40 years
14,600 days
350,400 hours
21,024,000 minutes
1,261,440,000 seconds,
a lifetime,
On march 23rd, 1972, Lt. Dennis Pike ejected out of his A-7 into the night sky over Laos
after flying a mission supporting ground troops that were being overrun by north vietnamese forces, never to be seen again.
He is officially listed as MIA/PD/BNF (MISSING IN ACTION, PRESUMED DEAD, BODY NOT FOUND)
Shortly after that, I was issued his POW bracelet by a group called VIVA (voices in vital
america). They are to be returned to the person whos name it bears upon his arrival home.
Sadly, I will never be able to remove it from my wrist, but proudly I will wear it till the
day I die. My thoughts go out to his family (whom I have never met) and all other servicemen and women who never came home.