Photo By Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman | A portrait of Sgt. 1st Class Roger Hallberg, a green beret from Palo Alto, Calif., who...... read more read more
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TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – More than 83,000 U.S. service members are unaccounted for since World War II, according to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency website at www.dpaa.mil.
Travis Air Force Base, California, is set to honor every one of them with a series of events on Sept. 14 and 15.
The festivities kick off with the annual POW/MIA 24-hour Vigil Run, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at the blue track adjacent to the duck pond on base. During the event, service members will run in 15-minute shifts while carrying the POW/MIA and American flags.
“The Travis first sergeants will start the 24-hour run and the Chief’s Group will close it out at the base flagpole in front of the 60th Air Mobility Wing’s headquarters on Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m.,” said Master Sgt. Marcus Hewett, a 9th Air Refueling Squadron instructor flight engineer and POW/MIA Committee chairperson.
During the run, the POW/MIA and American flags will be in constant motion, said Hewett.
More than a dozen former POWs and their families have also been invited to attend a luncheon scheduled for Sept. 15 at 11 a.m. in the 60th Maintenance Group’s atrium. The luncheon will feature guest speakers Bruce and Anne Hallberg, the siblings of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Roger Hallberg, a green beret from Palo Alto, California. Roger went missing in Vietnam on March 24, 1967 after his platoon came under heavy fire from two North Vietnamese army battalions.
“Roger was a tough, tall, imposing figure, who joined the Army at the age of 17,” said Anne.
“He was dedicated to whatever his mission in life was,” said Bruce, the last member of the Hallberg family to see Roger alive. “He came out to see me, my wife and my oldest son a week before shipping out for Vietnam.”
Bruce told Roger to be safe, and Roger responded with words that bring Bruce to the verge of tears today.
“I drove him to the Oakland Army Terminal just before his 23rd birthday,” Bruce said. “After we got there, he told me, ‘I’m going to die over there if I have to.’ He was willing to give his life (if necessary).”
A couple days after Roger went missing, Bruce received a call from Roger’s wife.
“She told me Roger was missing and it was up to me to tell my folks who were in Venezuela at the time,” said Bruce. “It took about eight hours to get a hold of them and when I finally told my dad, my mother must’ve been standing right next to him because I will never forget her scream.”
Roger is among 1,603 service members who remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. On Dec. 21, 2006, he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action. The medal was presented to his mother aboard the United States Coast Guard George Cobb.
“I used to think Roger was on some top-secret mission and one day he’d come walking through the door,” said Anne. “It’s now 50 years later and we know no more about our brother’s fate since the day he went missing. The war is not over for our family, we can’t close that chapter of our lives. We don’t know if (Roger) died or not. We don’t have closure.”
While the Hallberg family may not have closure, they do appreciate the efforts of Travis AFB to raise awareness for POW/MIA service members and their families, said Anne.
“We plan on attending every POW/MIA event at Travis and we appreciate that Travis is hosting all these events in honor of our POW/MIA service members and their families,” she said. “(We are) indebted to Travis. It really warms our hearts that they’re doing so much for POW/MIA families.”
Organizing each event has been a humbling experience, said Hewett.
“I hope our Airmen gain an understanding of what the men and women who came before us went through,” he said. “Some experienced horrific conditions. For the POW/MIA families, I hope they realize there are people who care for their loved ones who are still missing. I hope they take comfort in that during next week’s events.”
Travis will close its POW/MIA observances with a commemoration ceremony at the 60th Air Mobility Wing Headquarters building Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.
For more information about America’s POW/MIA personnel, visit the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency website at www.dpaa.mil.
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.06.2017 16:04 |
| Story ID: | 247259 |
| Location: | TRAVIS AFB, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 229 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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