At MacArthur high school in Decatur, Illinois, 18-year-old Alan Boyer was handsome, athletic and popular. He and his best friend, Doug Hagen, were the Vice President and President of their 1964 senior class, respectively. One night, Al, Doug and their close group of friends snuck to the railroad bridge, and spent the night painting the bridge and its support columns their high school’s colors.

They loved life, and life loved them right back.

When high school came to an end, both Al and Doug went off to college. Al was accepted to the University of Montana and pledged the Beta Epsilon chapter of the Theta Chi Fraternity. Just as Al was the quintessential charming high school athlete, he was also the typical fraternity brother: hanging out with his friends and enjoying college life. But after his freshman year at Montana, Al felt that maybe he was meant for something else.

Alan and his fraternity brothers

The year was 1966, and the United States was in the midst of a tumultuous battle with communist forces in faraway Vietnam, halfway around the world. Al enlisted in the Army, completed training and by 1967, was a full-fledged Green Beret and arrived in Vietnam later that same year. He was assigned to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG). MACVSOG was a highly classified special operations unit which conducted covert and, at times, unconventional warfare operations. Al was promoted to E5-sergeant, and by early 1968, he and other team members then formed Spike Team (recon team) Asp. Al was the assistant team leader.

In March, Al and members of Spike Team Asp, including Sgts. Ron Brown and Greg Huston, were conducting a mission deep behind enemy lines in Xepon, Laos, near the Ho Chi Minh Trail. On March 28, 1968, they had completed their assigned mission, but had been detected by enemy forces. They requested an emergency retraction. The rescue helicopter was unable to land because of the terrain of the Laotian jungle. Enemy fire was heavy, and Al Boyer, Greg Huston, Ron Brown and one Vietnamese team member were lost to the jungle. Al was declared missing in action.

Sgt. 1st Class Alan Lee Boyer

Meanwhile, Al’s best friend, Doug Hagen, was in college when he heard the news about Al’s MIA status. He decided he needed to find out what had happened to his best friend. He enlisted in the Army and joined the same unit Al had. On August 7, 1971, Doug was leading a recon team that encountered a superior enemy force. The fighting was long and the death toll was great. Doug was killed in action, but in the process, earned the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military award for bravery. Doug was brought home, and is buried in Section 28, No. 1204 in the Arlington National Cemetery.

I had always known the story of Sgt. Al Boyer. My dad works for the Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which has the specific aim of bringing home the remains of soldiers declared missing in action during the Vietnam War, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and the Persian Gulf Wars. For as long as I can remember, my dad has worn a bracelet with Al’s name and recon team on it. I remember once when I was young, I asked my dad why he was always wearing a bracelet with somebody else’s name on it. He explained to me he did it as a reminder that there are still people missing that needed to come home.

Fast forward to March of this year. After decades of being unaccounted for, Al’s remains were finally identified through DNA matching and brought home. DPAA scientists commented that it was the strongest DNA match of remains they had seen to date. My dad went with others from his office to inform Al’s sister, Judi, whom over the years had become a close friend of my dad’s, of the good news.

On June 22, 2016, Sgt. 1st Class Alan Lee Boyer was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 28, not 15 feet away from his high school president, comrade in arms, and best friend, Doug Hagen. Alan’s story is one that teaches the importance of living life and following your heart. Doug’s is one of loyalty, friendship and honor. We all deserve a friend like Doug, and we all need to live life a little more like Al.

Al's sister, Judi Boyer-Bouchard, at Arlington National Cemetery

From Spike Team Asp, Greg Huston remains unaccounted for. Our prayers are with the family.

“Our young friends–yes, young friends, for in our hearts you will always be young, full of the love that is youth, love of life, love of joy, love of country–you fought for your country and for its safety and for the freedom of others with strength and courage. We love you for it. We honor you. And we have faith that, as He does all His sacred children, the Lord will bless you and keep you, the Lord will make His face to shine upon you and give you peace, now and forevermore.” – President & Mrs. Reagan, Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. and from the eulogy for Sgt. 1st Class Alan Boyer