A Rochester Hills woman spent nearly a year fighting to get her late father recognized by a national program honoring Vietnam veterans who died after returning home from service.
Laurie Starr's father, Robert Starr, served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He died in 2015 at age 72 from multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer doctors attributed to his exposure to Agent Orange.
See the full story in the video below
"He was the voice inside my head, he always has been, he was a great father," Laurie said.
After losing her father, Laurie made it her mission to honor his service. She began researching and connecting with families who lost loved ones to Agent Orange, eventually discovering the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's In Memory Program.
"It was close to maybe a year writing to the government, writing to this program that they finally sent me an email, saying we would like to accept your dad into the program," Laurie said.
This year, 768 Vietnam veterans will be inducted into the program. Thirty-two of those veterans are from Michigan.
"She called, and she said 'Dad has been accepted into the program,' and I think both of us shed a few tears," said Sandra Starr, Robert's wife.
Sandra and Robert were high school sweethearts who were married for 47 years. She shared his dog tags — including one he made especially for her.
"And it says 'For my baby, I love you, Susie," Sandra said. "I knew what love was, and I will be forever grateful for that."
"He was my rock, and when I lost him, my world shattered. People said to me are you going to date, and I said, 'heavens no, I'm still married to him,'" Sandra said.
Sandra also recalled a visit she and Robert made to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
"Five years before he passed away, we went to a wedding in D.C. I said you haven't seen the Vietnam Memorial, let's go. He didn't make it a third of the way down the wall, I mean he just broke down, and knowing that his name is going to be engraved on another wall, it couldn't mean any more to me than what it does," Sandra said.
For Laurie, sharing her father's story is about more than honoring one veteran.
"By sharing this information, sharing my dad's story, I hope other families will get their loved ones recognized as well," Laurie said.
The In Memory ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, June 20 on the East Knoll of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where each honoree’s name will be read aloud.
For more information, including how you can honor loved ones who served in Vietnam, click here. You can also email Heidi Zimmerman at hzimmerman@vvmf.org.
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