Walter A Thackerson, Jr. - A man I never knew, but feel so close to...

I attended an airshow while in high school and purchased a red POW/MIA bracelet to wear and to remember those U.S. soldiers missing and/or killed in Vietnam. I wore it for years and eventually the metal weakened and ironically enough, it was accidentally broken by a cute little Vietnamese baby who lived in our neighborhood.

I never knew who PFC Walter A Thackerson, Jr. was except that he was in the Army, from Alabama and went missing on May 21st, 1966.

I never forgot his name and I even found him on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.

Last year, I realized I could order another bracelet online and you could even request a certain name. As I searched for his name, I hoped it wouldn't be available...meaning he had been found. No such luck, he was still missing.  So I ordered another one, which I wear today.

A few days ago I looked my soldier up, as I do from time to time, and this time I found a website with 2 pictures of him and another with the story of his last day. All these years, I never knew what he looked like or what really happened...

PFC Walter Anthony Thackerson, Jr.  A man I never knew, but feel so close to...