THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. We should be forever thankful for the sacrifices of you and so many others to ensure the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Dear Sp4 John Powers, Thank you for your service as a Chinook - CH-47 Helicopter Repairer. Glad you were identified in 2001, WELCOME HOME. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Tomorrow is Flag Day. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Every year on Memorial Day, I take time to search online for any updated information on John Lynn and the still unaccounted-for crew members. I know it is unlikely that any official updates will happen, but I think it is wonderful that people who didn’t know John have worn a bracelet for him and have posted remarks here. It has been several years since I visited the Vietnam memorial for fallen Idaho service members in Idaho Falls, so it is time for me to say something about him here on this Memorial Day fifty years after he joined the Army.

John Lynn was a year older than me, but was in my brother’s class, two years ahead of me in tiny Mackay High School (approximately 120 students). His sister Marie was the best girl in my class. I had the opportunity to know John Lynn better in autumn 1968 when we worked together (with his uncle) driving trucks and unloading sacks of potatoes before automation replaced this back-breaking labor in the Idaho potato fields. At the time, I was playing in a band and his uncle Johnny often played stand-up bass with us. Johnny called him Jack, and most everyone else called him John Lynn. I would bet that John Lynn’s army buddies enjoyed his easy-going company as much as his potato sack toting buddies did.

I enlisted before John Lynn. I didn’t request a guaranteed assignment, but I had the great fortune of being sent to the 29th Army Band in the U.S. Army of the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa). I played in many ceremonies where medals were awarded to soldiers who had demonstrated valor in Vietnam. Fortunately, they were all survivors. I can’t imagine how it would have felt to play a ceremony for the family of a fallen hero. I had many friends who went to the Old Guard, and they must have to have training to cope with the stress. I have been told that performing in military funeral ceremonies is a painful experience. I am grateful that John Lynn and his family had the honor of an Old Guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

AS TEARS COME 2 MY EYES, I'VE BEEN WEARING YOUR POW/MIA BRACKET SINCE 1987.
W ALL THAT I AM.
BROTHER YOU'VE NEVER BEEN FORGOTTEN

I'D LOVE 4 BLOOD 2 HAVE YOUR BRACELET

CORRINA MCGOWAN

I rember John Lynn from high school. His family owned a large farm and he always worked in the fields when not in class or goofing around. He like to tease all of his classmates, but was always a good friend. I was extremely saddened by his loss at the time. They were unable to find any of his remains, as the helicopter he was in was blown up in the air. He was and still is sorely missed.