Jonathan Bruce Bednarek

The database page for Jonathan Bruce Bednarek

22 May 2001 There is something in the pang of change, More than the heart can bear, Unhappiness remembering happiness. - Euripides - I was honored to wear your MIA bracelet during the war and, although devastated to find your name on the Wall, will continue to honor your memory and to thank you for the great sacrifice you made. I wish I had known you. From one who wore his MIA bracelet, Denise Hogue denhogue@aol.com

14 Aug 2003 I wore your M.I.A. bracelet and have kept you close in my thoughts and in my heart. I thank you for your sacrifice and I pray for you and your family. Carol Letus Carolkeekat@netscape.net

10 Jun 2007 I was honored to wear your MIA bracelet and still honored to still have your bracelet. I think of you often. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family. Laura Marino idaho343@aol.com

06 Jan 2008 I also wore Jonathan's MIA bracelet as a young woman. I often wondered about him and prayed for his safe return. When it was not to be, I prayed to God to give them strength. Tess Banfield Ronkonkoma, Long Island, New York E-Mail will be forwarded by the Webmaster@VirtualWall.org

Notes from The Virtual Wall 1LT Wesley Ratzel and 1LT Jonathan B. Bednarek, launching from Da Nang Air Base, were downed near the city of Kep in Ha Bac Province, North Vietnam. An article in a Vietnamese publication, Nhan Dan, was thought to refer to 1LT Bednarek, but Defense Department notations for Ratzel state that he was a "no show" in the Hanoi POW camp system. Given the possibility that one or both men had survived, both were placed in a Missing In Action status. When the American POWs were released in 1973, Bednarek and Ratzel were not among them. The Vietnamese, who had pledged in Paris earlier in the year to release all American POWs and account for as many as possible of the missing, denied any knowledge of either Ratzel or Bednarek. In December 1988, the Vietnamese "discovered" and returned the remains of Wesley Ratzel and Jonathan Bednarek.

The point-of-contact for this memorial is one who wears his MIA bracelet, Denise Hogue denhogue@aol.com

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 22 May 2001
Last updated 03/05/2008