“No one (at least none of the people I know) likes to dwell too extensively on the subject of ‘why we’re here’…” (Correspondence, 3/5/1966)

Larry Michael Jordan

Larry Michael Jordan in uniform, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida [1964] War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Navy Unit: VAH-4 (Heavy Attack Squadron), USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63) Service Location: Pensacola, Florida; Corpus Christi, Texas; Whidbey Island, Washington; Pacific; Southeast Asia Rank: Lieutenant Commander Place of Birth: WY

Drafted into the Navy two weeks before his college graduation, Lieutenant Commander Larry Michael Jordan was serving aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in 1966. Known as Mike to his family and fellow servicemen, he was returning to the Kitty Hawk from the Philippines when his plane was shot down over China on April 12, 1966. Along with his crew, he was declared as Missing in Action. His VHP collection includes letters he sent to his family during the early days of his service, as well as poignant reminiscences from his wife (pregnant with twins at the time he was shot down) and his daughter. Taken as a group, the material paints a haunting picture of the loss and lingering questions that military families experience when a servicemember goes missing.