Mother/daughter being a part of history Daily Post #14

I am embarrassed to say that I have procrastinated on something for six years. Six years! It's so ridiculous. I have decided with Mother's Day around the corner, I am going to get this finished now in Mom's honor.

In 2018 I learned that there is a museum in California that will take your old Vietnam MIA/POW bracelets and put them on display. They will repair broken ones, like mine too. First, I did try to contact the family to see if they wanted them, but there was no response. I have learned that there were millions issued, so undoubtedly there were many issued for each service person.

The Palm Springs Air Museum has a display of the bracelets and will still accept ours after this long procrastination. I am glad for them to have a home to be permanently displayed instead of sitting in my drawer. The display has a bio about the serviceman, and they also ask for a picture of the person who wore the bracelet and some information about them. They wanted pictures from that time. It is difficult for me to find pictures from 1970's and my Dad said be sure to pick one that your Mom wouldn't mind on display. I decided for mine, I would use my high school graduation picture. For Mom's I had to dig deeper--thus, my procrastination. I have very few pictures from around that time.

For those who don't know, during the Vietnam War there became a movement to wear copper bracelets with the name of someone who was MIA or a POW in the war. This was to show support and to draw awareness. Mom and I got ours together. She was more faithful to always remember, even years later, the name of the man whose bracelet she wore, Major Rainford Tiffin, missing 7-21-66 at age 28. I have read that he was piloting a single seat F-105 Thunderchief on a combat mission over Yen Bai Province, North Vietnam when his plane was shot down. His body was never recovered, but he was later classified as KIA. Mom always thought about him and prayed for his return.

I wore the bracelet for Captain Richard Cooper missing 12-19-72. I researched him and he was thirty years old. He was in a B-52 when they went down in Hanoi. Four of his crewmates were captured, which must have always given the family a little hope. A daughter was born five months after the crash. Thirty-one years later, his remains were found and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

My Mom was always caring and empathetic. We had a neighbor who she was good friends with, whose son was in Vietnam. Mom wrote to him regularly and sent him care packages. I am so thankful to have had a Mom who was so caring to others...even those she didn't even know.

For Mother's Day, Mom, a museum will have on display in the future a symbol of your caring heart toward others and of something, we did together. 

"Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

I John 3:18