In Search of Brother Rich

In Search of My Long-Lost Brother…I Found My Nephew

Join me in Episode 16 when I discuss getting feedback from my son and his fiancé aftertheir visit to the Corrales house that served as the commune where Rich livedin '69-'70. I also share my process in retaining an Albuquerque lawyer to represent me in navigating the New Mexico legal process to have Rich declared "dead" with me named as his representative.  

Join me in Episode 15 when I take a few moments to reflect on the impact of the Vietnam War. Within thischapter, I share Rich’s Letter from Vietnam he wrote to my mother in Decemberof 1967 in which he asks my mother to have Reverand Van Dyke “Pray for theyoung children.” I also share two other newspaper articles she framed and hung,along with Rich’s letter, on her living room wall for fifty years.

Join me in Episode 14 as I discover and speak with twopreviously unidentified members of the Corrales Commune about their outlandishtheory Rich had been abducted by inhabitants of a UFO.  

Follow my investigation in Episode 13: A long and winding road, as I navigate theNational Personnel Records Center (NPRC) website process to obtain Rich'smilitary records. My stymied attempt leads me to explore the requirements forcreating a missing persons case for Rich within the National Missing andUnidentified Persons System (NamUS) which required a missing person's case tobe "act...

Join me in Episode 12 as I meet with a representative from the VA Office in Albuquerque to inquire whether or not Rich has received services from them. Also, learn about and read Joline Gutierrez Kruegar's front page Albuquerque Journal article, "Quest for brother missing since 1970 turns into mission" and the responses I received from its publication a few weeksafter my visit.

Join me in Episode 11, as I chronicle my meeting with Pat Krupa in Albuquerque, andvisit to Corrales and the North Branch of the Rio Grande River.

Join me in Episode 10, as I contact AlbuquerqueJournal Investigative Reporter, Joline Gutierrez Krueger, and discuss my hopeof having a story written about my search for Rich prior to my visit toAlbuquerque, New Mexico.

Join me in Episode 9, as I discover Dee's husband's occupation, which may haveimpacted her willingness to be forthcoming during our telephone conversation. This chapter also presents me with several Albuquerque Journal newspaperarticles from 70-71 regarding male accident victims worth investigating.

Join me in Episode 8 as I develop furtherquestions for and engage in a telephone conversation with the only eyewitnessto my brother's disappearance-Dee.

Preparation for my phone call with Dee. I spent the next few weeks drafting twelve questions to poseto Dee and sharing them with Larry for his feedback. Once finalized, I createda Word document and printed it so I'd be able to stay focused during ourconversation. I planned to have my legal pad nearby to capture Dee's responsesto my questions. These questions and a summary of our May 27th c...

Onecharacteristic friends and family tell me I have is my ability to persevere tothe completion of a goal.  Join me in thenext chapter of this true story as my ability to persist in the face ofcountless obstacles is tested time and again. My mantra: No immediate miracles.

Meetingwith Larry Hochberg proved to be a critical aspect of my recommitment to searchfor my brother. His questions and suggestions were insightful. Perhaps hiscontributions were the result of hearing Rich's story for the first time as an"objective party." In any event, I welcomed his interest in bothRich's life and in partnering with me as the other half of my investigativeteam.

I'mthankful that my wife's nephew, Larry Hochberg, read my memoir, Brother,Brother. He contacted me to talk about the "backstory" of my searchfor answers.  He has proven to be anexcellent resource with an "investigative" mind. Within the next chapter,he asks me several questions that never occurred to me.  These questions lead me to obtain informationto better understan...

I'veenvisioned my search as being similar to peeling one layer after another of anonion in the hope of finding information previously unknown. This approachproved to be true when I reached out to my initial contact, Mary Ellen Fuller. It would also soon be reinforced through my conversation with Pat Krupa. But,like peeling an onion, sometimes uncovering the layer beneath results in tears. Join...

Join me in this episode of my true story asI resurrect my investigation and make contact with the sister of the guy mybrother went to Corrales, NM with to live on a commune. Meeting with her"jump-started" my investigative effort to identify almost a dozenhippies who Rich had lived with at the commune.  

I'll always consider my brother Rich a casualty of the post-Vietnam era because he returned, like so many other soldiers, with undiagnosed PTSD symptoms. Upon his discharge from the US Marines, he coped with his PTSD by becoming a Jesus freak flower child.  He and several kindred spirits traveled from New Jersey to Corrales, New Mexico to form a commune. Within a year, he disappeared under mys...