This letter, photo, and POW bracelets are among my most prized possessions. When I was in my early teens, during the Vietnam War, my mother got me this POWMIA bracelet on the top. The name on the bracelet is Major Henry Paul Brauner (Air Force), missing in action March 29, 1972. Ultimately, this bracelet led me to study Vietnam Veterans Memorials for my master’s thesis and one of my research passions.
He was shot down over Laos (the secret war) and supposedly his wedding ring was the only thing found. Major Brauner was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant Commander and his name is on the wall, panel West 2 and line 121. In 1994 I conducted field research at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. As part of the research I asked for more information about Lt. Cmdr. Brauner and found out he still had family in Franklin, New Jersey and a daughter Placerville, California. The letter and photo was from his sister. Back in 1994 I had a conversation with his daughter, but his widow requested that I go no further, and I respected her wishes.