05-27-02 @ 6:01 am EDT

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


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