Newton veteran wears MIA bracelet of Vietnam airman for 30 years
'Hopefully, someday, they'll all come home'
By Cari Cusick
Newton Kansan
NEWTON -
It took more than 40 years for John Quincy Adam to make it home.
Adam, a 20-year-old airmen first class in the U.S. Air Force, and eight other men were one of the many crews who flew from a base in Ubon in northeast Thailand to resupply troops in the siege of Khe Sanh in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
On May 22, 1968, the crew's C130 cargo plane was shot down over Laos, and all nine men went missing.
What happened to the men is but pure speculation. At the time, the U.S. military said it wasn't operating in Laos.
And when the war ended, no treaties were signed with Laos, meaning no provisions were made for those missing or killed in action or prisoners of war. Adam was declared killed in action in 1978.
But earlier this year, Adam's remains were identified, and the young man was laid to rest at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Kansas City, Kan., on July 27.
It was a long journey for Adam and his family, but a local man has been a silent supporter along the way.
Bill Ryan of Newton also served in the Air Force during Vietnam, and he, too, was based for a time at Ubon. It was a few years after Adam went missing, and Ryan said Adam's picture was one of many on the wall, showing those who were missing.
Ryan was discharged in late 1975. And after a couple of years - "it took that long to get used to being home," he said - Ryan wanted to do something to honor those who still were missing.
He wrote to a veteran's organization - he doesn't remember the name - and sent in a $20 check. He asked for a bracelet with Adam's name on it. He said he didn't want to sponsor just anyone, but having served at the same base and also being from Kansas, he felt Adam was the soldier he wanted to sponsor.
For all those years, Ryan wore the stainless steel bracelet with the name John Quincy Adam on it, as well as the POW/MIA insignia, the date he was shot down and the country he was shot down in. He took it off only when playing his guitar at concerts, and even then, it only went so far as his pocket.
He also had a POW/MIA plaque with Adam's name on it hanging on his wall and later in his shop, a quiet reminder of a young man still missing and a family still waiting.
That waiting ended for Ryan when he got a Patriot Guard e-mail several weeks ago. The e-mail was a standard one as far as Patriot Guard e-mails go - informing members of the upcoming funeral service for a military member.
But for Ryan, there was nothing standard about the name of the serviceman - John Quincy Adam, the same name he had worn on his wrist for so many years.
"I almost fell out of my chair," he said. He called the Kansas department chairman for the American Legion Riders and told him, "This is my guy."
Ryan was one of about 100 motorcyclists who created a flag line at the memorial service - about 100 bikes traveling about 10 miles on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, traveling about 40 to 45 miles an hour.
"We created quite a traffic jam," he said.
And before Adam was laid to rest, Ryan returned the bracelet and plaque, presenting them to Adam's father, Kenneth Adam.
Ryan said he was able to maintain his composure until Kenneth Adam - who had been wheeled to the graveside in a wheelchair - nudged his daughters to help him stand so he could embrace Ryan.
Ryan left a POW/MIA medallion on Adam's grave as a way of paying his final respects. On his way back to his motorcycle, Ryan said he simply "soaked itn all in."
"It's one of those moments; it'll always be there," he said. "It was a neat thing to be a part of. Sad, but for the family it's great, because he's home."
Ryan said he has no plans to sponsor another missing soldier. After all this time, he said those who haven't been found may never be.
"A lot of guys, it's going to be impossible to find," he said. "They keep finding guys, though. Hopefully, someday, they'll all come home."
© 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc.