BELDING, Mich. — A California woman traveled across the country to honor a fallen Vietnam soldier in West Michigan Monday.
Kathy Strong stopped at Denny Craycraft Veterans Park in Belding to lay a paver brick for a soldier whose name she wore on a bracelet for 38 years.
She received the bracelet as a Christmas gift when she was 12 years old, wearing it until the remains of US Army Medic James Moreland were identified in 2011.
At Moreland's funeral, Strong vowed to keep his memory and other MIA's alive by placing a paver brick in front of a Vietnam memorial in all 50 states.
"I just felt a very strong connection with him," said Strong. "About a year after he went missing, I received a photo and a small biography about him. And in the picture he had such an intense look in his eyes as if to say, please don't forget me."
She never did.
The brick in Belding is the 31st that Strong has laid for Moreland and other fallen members of the military.
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