THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country sir. I hope and pray you will be found after the passage of all these years.

Life has been tough these last few years and I miss you so much. I just bought a new car and I think you would love it. It's like a fighter jet for the ground. You are my hero and I love you so much. I can't wait to see you again dad. Your son,
Lee W Brucher

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. Major John Martin Brucher, USAFA Class of 1962, is one of those 1,586 MIAs unaccounted for in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War. He is one of two graduates from his U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs class of 1962 who is still MIA. His classmate who is also MIA is 1st Lt Terrence Griffey. 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/

My only words are not my own "without hope, without witness, without reward" Dr. Who.

I was eleven years old when Major John M Brucher was shot down. I received John’s MIA bracelet when I was in middle school, and wore it for a few years after the war. I remember anxiously looking for his name in the papers after the war so I could celebrate his homecoming. It never happened. It was really hard to take the bracelet off. It seemed wrong. Now I’m 61, and looking at it, thinking about it, still brings a tear to my eye. I hope to meet you in heaven John. Until then, my thoughts and prayers remain with John’s family and friends. Peace be with you. Debra K Thompson.