I originally posted this in my journal ("Memorial Day Entry" ) but decided to make it a static item as well. These are real letters, and have not been edited in any way.

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I had to do a bit of digging. I wanted to post this for Memorial Day.


From - Wed Apr 05 18:13:03 2000
From: "Tehuti / RLH" <tehuti@nmo.net>
Subject: Earl P. Hopper, Jr.
TO THE FAMILY OF EARL P. HOPPER, JR.:

I'm not even quite sure what to say...

I have Earl Hopper's bracelet; my dad, a vet, had two or three to choose from, and I took Hopper's from his room. I can't wear it because it's too big for me, but I keep it nearby. At first it was just something interesting to look at and think about, but that was before I "knew" the name on it.

A few years ago I checked out the book "Kiss The Boys Goodbye" from the library and took it home to read it...I came across a section where a man was talking about his son, and for some reason the name seemed familiar to me. (I, who have a terrible memory.) I went into my room and checked out the bracelet. The name the man had mentioned was the same as the one on my bracelet: Earl P. Hopper, Jr. It was almost like I'd just passed him by on the street; I didn't know him, I'd never met him, but there was something there that brought him just a little bit closer, at least for a moment; something that made him an actual person, not just a name inscribed on a piece of metal. Something that made him real.

I started crying; I'm crying right now, I could barely look at his picture in the biography. It's almost scary when you realize that these are actual people, the same as you and me. It's far too easy to forget that they aren't just faceless lists of names gathering dust on some shelf.

I want the family of Earl P. Hopper, Jr. to know that at least *I* won't forget, and I'll always keep him in my memory.

AUS,

Tehuti
tehuti@nmo.net

http://pownetwork.org/tletter3.htm


From: Patty Hopper (Task Force Omega, Inc.)
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 10:59 PM
To: tehuti@nmo.net
Subject: Earl Hopper, Jr.

A friend e-mailed me your lovely letter about Earl Hopper, Jr.

I am his step-mother, and his father and I would like you to know how much we appreciated reading your letter!

As a family, and as individuals, we are ver active with another organization, Task Force Omega, Inc. Our organization's web site has extensive bios on it with maps of the individual's loss location. Feel free to read Earl's bio and check out the map series attached to it. www.taskforceomegainc.org. We also invite you to look around our site as you wish.

Earl's touched many lives over the years. Thank you for sharing how he has touched yours.

Faith,

Patty Hopper
tfoinc@inficad.com


From: Jim Johnson
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2002 4:57 PM
To: 'tehuti@nmo.net'
Subject: Earl Hopper, Jr. -- POW

Tehuti -- I ran across your letter on the POWnetwork.org website today. I was touched by the letter you wrote back in April 2000 regarding your POW bracelet involving Earl Hopper. Let me give you a little background. I went to high school with Earl Hopper. We were all so proud when he graduated and was honored to be selected to attend the Air Force Academy. Of course, the awful news in 1968 stunned all of us who knew him. I, too, spent a year in Vietnam, leaving my wife and 6 month old daughter at home.

After returning from Vietnam, my young family and I moved to Tennessee. In about 1971 I was assigned to a Army Reserve unit in Nashville to complete my 6 year military obligation. During that time the POW bracelets came out. One day, when we were all given the opportunity to select a bracelet, I happened upon one inscribed with Earl Hopper's name. I was shocked, and at the same time honored.

This past Friday afternoon, my wife and I happened to visit a small antique shop in the town where we now live (Paducah, KY). I noticed that the shop owner was wearing a POW bracelet. We exchanged stories. Then, he told me about the website. In fact, he had a computer there in his shop, so he looked up the bio for Earl Hopper. I don't know if you have visited the site recently; however, if you do, you will find out that only a few months ago the government did identify his remains. I wanted to share that information with you.

I know that the Hopper family appreciates the devotion and concern that you showed toward their beloved son.

Here is a link to the latest information http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/h/h064.htm

Jim Johnson


Information from link provided above:

HOPPER, EARL PEARSON JR.

Remains I.D.'d 01/16/2002
Name: Earl Pearson Hopper, Jr.
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Udorn AB TH
Date of Birth: 21 July 1943
Home City of Record: Glendale AZ
Date of Loss: 10 January 1968
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 202559N 1044659E (VH774777)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D

Other Personnel In Incident: Keith N. Hall (released POW)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 October 1990 from information provided by Col. Earl P. Hopper, Sr. (USA, ret.) and Patty Skelly of Task Force Omega, Inc., as well as information from a December, 1984 article by Larry J. O'Daniel. Other information from one more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK

REMARKS: EJECTION PROBS/DWN/CRASH

SYNOPSIS: Capt. Keith N. Hall and 1Lt. Earl P. Hopper, Jr. were pilots assigned to the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Udorn Airbase, Thailand. On January 10, 1968 the two flew their first mission together on an "aircap" mission over Hanoi. Hall was the pilot, and Hopper flew as Bombardier/Navigator on the flight. During the mission, the aircraft was damaged by a SAM missile exploding 100 feet below and to the right of the aircraft, knocking out the hydraulic system. Neither Hall nor Hopper was injured by the blast.

After some initial ejection problems, Capt. Hall, was able to bail out. [Note: Normal ejection sequence calls for the backseater to bail out first, followed a few seconds later by the pilot.] Other pilots in the flight marked Hall's position, then continued with Hopper as he headed for Laos.

Hopper was about 15 miles north of Muong Min in Hoa Binh Province and nearly to the border of Laos when he ejected. Hall had ejected about 20 miles to the east. The accompanying pilots observed the canopy of the aircraft and Hopper's ejection seat leave the aircraft as the aircraft was about to enter a 5,000 foot overcast. The pilots also picked up two emergency radio signals, one very strong and the other rather weak, indicating that both men reached the ground.

Hall was captured about 40 minutes after he bailed out. Hopper's radio signal was tracked for three consecutive days in the rugged, mountainous area where the aircraft went down. On the second or third day, a pilot monitoring the beeper gave Hopper's recognition code and said, "Lt. Hopper, if that's you, give me 15-second intervals (in his radio signal)." The pilot received six 15-second intervals in a positive response. This information was released to the family in a February 8, 1968 communique. On about the third day, a ground search team was inserted into the area, and recovered Hopper's radio, but no trace of Hopper was found.

Hall was captured by the North Vietnamese and released in 1973. Hall was closely interrogated regarding personal information about Hopper, but knew little. The Vietnamese guard was noncommittal when Hall asked if Hopper was also a prisoner.

On July 14, 1982, "due to the length of time missing and with no information to prove he is alive," Hopper's official status, Missing In Action, was changed to Presumed Killed In Action. Only two months later, a three-man judiciary committee from the U.S. Justice Department, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, found officially that Hopper should have been classified Prisoner of War, not Missing In Action.

During the first few months of 1984, the Hopper family learned that CIA had always listed Hopper as a POW. Further, CIA files revealed that the agency had tracked Hopper as he headed for a "safe" area in Laos, that there were heavy concentrations of NVA and Pathet Lao troops in the area searching for the downed pilot, and that the CIA sent a free Lao team to extract him. When Hopper knew he was in imminent danger of being captured, he locked the transmission key on his radio in the "on" position, extended the antenna, and hid it, thus marking his location of capture for the search team.

From 1981 to 1984, Major Mark A. Smith (a returned POW from Vietnam) and SFC Melvin McIntyre, both attached to Special Forces Detachment, Korea (SFDK) were pursuing DIA instructions to gather intelligence on American POWs who remained in captivity in Southeast Asia. Smith and McIntyre, who did not believe Americans were held, obtained specific information which convinced them that Americans were still alive at that time, held captive. Among other evidence presented to the U.S. was a list of some 26 Americans by name and captivity location. Earl Hopper's name was on the list.

In 1984, Maj. Smith received word that on 11 May three U.S. POWs would be brought to a given location on the Lao/Thai border. The only prerequisite was that the POWs be received by an American. Smith's request to stand on the border and wait for delivery was refused, and he and his team were commanded to remain in Korea. If the three Americans were brought to the border, no one was there to receive them. Smith and McIntyre believed Hopper to be one of the three men.

The information obtained by Smith and McIntyre was provided under oath to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on January 28, 1986, and included in a lawsuit the two initiated against the U.S. Government for its failure to protect the rights of live American POWs in Southeast Asia.

Parents Earl and Betty Hopper have diligently sought information on their son and others who disappeared in Southeast Asia. They believe there is actionable evidence that some are still alive in captivity. Until that evidence is acted upon, and proof is obtained to the contrary, they will not give up hope that their son is alive.

1Lt. Earl Hopper graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1965 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during the period he was maintained missing.

This in from Task Force Omega:

===============

18 February 1998

Bette Lee Hopper, mother of Lt. Col. Earl P. Hopper, Jr., Missing in Action over North Vietnam since 10 January 1968, passed away at 4:25 AM,
17 February 1998, at age 74. She suffered for many years with Alzheimer's and died due to complications of that disease.

Bette Hopper is survived by her husband, Col. Earl P. Hopper, Sr., US Army, Retired; sons Michael B. Hopper, Larry D. Hopper, Daniel W. Hopper and D. David Hopper. She also leaves 11 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

For many years Bette was very active in the National League of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. During those years, she worked tirelessly for not only the return of her oldest son, but also for the return of all POW/MIAs from throughout Southeast Asia. She was always very adamant in her belief that Live Prisoners of War were abandoned for political expediency at the conclusion of the Vietnam War, and often voiced her opinion to US Government and military officials, POW/MIA families and to the American public. Further, she was certain that her missing son, along with many other POW/MIAs, remained alive and held captive by enemy forces in Southeast Asia.

Bette, though frank and outspoken, had many friends in the POW/MIA community. Her untiring efforts earned her great respect throughout the country. Prior to her illness, her advise and counsel were sought by many.

Bette will be remembered by family and friends alike for her unwavering love of family, devotion to her children and grandchildren and her great tenacity in her unending quest to find and return her first-born son to the nation he fought so valiantly for. She believed, as did many other POW/MIA family members, that it was her strong responsibility to do everything within her power to learn the truth about what happened to her son.

We ask that her fight for the return of all Prisoners of War - both alive and dead - be continued in her absence.

================================================

JOINT TASK FORCE-FULL ACCOUNTING 10th ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY

CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii - Jan. 23, 2002 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Joint Task Force-Full Accounting. During this time, JTF-FA has helped to locate and return the remains of more than 323 individuals who were missing in action from the Vietnam War. During a ceremony at 11 a.m., Jan. 23, 2002 at the Sunset Lanai at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award will be presented as well as a plaque honoring seven members of the unit who died in a helicopter crash in 2001. Lt. Gen. T. R. Case, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, will be presiding over the ceremony.

JTF-FA will present the command briefing to interested media at 9 a.m., Jan. 23 in building #20 at Camp Smith. Following the briefing, Brig. Gen. Steven J. Redmann will hold a short Q & A session. Media wishing to attend the 10th anniversary ceremony should contact Joint Task Force-Full Accounting public affairs office point of contact by noon, Jan. 22, 2002.

More information about Joint Task Force-Full Accounting can be found on the web site at http://www.pacom.mil/jtffa.htm . JTF-FA point of contact is: Capt. Gina Jackson (808) 477-5301....

On 16 January 2002, the AFIRB met and approved the identification of CILHI 1998-039-I-01 as the individual remains from an incident involving: Hopper, Earl P., Jr., LtCol, USAF, 526-60-4263, REFNO 0981-0-01.


Times like these you realize how small the Net is, after all.