The following are the comments made by Cornell News Service writer Franklin Crawford at the Feb. 23 Army ROTC ceremony upon the return of his brother Douglas' dog tags to his family.

On behalf of my family I would like to thank Lt. Col. Reisweber, Major Brown and the Cornell Army ROTC for honoring my brother with this ceremony. I would also like to thank Bill Huling for his thoughtful comments and insights.

Thirty-five years is a long time to wait and to be honest, until last summer, when we were contacted by the United States Department of the Army about my brother's dog tags, I didn't even know my family was still waiting for something. But my father knew. And it remained a source of anguish for him. Dog tags have a special meaning for a soldier, one I can't pretend to know or understand. For my father, this missing piece of my brother's soldierly existence became part of a wound that never healed. For this and for many other reasons, he went to his grave unable to accept my brother's death.

Today, my parents are gone, but my sister and I are here to represent them. We celebrate the return of my brother's belongings. So, while it is a somber occasion, it is an occasion for us to rejoice.

I'd also like this to be an occasion to recognize the commitment made by all members of the armed forces. This ceremony is relevant today. There are families right now who are freshly mourning the loss of loved ones, who are newly afraid for their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. And there are citizens of other places that are strange to us, who find their country war torn and divided, who suffer terribly.

My brother died in South Vietnam. His base was shared with forces from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The Vietnamese people on both sides of the war also suffered terrible losses.

Douglas Crawford was a kind and deeply sensitive young man. He didn't volunteer for the army. He was drafted. Once on board, he took his duties seriously. In speaking with veterans of the Vietnam War I can't help but think that my brother believed he was there to help.

That war seems far, far away until you look at period pictures of the young faces of the men and women who served there. They resemble the faces of young men and women now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is my hope that this occasion reminds us, whatever our convictions, that such a commitment deserves to be fully understood and acknowledged in its own time and not 35 years hence.