Lt. Victor Patrick Buckley from Falls Church


 Today we remember Lt. Victor Patrick Buckley from Falls Church, Virginia, who went missing in 1969. Today is Pat’s birthday, and his fiancée, Darlene, is thinking of him:


“Happy 81st birthday, Pat. I can’t believe how fast the years have passed. You, along with over 1,500 other American servicemen, are still missing from the Vietnam War. You were just about to turn 25 when I said goodbye to you on the aircraft carrier that took you to Vietnam. You never came back. On December 16, 1969, you disappeared while returning to your ship over the Gulf of Tonkin. No one ever found your plane or any sign of you.


It’s hard to understand how, even with all the advanced technology we have today, you’re still missing. They found the Titanic in deeper waters than where you were lost. For a while, we hoped. We wrote letters and asked questions. But as time went on and nothing changed, we slowly started moving forward. I eventually got married and had a son and a daughter, and now I have four grandchildren. You have many nieces and nephews, too.


My husband passed away this January after many years together. I think you would have liked him. He was smart, funny, loved to read, and enjoyed life—just like you. And he was brave enough to love a woman who never stopped loving and missing the sailor she lost so long ago... Continue reading 

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