Lake Orion resident Linda Pepper (formerly Whelpley) was just 18 when her brother Raymond Whelpley was killed in combat during the Vietnam War in 1968.
Pepper has only fond memories of her older brother, but one item she and her family remember her brother by has gone missing.
Pepper and her father, George Whelpley, 82, are in search of a large color photo of Raymond, a specialist fourth class during the war.
The photo of Whelpley was on the cover of the program for the Lake Orion VFW Post 4102’s Installation of Officers, dated August 8, 1971.
Pepper has black and white wallet size photos of her brother similar to the one that ran on the program, but would like the original back.
‘I believe it’s in color,? she said, ‘but all we have is the wallet size.?
She believes the larger photo is an 8 x 10, or something of similar size.
‘I contacted four people and got a dead end every time,? she said.
The problem is that the Orion post combined with the Oxford post (or perhaps even disbanded), and it’s unclear what happened to the records at the Orion post from that time.
Another post (number 334) was started in 1984. Charter commander Ron Deachin said that Oxford merged with this post to serve North Oakland County in the 1990s.
Deachin said there are few, if any, records from before the 1990s at the current post.
Pepper is hoping someone in the area might have an idea of what happened to the photo, and will contact The Review to help.
Whelpley was a 1965 LOHS graduate, and was accomplished in band. He spent two years at college in the Upper Peninsula before enlisting in the Army in 1967.
He was killed in combat one year and one day later, on September 6, 1968.
Anyone with information about the picture is asked to please call Linda Pepper at 391-9108 or The Review office at 693-8331.