"Bringing My Father Home" by Cindy Stonebraker Reed
–They promised that my father had not been forgotten.
…a lifetime not knowing what had happened to my father
Cindy Stonebraker Reed is a Founding Director and Board Secretary for Mission: POW-MIA, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit based in Virginia, founded to connect and serve the families of our nations POW/MIA’s and to help end the uncertainty faced by generations of America’s POW/MIA Families.
Cindy is the daughter of Lt. Col. Kenneth Stonebraker, who remains missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. She has been published in several newspaper columns and magazines articles. She resides in Newland, North Carolina.
Author’s Talk
Cindy Stonebraker Reed holding a photograph of her father, Lt. Col. Kenneth Stonebraker, USAF-MIA
My submission to Sooner or Later is my very first effort at writing my story. In the past two years, I have had at least 25 people tell me I need to write a book to share the incredible journey I have been on to learn about my dad and to eventually bring him home. This was my first test to see if it was even anything anyone would want to read, or if I had the skill of putting my experiences into the written word.
As I sit here to write this, I’m overwhelmed at how much my life has changed since pulling off at that interstate rest area. Ten years ago, I was a chicken farmer in Kentucky. My job was to collect 40,000 eggs every day. I was quiet and shy, knew very little about my dad. Now, I travel the country, speaking at churches, schools, veterans’ events, and government forums, to share the story of my dad, and those that are still missing-in-action. That in itself stuns me, as I flunked a college history class, because I wouldn’t give an oral book report in front of 15 people that I knew. Over the past few years, I have spoken in front of thousands of people across the country. If someone had told me 10 years ago that I would be speaking in front of people, I would have just laughed.
This journey has taken me places I had never thought to go and allowed me to meet some of the most incredible people. I’ve travelled all over the United States, to Southeast Asia, and to Scotland. I met other military surviving families, military and government officials, and Presidents. I have been blessed to have spent hours with many of our nation’s Medal of Honor Recipients. I even met my husband because of this journey, and last year it led me to my new home in the mountains of North Carolina.
While I was traveling in Southeast Asia, my goal was to journal my experiences and feelings. I came home with a blank notebook with tear-stained pages. Every time I opened it up to write about my day, I just cried, unable to find the words to express my experiences and feelings. My new goal is to try to document this journey in writing, to have something to pass down to my children and grandchildren. They will be the ones left to keep my dad’s memory and sacrifice alive. It’s very important to educate the next generation, as we cannot let them be forgotten.—Cindy Stonebraker Reed
For more information, visit Mission:POW-MIA at missionpowmia.org
