Bruce August Nystrom

The database page for Bruce August Nystrom

14 Feb 2005 I have worn Commander Nystrom's name on my wrist since I purchased his MIA bracelet at the Mayport Navy Base, Florida, in 1971. I hope and pray that I can some day send this bracelet too his family, after he is brought home. As a USMC Veteran I have a connection to the fallen Hero. I will never forget,and I will continue to honor him by wearing this bracelet. May God Bless Commander Nystrom and his Family. R. W. Hanks Sr. 1st Bn, 1st Marines, 1968/69 barron2782@gmail.com

14 Mar 2005 I have an original VIVA bracelet for Bruce Nystrom. I bought it after my mother's MIA was found (USAF Capt Theodore Kryszak). skyhawk.org is a great website for the type of aircraft that Bruce Nystrom flew, the Douglas A-4C Skyhawk. taskforceomegainc.org is a website for MIA's and includes Bruce Nystrom. I specialize in aviation research and if I could be of any help my email address is aviationitems@hotmail.com

26 Jul 2005 I too have worn a bracelet bearing the name of Capt Bruce A. Nystrom since I was in high school (1990). I have taken this man and his family into my heart and believe with all that I am that someday he will be brought home. I will NOT give up that faith. I do not personally have any family (that I know of) that served in Vietnam but I am so grateful to the men and women who gave their lives to protect mine. Captain Nystrom will never be forgotten and I continue to pray for his final return home along with all the otehr MIAs. May God keep them all safe until they find their way home... Katherine D. Hankin katherine@cubbyholes.net

28 Aug 2005 I too still have Commander Nystrom's bracelet. I have had it since around 1971-72. My dad was assigned to Scott AFB when the POWs came home. I wore it proudly for many years. I still have it today nicely displayed in my jewelry box. My sister was able to send her POW bracelet to her POW who did come home and she received a nice letter from the family. God Bless those families who lost loved ones. I am married to a Vietnam Veteran and proud of my husband and all he accomplished. Vicki Witt vicki1tx@satx.rr.com

13 Apr 2006 My mother went into the Marine Corps in 1965; she served at Monferd Point, Camp LeJeune from 1965-1967. My brother was with Fox 2/2; he bought Captain Nystrom's bracelet for our Mom in 1967. My father served in Korea with the 1st Marine Division and did a tour in Vietnam. The amazing thing is we live in Cardington, Ohio, which is 17 miles east of Marion, Ohio - Captain Nystrom's hometown. We are glad that our Brother in Arms finally has been brought home. Louette Boller USMC 1965-1967 Monferd Point Shawn Boller 3rd Bn 25th Mar, 4th MarDiv USMC 1988-1993 Co. C 1-148th Infantry (M) Ohio Army National Guard 1999-2005 sb@redbird.net

30 May 2007 You have been on my wrist since 1972 ... and you will forever remain there. You are a hero ... you represent what our country is, what it represents, and what it will forever be. You will be forever in my heart and in all Americans. Thank you for giving the ultimate sacrifice. The USA will forever be indebted to you ... thank you and your family. I just wish I could thank them in person. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family ... both are forever with me. Never doubt that, Captain Bruce Nystrom. I love you ... XOXO Maryann Ruszkowski windycityirish@comcast.net

03 Sep 2007 Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm doth bind the restless wave, Who bidst the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep, Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. The Navy Hymn Since I first heard that Captain Nystrom was MIA some thirty years ago, scarcely a day has gone by that I have not thought of him and his family. In 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis, my family and the Nystroms were next-door neighbors in Newport, RI. Of their three children, Andrea, Greg and Diane, I remember Diane the most, for she is my age. Diane and I were both in Mrs. Coulombe's fourth grade at Lenthal Elementary School. We often walked to and from school together. We played at each other's house. We were both in my mother's Girl Scout Troop. The Nystrom family and mine worshipped at the same church: St. Peter's Lutheran. Both Captain Nystrom and his wife, Nancy, sang in the adult choir. I can remember Captain Nystrom's fine tenor voice to this day. Diane and I sang in the Children's Choir. Diane apparently inherited her parents' musical ability. I recall her sweetly singing "The End of the World" when we were playing with Barbie dolls at the Nystrom's house one afternoon. My heart has always ached for Nancy Nystrom and the three children. My father was also in the Navy. I loved him deeply. He was the only man I ever truly loved. He succumbed to cardiac arrest this summer. On August 6, I gave his eulogy at Fort Myer Chapel and followed the caisson that coveyed him to his final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery. I am thankful that I had more than fifty years of wonderful experiences with my father. I am also grateful that I have closure: I know when he died and was able to attend his funeral. I pray that the Nystrom family will have peace. From a friend, Karin Lindgren zzkayelle75@earthlink.net

22 Sep 2007 I too had Captain Nystrom's bracelet. I recieved it around 1970 and wore it until it broke. It then stayed in my jewelry box (and in my heart) until it was lost in a move in the 90's. Thank you, Captain Nystrom, for your service. Heidi Smith E-mail address is not available.

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 02 Dec 1966 two A-4C aircraft from Attack Squadron 172 embarked in USS ROOSEVELT disappeared during a night armed reconnaissance mission near Phuc Nhac, about 50 miles south of Haiphong. The two were A-4C 145143, CDR Bruce A. Nystrom, Marion, OH, and A-4C 145116, ENS Paul L. Worrell, Philadelphia, PA CDR Nystrom, Commanding Officer of VA-172, was the section lead. Other aircraft in the area heard ENS Worrell advise his lead that he had a surface-to-air warning indication. CDR Nystrom responded with instructions to begin evasive maneuvers and then announced that he held SAM launch indications. A pilot some distance away saw what appeared to be two SAM launches followed shortly thereafter by two mid-air explosions which he interpreted as SAM strikes. Subsequent search and rescue efforts were fruitless; no further contact was made with either CDR Nystrom or ENS Worrell, perhaps indicating that neither man was able to leave his aircraft. Both were classed as Missing in Action and were promoted while in that status. The Secretary of the Navy eventually approved Presumptive Findings of death for the two men, Captain Nystrom on 08 Aug 1978 and LCDR Worrell on 26 April 1978. LCDR Worrell's remains were repatriated on 14 Aug 1985 with positive identification announced on 07 Oct 1985. Captain Nystrom entered the service in 1948 after graduation from Stanford University and flew the F4U Corsair during the Korean War. He joined VA-172 as Executive Officer in December 1964 and took command of the squadron on 23 December 1965. His remains have not been repatriated. Then-Captain Theodore Kryszak, mentioned above, was one of six men lost when a 4th Air Commando Squadron AC-47D gunship (tail number 43-48925) was shot down in Laos along Route 912 some 20 miles southwest of the Ban Karai Pass, a major entry point from NVN into Laos. The remains of the six crewmen were repatriated on 20 June 1995, with positive identifications announced on 28 Apr 2003. The remains of the six men were buried together in Section 60, Arlington National Cemetery, on Friday, 05 Nov 2004. They were Col Theodore E. Kryszak, Buffalo, NY Col Harding E. Smith, Los Gatos, CA LtCol Russell D. Martin, Bloomfield, IA CMSgt Harold E. Mullins, Denver, CO CMSgt Luther L. Rose, Howe, TX CMSgt Ervin Warren, Philadelphia, PA

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 14 Feb 2005
Last updated 08/10/2009