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

Dear Cap. Robert Rex, Thank you for your service as a Pilot Aircraft Pilot. You are still MIA. Please come home. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is another hot summer day. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Be at peace.

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. Capt. Robert F. Rex., 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. His 6 other USAFA Class of 1963 MIAs (rank & name) are: (1) Capt. Park Bunker; (2) Maj. Robert Gilchrist; (3) Capt. Clarence Hemmel; (4) Capt. Wayne Newberry; (5) Capt. Joseph Pirruccello; (6) Maj. Frank Ralston; and (7) Capt. Robert Rex. There are 41 USAFA graduates still MIA in SEA from the Vietnam War. These 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 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/

* From the entry on 21 Oct 2019 for the 2019 ceremony, this is an increase of 2, USAFA 1963 MIAs.

The Department of Defense conducted a ceremony at the Pentagon on Friday, 20 September 2019 in recognition of POW/MIA Recognition Day. Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Nordquist remembered the 1,587 MIAs from the Vietnam War as well as all those still unaccounted for from WWII, the Korean War, the Cold War and other conflicts. Since the 2018 Ceremony, DPAA has positively identified 7 Vietnam War MIAs. Captain Robert F. Rex., USAFA Class of 1963, is one of those 1,587 MIAs unaccounted for in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War. He is also one of 5 graduates from the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs class of 1963 who is still MIA. The other 4 USAFA Class of 1963 MIAs (rank & name) are: (1) Capt. Clarence Hemmel ; (2) Capt. Wayne Newberry;(3) Capt. Joseph Pirruccello; & (4) Maj. Frank Ralston.

This is the link to the DoD story about the ceremony:

https://www.defense.gov/explore/story/Article/1967474/prisoners-of-war-missing-in-action-remembered-at-pentagon-ceremony/

This is the link to the C-Span video of the ceremony:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?464524-1/pentagon-hosts-national-powmia-recognition-day-ceremony