THE WALL OF FACES

DEAR LIEUTENANT BANCROFT,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A NAVIGATOR. YOU ARE STILL MIA. PLEASE COME HOME.
ELECTION DAY IS NEAR AND VETERANS' DAY IS APPROACHING - SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER AND HONOR ALL OF YOU. MAY THE SAINTS AND ANGELS GUIDE YOU.

I dated Bill while in high school and he always wanted to go into the service. I told him it worried me and his joking answer was always "Only the good die young." This proved very true because he was far too young when he died.

1st Lieutenant Bancroft, we will never forget you.

On November 13, 1970, MAJ David I. Wright, pilot, and 1LT William W. Bancroft Jr., navigator, departed their base at Udorn, Thailand on an aerial reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, while just east of Tan Ap in Ha Tinh Province, their RF-4C Phantom jet was seen to explode and crash while making a low level pass over the objective target. It was not known at that time whether Wright and Bancroft survived. On 18 November 1970, the U.S. intelligence community received information which indicated that Wright and Bancroft were dead, and they were listed as Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered. [Narrative taken from pownetwork.org; image from wikipedia.org]

Dear 1LT William W Bancroft Jr, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter