MEDFORD - “Our goal is to find them all," says Bryce Kelley.

Kelley, a Medford resident, wants to find a picture of every Wisconsin soldier killed in Vietnam.

“I know that I will continue to work, and I have enlisted the help of many others that will continue to work until we find them all," he says.

Nearly 1,200 Wisconsinites’ names are etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington.

Names – with no faces.

“Over the years the Memorial Fund has realized that we have a whole generation of children that are growing up with no connection to the wall," he says.

Bryce wants to change that.

Pictures will help.

He’s tracked down photos of about half of the Wisconsin soldiers on the wall.

They go into a collection people can see online or in person at the wall.

“I really simply just went out and tried to find a list of Wisconsin names. I started right here in Taylor County with our casualties, and from there, just kind of kept pushing," Kelley says.

Bryce has now found pictures from countless small towns and big cities all over the state.

But more than the pictures, it’s about the stories behind the soldiers.

“I don’t know how to describe them in words. I cherish them. I want to be able to share them with other people. I think that’s what the mission of these photographs is, not just to find the photographs, but to share the lives, the hopes, the dreams of these men and women on the wall," he says.

Those are important things to share with the next generation.

“We’ve now helped the memory of this soldier live a little bit longer," he's proud to say.

If you have a photo to contribute, or want to be trained to find photos to help the project, contact Kelley at brkell@tds.net or 715-379-7612.

To view photos already found and more information about Wisconsin casualties, visit the website below.

Related Weblinks:
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

Story By: Ben Meyer