PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) – More than 300 families with loved ones missing in action from the Vietnam War visited the Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Papillion.
- More than 300 families with love dones missing from the Vietnam War visted the memorial.
- The families are in Omaha for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s annual government briefing.
- Families also visited the DPAA lab at Offutt Air Force Base.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Antoinette Kelly's late husband went missing in Vietnam. Last year, the plane he was in was recovered, but his remains still have not been found.
"I'm thinking he's right there in shallow water and we would find him, but we didn't, so I am really sad about that. But we aren't giving up," she said.
And she is not alone. More than 300 families with loved ones missing in action from the Vietnam War visited Omaha during the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s annual government briefing. They came not only to see the memorial but also to visit the DPAA lab at Offutt Air Force Base, which helps identify and bring missing family members home.
"It’s good to know no man is left behind," Kelly said.
Usually, the yearly meeting for these families takes place in Washington, but Kelly McKeague, director of the agency, said they chose Omaha this year. They wanted families to tour the lab and visit the Vietnam Memorial that honors their loved ones.
"This was something different; it’s so beautifully done. It pays great tribute to the sacrifices in Vietnam. Their loved ones were in that war," McKeague said. "We just thought those two combined, our laboratory and this memorial, was something they would appreciate."
"This memorial is so beautiful. I have gone around and taken pictures so I can share them with people back home in Maine," Rose Dyke, an attendee of the meeting, said.
Each year, family members gather for updates on their loved ones’ cases and to support each other as they wait for answers. People like Antoinette say it’s nice to know her husband is not forgotten. She and others will continue their mission until all the missing are found.
"Men that have been gone 50 years, like my husband, we don’t give up," Kelly said.
