Let's Bring Him Home

Bruce Wayne Staehli

Yet another year has passed, and still we don't know.
What happened to Bruce? Where is he?

Bruce Wayne Staehli was a 19-year-old Marine Lance Corporal
when he disappeared in Vietnam on 30 April 1968. During this time
when the fighting was intense, Bruce disappeared near the city of
Dong Ha, at the time only a few miles from the demilitarized zone (DMZ).
Bruce Staehli is the only man missing from action that day, and there is good
reason to believe the enemy knows his fate. He may have been captured.

Yet when American prisoners were released 5 years later, Lance Corporal
Bruce Wayne Staehli was not one of them. The Staehli family was shocked
and disappointed. Experts say there were hundreds of POW's expected
to be released who were not.

Since the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, thousands of reports
of Americans still held captive in Southeast Asia have been received by
the U.S. government. Official policy states that there is not enough proof
to act, but that presumably, one or more Americans are held. Critics of
that policy, including some individuals in our government, say the proof
is there, but no one is willing to pay the price of freedom for these
captive Americans.

If one of them is Bruce Staehli, he is now 58-years-old and has spent
39 years in captivity -- years when others were building careers, marrying,
and raising families. He should be anticipating grandchildren, training
subordinates, and planning his future retirement. But instead he most likely
is languishing in captivity, working as slave labor, or resting in an
unmarked grave somewhere in Vietnam. If he's alive, what must he be thinking
of us? We should and must keep pushing this issue in Washington, D.C.
We must demand answers from the bureaucrats until they get the message
that THEY work for US and we are SERIOUS about getting these
long overdue responses.

Diplomatic considerations aside . . .
because people's lives should be more important . . .
we can no longer allow questionable protocols established by
pseudo-aristocratic armchair strategists to determine or even
influence the fate of the men who were in the trenches while
the diplomats were sharing sherry and canapes and talking
about their "plans" for the future of Southeast Asia.

Another "anniversary" (30 April 1968) has passed.
Now Bruce has been missing for over 39 years.
A few years ago, I visited a traveling version of The Wall.
It was so sad to see the MIA mark after Bruce's name.
A few years ago, the remains of the Unknown Soldier of the Viet Nam era
were positively identified as Michael Blassie.
It is definitely NOT too late for our men missing in Viet Nam to be brought home
-- especially for the peace of mind of their families and friends.

We need to know the truth.
The families of those still unaccounted for need closure.
I urge you to write your Congressmen and Senators.

Name: Bruce Wayne Staehli
Rank: Lance Corporal
Branch of service: U.S. Marine Corps
Date of birth: 24 September 1948
Home City of record: Crown Point, Indiana
Loss date: 30 April 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 164930N 1070200E
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Others in incident: none
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2

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