Van of Valor

Dr. Kevin Wallace
Van of Valor

ST. LOUIS – Bring them all home.

For decades, that promise has fueled a relentless quest, evolving from a personal pilgrimage into the core mission of the non-profit organization, Tours of Duty, founded by Amanda Rutledge.

To assist, Gold Star family member Linda Moreau enlists the help of dedicated veterans. But their story is a portal to thousands of others. They travel not only to Vietnam but also to Laos and Cambodia, following leads on service members who never returned.

“The one thing I read somewhere… how to describe the feelings of Gold Star family members… it’s called ‘agonizing limbo,’” Moreau shared in a recent interview during the 2025 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association reunion. “And that’s exactly what it is. Even though I think and I’m pretty sure that my brother is dead, I won’t know that until I have proof. And that’s really hard to live with, year after year after year.”

Her brother, Mickey Wilson, went missing at the end of the Vietnam War. 

“He was due to come home in a couple of weeks. And he was the aircraft commander of a Huey helicopter that was shot down January 8, 1973. Never seen again,” she said. “I heard from his other veterans that were with him at the time that January 8, the peace accords were supposed to be signed that day. But then Kissinger said they were discussing something, so it got delayed for a couple more weeks.”

Mickey was 24 years old when he was presumed dead along with the rest of the soldiers in the helicopter. 

Moreau never believed the official statement.

For 24 years, she clung to the hope that he had stayed in Vietnam with his wife. But when she finally traveled there in 1996 and found her sister-in-law, she discovered a heartbreaking truth: the woman had been callously turned away by officials and told her husband was dead.

This moment of bittersweet connection — finding a loved one but confirming a loss — cemented her resolve. 

“I did get her benefits and I’m still fighting for retroactive benefits,” Moreau said, highlighting the ongoing battles families face long after the guns fall silent. “But she’s well taken care of and well loved.”

A Community Forged in Loss

“The work of Tours of Duty is as much about healing as it is about recovering,” said Linda, describing her first visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a moment of profound peace, not pain.

“I looked at those names and I said, ‘Oh my God, every one of those people has a story.’… And that’s what we come here, we find out,” said Moreau. “Getting together with groups and organizations like this really helps and it lets you know that they’re not forgotten. We would like all of them to know that they’re not forgotten.”

This sense of community is vital, she emphasizes, especially for veterans who returned but carry the invisible wounds of war. 

“I think that’s even more special because they have those memories that tear them up all the time,” she said.

Boots on the Ground, Hope in Their Hands

Now 75, Moreau has been to Vietnam 14 times since 1996 and has no plans to stop. Her daughter has joined the mission, becoming the next generation in this family’s commitment. Their work is intensely practical and deeply personal.

The organization uses cutting-edge technology — drones, ground-penetrating lidar, and forensic archaeology — to search for crash sites and burial grounds. They work with trained investigators, including a retired intelligence officer who initially swore he’d never return to Vietnam but now can’t stay away.

“They had a lot of success and we had some failures,” said Moreau, “but the failures aren’t really failures because we learned something. It’s the way you look at it.”

Their mission has also expanded to include acts of remembrance and closure. They’ve conducted memorials on hills where soldiers served, and at the request of a veteran, they buried a coin in Vietnam to honor his deceased working dog. “Anything that we can do to help that pain and closure, we’ll do it,” she said.

For now, the work continues. With a team on the ground and a list of names that must not fade, Tours of Duty extends an open invitation to anyone with information about a missing loved one.

“Anybody that has a loved one or knows someone that’s missing, reach out to us,” she urges. “We’ll put them on our list.”

It’s a mission born from a promise, sustained by community, and driven by the unwavering belief that no one should be left behind.

For more information, to volunteer, or to report a case, visit the Tours of Duty website. To read more, visit www.HelpVoV.com.