11 months ago
15
WASHINGTON (KSEE/KGPE) - During the Vietnam War, thousands of radical purchased bracelets with the names of soldiers who were missing successful enactment during the warfare etched onto them. The anticipation was 1 time those soldiers would beryllium brought home.
As the decades passed, galore families inactive waited for answers they whitethorn ne'er get. It's hard to ideate everyone who bought a bracelet inactive knows wherever it is.
But Debbie Shea held onto hers.
"I deliberation I acquired it astir 1971. I was astir 16. I was successful precocious school, it was conscionable my mode of supporting the Vietnam vets and being 16. There wasn't a batch you could do," Shea said.
She took it from her hometown successful Arkansas, to college, and to wherever she lives present successful Richmond, Virginia.
Even arsenic the decades passed by, she ever knew the man's sanction etched into the metal. Her bracelet said Ralph Balcom.
For immoderate reason, during a infinitesimal of boredom during the pandemic successful 2020, Debbie thought astir the man's sanction engraved connected her bracelet and decided to bash immoderate research.
"I conscionable thought, 'Is helium inactive missing?' You know, 'What happened?' I needed to cognize the extremity of the story," she said.
Unfortunately, Shea learned his assemblage was ne'er found, and helium was ne'er capable to beryllium brought location to his family.
"So I googled a small spot much and recovered a tract wherever you could spell to the bracelet country and benignant of permission a enactment connected the bulletin board. So I conscionable said 'I acquired this bracelet successful 1971 and I would emotion to instrumentality it to the household if possible,'" she said.
And it was possible. The close idiosyncratic saw her enactment 4 years later.
It turns out, Ralph Balcom's son, Chris, volunteers with the Central Valley Honor Flight. The radical works to get cardinal California veterans to Washington, D.C., truthful they tin spot memorials and monuments made successful their honor. An organizer with the radical happened crossed her station online and soon realized their unpaid was the lad of the antheral named connected Shea's bracelet.
Organizers decided past Chris Balcom had to beryllium connected the adjacent formation they took to D.C, and Shea had to beryllium there.
"She has been wearing your dad's POW-MIA bracelet for 55 years," organizer Joe Fry said betwixt tears.
"What are the chances, Chris?" Shea said, earlier embracing for a hug.
The chances were slim. These 2 cleanable strangers from other sides of the state were unknowingly connected for decades, adjacent arsenic they lived thousands of miles away.
"He near the time aft my 3rd birthday, truthful I don't person immoderate memories of him," Balcom said.
But connected apical of the stories he's heard astir his dad, what helium does person present is his dad's bracelet and a tattoo that perfectly matches it.
"I had it tattooed connected there, and I enactment his purple bosom connected determination arsenic well," helium said.
Once they exchanged the bracelet, the brace walked down to the Vietnam War Memorial and took pictures wherever his dad's sanction was carved into the wall.
"It's pieces similar small pieces of him and his memory," helium said.
Pieces, patching unneurotic his dad's story. Helping him bring pieces of him backmost home.
