As part of the effort to bring public awareness to the important issue of repatriating remains of MIA’s, Dago Chapter, with the help of the MIA Posse began a search to locate the families of the “San Diego 22” for the purpose of including them in the event that would honor that Hero. The MIA Posse had completed the work of tracking down the mother of John H. Hoeffs and Dago Chapter contacted her. For her own personal reasons, she declined involvement and acceptance of the POW/MIA flag with John’s name on it. 
Plans were then made to present the flag to the U.S. Army-Navy Academy in nearby Carlsbad, CA. The event was carried out, as the “Forgotten Warrior Run” on Veteran’s Day weekend, 2006, and the POW/MIA with the name of John H. Hoeffs flies today at the Academy. Towards the end of January 2007 we received an email from Russ Hoeffs and his wife, Barb. Russ is the oldest brother of our MIA, John. They had heard about the Forgotten Warrior Run after speaking to family members over Christmas, and wanted to know if it was possible to purchase a flag of their own with John’s name on it, to fly at their place of business in New Jersey. Members of the MIA Posse were excited to hear from Russ and Barb, and making contact with them was both meaningful and emotional. As word got out and discussion progressed, the idea of delivering the POW/MIA to John’s brother in New Jersey inspired the possibility of involving more of the Red & Black World. By passing the flag from one rider to the next, from San Diego on the west coast to New Jersey on the east coast, the flag will be transported in the same way the Old West Pony Express Riders delivered mail in the 1860’s.
“In rain and in snow, in sleet and in hail over moonlit prairie, down tortuous mountain path . . . pounding pony feet knitted together the ragged edges of a rising nation. From these hearty souls who toiled over plain and mountain that understanding might be more generally diffused, a nation spanning a continent was ours to inherit. In the spirit of the Pony Express it is for us to bequeath to those who shall follow, new trails in the sky uniting in thought and in deed.” - Frank S. Popplewell
Plans to carry out the delivery of the John H. Hoeffs POW/MIA flag to his brother are now in progress. The first hand-off is scheduled to take place in late April and each leg of the trip will be documented here as the journey progresses.*** The final leg of the Pony Express is expected to be completed before Veteran’s Day in November 2007, so that Russ and Barb Hoeffs can involve their local community in the final flag raising ceremony for their lost but NEVER FORGOTTEN brother, John Harvey Hoeffs.
***Update:
The first leg of the Pony Express began in Ramona, California on 20 April 2007.
The flag was handed off to “I” Chapter, who carried it to the Pacific Coast Regional in Las Vegas, NV, where on Saturday 21 April, 2007 at the Regional Meeting, it was given to Brother Skidmark from Chapter “B”, Arizona. The flag will be raised at the Arizona State meeting, then handed off for the next leg of it’s journey east. For photos of the handoffs, please visit the Pony Express album in our gallery.