One woman’s quest to honor MIA soldier from Vietnam War

When Kathy Strong was 12, she received a POW/MIA bracelet engraved with the name of Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class James Leslie Moreland, missing since Feb. 7, 1968, during the Vietnam War from her parents.

The POW/MIA bracelet movement began in 1970 by college students with Voices in Vital America (VIVA) as a student-led reminder: wear the bracelet bearing servicemen’s names until the soldier was returned or was accounted for. Approximately five million were distributed between 1970 and 1973.

“Everyone in my seventh grade English class had one, every single student.” said Strong. While the fad faded in the mid-1970s, Strong’s solitary vigil endured—and blossomed into a national tribute.

“I really didn’t know anything at all about him for over two years and then in 1975 my mom wrote to VIVA asking for more information and they sent me a short biography and a photo of him”

She pledged never to remove her bracelet until he returned—alive or not. She wore it for 38 years.

Her vow began Christmas Day 1972 and ended May 14, 2011, when Moreland’s remains were positively identified and returned to his family.

“That was a very emotional moment. I went to the funeral home, and, with the family’s permission, I took off the bracelet. Since I had worn it on my left wrist I placed it on the left sleeve of his full dressed uniform, so that he could wear it on the same spot where I had been wearing it all those years.”

After returning Moreland’s bracelet to his uniform at his funeral, Strong’s mission grew.
“I fulfilled my childhood promise.” Strong said, “Then, over the course of the next year, I just felt like there was something more I should be doing to honor him. I wanted to do something more to make sure that he was not forgotten.”

She resolved to honor him not only in her own remembrance, but also publicly—by placing engraved bricks for him at veteran’s memorials in all 50 states.

Her journey began modestly, with the first brick in Ocean Springs, Miss., at a Vietnam veterans park near a cousin’s home. Encouraged by that first placement, she continued, quietly installing bricks.

In February 2008, the 40th anniversary of the battle at Lang Vei and 35 years after she started wearing her bracelet, a local news story prompted Moreland’s younger sister, Linda, to contact her. Within months, Strong traveled to Seattle and met both Moreland sisters. Family connection deepened at later ceremonies. In Edmonds, Wash., a brick placement drew three generations of the Moreland family—James’s sisters, niece and grand-niece.

Along the way, Strong has encountered moments she describes as predestined. During her first brick ceremony in Bowling Green, Ky., on her late mother’s birthday, a purple-and-red butterfly—her mother’s favorite colors—landed at her feet. At Wisconsin’s ceremony, a veteran gifted her $80 (four $20 bills) whispering to her that he hoped it was enough for her next brick. A week and a half later she was in Eglin Air Force base in Florida and bought a $1.99 rose on her way to leave with her brick. When she arrived, she was surprised to see that the brick, which can cost between $50-$500 dollars, was $78. “I could hear his voice saying I hope it’s enough for your next brick and it was with – along with a rose - leaving one penny left over, she said.

Another time in Des Moines, Iowa, she after getting lost finding her brick she came up to the stop sign and the instead of saying it just instead of it just saying stop someone added two words and it said “Don’t stop believing” —another poignant prompt.
Strong chooses each location with care. Her first requirement: the memorial must have a brick program. If they also hold an annual ceremony, that adds appeal. And if both are in place, she looks for parks that offer specific recognition for POWs and MIAs, Purple Heart recipients, or special forces service members.

In June, Strong installed her 46th brick at The Bluffton Veterans Memorial, a location she found online. In Bluffton, American Legion Post 205 member Kay Ranta assisted Strong in coordinating.

“I’d been googling a lot of different places and when I talk to Kay Ranta of the American Legion Post 205, I could just tell that they had a lot of pride in their park, and it just sounded like a beautiful location. I was excited to be able to place one there because it was near where his commanding officer lives. His commanding officer Paul Longer and his wife were able to join me for the ceremony.”

As of June 2025, Strong has completed 47 states. Her next placements: Maine in July, Wyoming in August and Maryland—state No. 50—in November, near Washington, D.C. She hopes to include a member of Congress in that ceremony.

Strong, a former photojournalism major at Pepperdine University, has documented every trip with photos and plans to write a book. She shared that her left wrist remains bare since removing the bracelet in 2011—a permanent memorial to Moreland’s homecoming.

“Every time I look at my bare wrist, I remember he’s finally home,” she said.