THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. It remains my fervent hope you will be returned home after the passage of so many years.

Never forget.

HOOAH

As I clean out to downsize my home, I came across my Remembrance POW bracelet I had gotten in the Vietnam years. I was a college student then, and am now retired. I submitted a photo of the bracelet with the goal of letting his family and loved ones know he has been remembered for over 50 years. I only wish he was here to have lived these same 50 years.

The Department of Defense conducted ceremonies at the Pentagon and at Hickam AFB on Friday, 18 September 2020 in recognition of POW/MIA Recognition Day. Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Nordquist remembered the 1,586 MIAs from the Vietnam War as well as all those still unaccounted for from WWII, the Korean War, the Cold War and other conflicts. Director (Maj. Gen, USAFR, ret) Kelly McKeague of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) also recorded a separate video message to Gold Star MIA families. Additionally, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) produced a “virtual” event on 18 Sep. Since the 2019 Ceremony, DPAA has positively identified 1 Vietnam War MIA. Captain Wayne Ellsworth Newberry, USAFA Class of 1963, is one of those 1,586 MIAs unaccounted for in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War. He is also one of 7 graduates from the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs class of 1963 who is still MIA. The other 6 USAFA Class of 1963 MIAs (rank & name) are: (1) Capt. Park Bunker; (2) Maj. Robert Gilchrist; (3) Capt. Clarence Hemmel; (4) Capt. Joseph Pirruccello; (5) Maj. Frank Ralston; & (6) Capt. Robert Rex. There are 40 additional Air Force Academy graduates unaccounted for in SEA. The 41 USAFA MIAs account for 27% of the 151 graduates who made the ultimate sacrifice in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War.

This is the link to the DoD/DVIDS video for the Pentagon ceremony:
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/766486/defense-officials-recognize-prisoners-war-missing-service-members-ceremony

This is the link to the DoD/DVIDS video for the Hickam AFB ceremony:
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/766491/admiral-commemorates-prisoners-war-and-missing-service-members-ceremony

This is the link to the DPAA Director McKeague’s video statement:
https://vimeo.com/454474340

This is the link to the VVMF virtual remembrance: https://www.vvmf.org/POWMIA-2020/

Dear Cap. Wayne Newberry, Thank you for your service as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot, and for graduating from the Air Force Academy. You are still MIA. Please come home. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It’s a New Year, but not necessarily better. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Be at peace.