After wearing MIA bracelet for 22 years, Vandenberg vice wing commander will escort home Vietnam War pilot’s remains
By Janene Scully/Associate Editor janscully@lompocrecord.com Lompoc Record | Posted: Friday, March 4, 2011 11:21 pm
Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing vice commander at Vandenberg Air Force Base, looks down at the POW/MIA bracelet he wears for Lt. Col. William L. Kieffer Jr., whose plane went down over Laos on Feb. 11, 1970, the day of Balts’ birth. Balts will escort Kieffer’s remains to Arlington. //Leah Thompson/Staff
On the day Keith Balts was born, an Air Force lieutenant colonel’s plane crashed in Laos, the first of several times the two lives would intersect during the next four decades.
In 1988, their stories converged again when Balts, an ROTC freshman, chose to don the POW/MIA bracelet bearing the name of Lt. Col. William L. Kieffer Jr.
This month, Balts, who has worn the silver bracelet remembering the Vietnam War-era officer for more than two decades, will escort home Kieffer’s recently identified remains.
“I was honored, humbled and honored,” said Balts, now a colonel serving as the vice commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
“I’ve been wearing him on my wrist for over half my life. To be asked to do that is the honor of my career.”
Balts first learned about Kieffer while an ROTC cadet at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Trying to choose whose POW/MIA bracelet to wear, Balts pored through large binders, looking for some type of personal connection.
His search led him to Kieffer, an A1-E Skyraider pilot who went missing the exact day that Balts was born, Feb. 11, 1970.
“It was odd to have someone so senior (ranking). I went and ordered the bracelet back in fall 1988 and have worn it ever since,” said Balts, who grew up in Wisconsin.
The two men didn’t know each other and aren’t related. Yet, Balts learned about their many similarities as he uncovered more about Kieffer and began communicating with his family.
“I remember I was so impressed and so awed by the whole thing,” said Kieffer’s daughter Rebecca “Becky” Pazoureck, 65, of Lawton, Okla.
“It’s so refreshing to know that people do remember,” she added, noting the Vietnam War still elicits negative reactions.
“We were totally blown away with his story. Still are,” she added.
That communication led Kieffer’s family to ask Balts to escort home the remains, uncovered in Laos and identified through the efforts of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.
On Wednesday, Balts will leave Vandenberg to head to Hawaii to begin his somber role escorting Kieffer’s remains to the East Coast for an overdue burial in Arlington National Cemetery on March 17.
“The family never had a chance to lay their loved one to rest. He has a marker at Arlington. I’ve seen it. His name is certainly on The (Vietnam) Wall, I’ve seen that several times. But they’ve never had a chance to bring him home.”
Until now.
Over time, Balts discovered that Kieffer, who was assigned to the 1st Special Operations Squadron, apparently died after his A1-E aircraft crashed near Pek District, Xiangkhoang Province, Laos.
His plane went down after taking small arms fire as he was making multiple passes over enemy territory to support troops on the ground.
Kieffer wasn’t found, leaving him listed as missing in action. The 45-year-old man left behind a wife and daughter.
The U.S. Defense Department has about 400 military and civilian specialists trying to find, identify and return those listed as missing in action.
It’s no small chore. As of this month some 1,699 Americans are listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War.
In all, more than 83,000 Americans are missing from wars dating back to World War II.
“It’s a pretty intense resource that we commit — personnel, money — to make sure we bring these folks home,” Balts said.
Teams had visited Kieffer’s crash site since the 1990s multiple times and ultimately conducted four excavations there, according to Balts. Discovery of life-support equipment and plane wreckage confirmed the pilot crashed with the aircraft. Remains were recovered in 2007.
After obtaining DNA from a male relative, a positive identification occurred April 26, 2010, according to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office.
“It’s sort of a bittersweet moment. You’re excited that you get positive closure to a very unfortunate incident,” Balts said.
But the confirmed death of someone he had never met also sparked emotions, according to Balts, who said he has used Kieffer as inspiration for his own military career.
“It’s just a pretty amazing story, I think.”
Through the years, Balts has remained connected to Kieffer, beyond simply wearing his name on a bracelet.
He visited the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, finding Kieffer’s name. He easily rattles off the panel location — “17 West, fourth row from the bottom.”
Two bracelets became lost as Balts went about his life, but replacements — with Kieffer’s name — were ordered and worn.
Balts continued to serve in the Air Force as a career space officer, earning multiple promotions and other honors as assignments took him to Colorado, Turkey, South Carolina, Alabama Washington, D.C., North Dakota, Rhode Island and currently Vandenberg.
After learning of his own promotion to lieutenant colonel — the same rank Kieffer wore at the time of his death — Balts reached out to the fallen pilot’s family, penning a six-page letter in 2006.
“I am writing you today to fulfill a promise I made when I was first ‘introduced’ to Lt. Col. Kieffer’s story and our shared milestone date. But before I get into the details, let me first express how sorry I am for your loss and how much I personally appreciate the ultimate sacrifice that … .” he said, choking up with emotion as he read the letter aloud to visitors recently.
“I never knew how long I’d serve in the Air Force, but deep down I knew the best way to honor Lt. Kieffer’s sacrifice was to strive for the rank of Lt. Col. myself — the rank he held when he was shot down.”
He sent the letter to the Air Force, which forwarded the letter to the family, but Balts wasn’t certain how they would respond or even if any next of kin remained.
“They were eager and responded,” Balts said. “They were excited to get it and create the connection. We’ve had an e-mail and written correspondence ever since.”
Kieffer’s widow sent a pair of his oak leaf clusters that he wore to signify his rank that Balts himself “wore very proudly as a lieutenant colonel.”
He has yet to the meet them in person, the widow who lives near Washington, D.C. and the daughter who lives in southern Oklahoma.
Balts was “very pleasantly” surprised to receive a response.
Along with escorting home Kieffer’s remains, Balts also has been asked to speak at the memorial service.
“There’s a sense of anticipation and really a sense of honor to be able to be a part of it,” he said, adding he initially just hoped to attend the ceremony.
His wife, mother, in-laws, and friends and colleagues may attend the memorial service for the fallen officer they didn’t know but whose story, they learned through Balts, has touched them.
As Balts went from college student to Air Force space officer to husband to dad of two over the past two decades, the bracelet has remained on his wrist.
He’s worn his current bracelet since 1997 and despite tradition doesn’t intend to stop doing so after Kieffer’s memorial service.
“I’ve ordered another one, but I’ll give this back one to the family, which is the custom to wear it until he comes home,” Balts said. “Because I don’t want to forget him, I’ve ordered a new one that I’ll wear, I’m sure, for the rest of my life.”
Balts and Kieffer: Two strangers linked by similarities
The stories of Col. Keith Balts and Lt. Col. William Kieffer share many similarities.
“There’s so many connections when you dig deeper,” Balts notes.
- Kieffer was shot down Feb. 11, 1970, the same day Balts was born.
- Both are Air Force officers.
- Balts’ childhood nickname sounds similar to Kieffer’s last name.
- William is Kieffer’s first name, and Balts’ middle name.
- Balts’ dad was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. at the same time Kieffer was there although in a different unit.
A Voice for the Laotian Who do not have Voice 