usa
Last to see him
This is personal, but maybe a family member may read it and remember. I am a retired Lt. Col. USAF. 57 years old and back in the Barksdale area - moved back from DC 3 years ago. Last saw Butch on the day he died. I was just completing my year in Viet Nam/Laos - 220 night combat missions in Puff the Magic Dragon - rough. Had been drinking all night at the Officers Club and was eating breakfast - still half drunk when I ran into Butch. He was pumped to go fly. He was going to fly his dollar ride with his Sq. Co. - I think. That must have been the one that got him. Found out about Butch getting killed a couple of years later in Kadena from his fellow Aggie, Danny Barr, who just retired as Air Force One pilot. Butch and I were both Bossier City boys in the Summer of '67 at Little Rock AFB during Summer Camp. Both in the same flight with my roommate from La. Tech - Randy Gililland (Ret. Reserve Lt. Col.USAF). WE (Butch and I) both came in second and third for several of the camp awards. Only thing that Butch and I got were perfect 7.0 summer camp ratings. He came home with me for a day before heading to his home. My sister showed me a photo of us with our shaved heads. They still remember his bright eyes. Best salute I have ever seen. Sharpest cadet I have ever seen. Most potential of anyone I have ever met. He must have been a military brat and I think he married a girl from SFA - don't know. Man was he something.
Thursday, February 20, 2003


Since that time, I have finally found Butch's daughter. We will meet for the first time this weekend. It has been almost 36 years since I saw him that fateful day, and after 15 years in Special Operations, this must be the reason God kept me alive. I found a picture of Butch from ROTC Summer Camp in '67, with a can of Bud and a shaved head.

From Bossier, around the world, to D.C. and the White House, he was hands down the sharpest.

As I returned from the Viet Nam Memorial today in San Antonio, I remembered my father's 35th year of his death in Viet Nam. Butch was also in my mind. I still wear his bracelot after all these years to the Annual POW/MIA Dining Inn for returned "Freedom Flyers" serving us at downtown HANOI. I was a classmate of Butch's in 1968-69 as we went through UPT at Willy. We saw each other a few times in Viet Nam as I flew the EC-130 at the same time of his unfortunate shoot down and eventual missing status. Everything on these pages are ABOLUTELY true. Butch was a real go getter and I found myself working hard to compete. I eventually retired from the Air Force in 1988, still flying. I miss those days and the days at good ole Willy patch. Butch was the epitome of the "fighter pilot".

I have not forgotten you. I chair the Adoption Committee for The National League of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. We will always remember the 1,889 Americans still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and the thousands of others that lost their lives. We will not stop our efforts until all of you are home where you belong.

We need to reach the next generation so that they will carry on when our generation is no longer able. To do so, we are attempting to locate photographs of all the missing. If you are reading this remembrance and have a photo and/or memory of this missing American that you would like to share for our project, please contact me at:

Candace Lokey
PO Box 206
Freeport, PA 16229
[email protected]

If you are not familiar with our organization, please visit our web site at :

www.pow-miafamilies.org