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Bracelet keeps MIA on Norfolk man’s mind for 25 years
Bracelet keeps MIA on Norfolk man’s mind for 25 years
(EXCERPT) Steve Blum of Norfolk bought a POW/MIA bracelet carrying the name of Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael L. Roberts. He vowed to wear the bracelet until the man came home. Blum learned this summer that Roberts’ remains had been found and identified in Laos. PHOTO BY MARK MITCHELL / THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT., by JACK DORSEY, The Virginian-Pilot © November 10, 2003 CHESAPEAKE — When Steve Blum paid $2 in 1978 for a POW/MIA bracelet to honor Vietnam-era servicemen, he was told to wear it until the person came home. “I wore it when it was a fad,” Blum said. “I wore it when it wasn’t a fad. I wore it when I got in trouble. I wore it with my uniform, even when I was told not to because it was nonmilitary.” For 25 years, Blum, of Norfolk, wore the simple metal bracelet — one of 5 million that flooded the nation beginning on Veterans Day 1970 — engraved with the name of “AD2 Michael L. Roberts,” a 23-year-old petty officer second class from Purvis, Miss., who had been declared missing in action in 1968. Roberts was an aviation ordnanceman. Blum never took the bracelet off until this past August, when he learned that Roberts’ remains had been found in Laos and identified. It was more than three decades since he had been declared missing. “It was really hard to give up the bracelet,” Blum said. “You wear something so long, you know. For the longest time, I had a tan line around my wrist.” Blum, 43, now a car salesman at Priority Chevrolet in Chesapeake, was in the N... U.S. and friendly nation laws prohibit fully reproducing copyrighted material. In abidance with our laws this report cannot be provided in its entirety. However, you can read it in full today, 10 Nov 2003, at the following URL. (COMBINE the following lines into your web browser.) The subject/content of this report is not necessarily the viewpoint of the distributing Library. This report is provided for your information and discussion. http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories...2110&ran=91254 --------------------------- Otis Willie Associate Librarian The American War Library http://www.americanwarlibrary.com |
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