Robert Dornan: “Then they had a table of ID cards, and you will recall, I picked up one. My air officer number changed later, they…”

“Then they had a table of ID cards, and you will recall, I picked up one. My air officer number changed later, they changed the letters in the front. It was 3038271. This is before they went to Social Security numbers. I picked up this card and I look at the Social Security number, I mean his Air Force number, and it says, regular Air Force, 3038260, 11 numbers off mine. I look at the name and it is David Allison, F-105 pilot, good shoot, on the ground, gave a radio call. His remains had never come home. But there is his ID card. His military green serviceman's card was there, the only other redhead in my pilot training class, lined up with me, getting his wings, Allison ahead of Dornan. You remember, the tears went down my face, I said, Jerry, look at this. This is one of my pals from 15 months of pilot training. Is this all his family is going to get now is an ID card, if, in fact, they ever sent it to him? They had him a prisoner. We do not have his remains back, let alone any word of what happened to him, and we know they took him prisoner. Then I asked, can we all say a prayer here? And it was like we were in a church, praying for all these men. And some of them, all they had was one tooth, trying to match it up with good military dental records. This has been a tough, tough end to this Vietnam conflict. Let me see if I can get through Colonel Holmes' letter, redacted.…”