Sometimes what we think is a simple, straightforward project becomes much more. That’s where American Legion Auxiliary member Kelly Moyer found herself after being asked by local VFW Vietnam Memorial Post 4200 in Tire Hill, Pa., to create a scrapbook with biographies of 77 local Vietnam War killed in action.
 
Moyer realized her plan should change from the project’s original scope.
 
Her initial thought of a book with 77 pages — one for each casualty — shifted into a scrapbook of roughly 300 pages taking four years to research while juggling her American Legion Auxiliary responsibilities, like Pennsylvania department president.
 
Digging through various sources in her research such as newspaper articles, the virtual Vietnam War Wall, bridge dedications, and talking to family members, Moyer’s perspective of veterans was altered.
 
Moyer joined the ALA to honor her grandfather and father-in-law. Her grandfather never talked about his time in the service, so the project gave her a chance to understand him and other veterans a bit more.
 
Growing up, her vision of a servicemember was an adult. During this project, she viewed the military members she researched as boys —  many of them 17 and 18 years old when they were deployed.
 
“I call it a work of love. It gave me a new, not respect, but it’s just I never realized what these young men went through when they went off to war,” Moyer said. “All I know is my grandfather went to war, and he never talked about his time in the war.”
 

This project — though solemn — opened her eyes and broadened her understanding. While she was completing the scrapbook, she wanted to not only honor the young men and their memory but also represent the tragedy.
 
“I had a hard time deciding how I wanted to put the book together,” Moyer said. “I would make a page, rip it apart … because it’s a solemn book. It’s full of sad stories.”
 
In her research, she came across various stories like U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Elwood Eugene Rumbaugh, who was deployed in Cambodia for two days before he was killed in action and his body was never recovered.
 
To convey the solemnity, Moyer decided to design the book in black and white. 
 
It became a 300-page book due to the amount of information available for some servicemembers, with some men having six pages and others two.
 
“Every man was different because they each have their own different story,” she said. “Some had a lot of information. Some had none.”
 
In the book, Moyer also includes messages left on the virtual wall, like those of a wife who annually leaves a message for her husband marked as missing in action. She never remarried.
 
VFW Vietnam Memorial Post 4200 held a ceremony and presented a plaque to Moyer to show their appreciation of her hard work.
 
Though honored by the recognition, Moyer’s reward was providing a physical representation of these men.
 
“I’m not one to do something to get credit or be put on the news,” she said. “I do it because I fell in love with [the ALA].”
 
While working on the project, Moyer found the importance of listening and telling veterans’ stories. She encourages her fellow Auxiliary members to research their own loved ones’ histories during service and listen to local veterans who tell their stories.