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Military Matters: Remembering A Missing Brother

Story Published: Oct 3, 2012 at 4:24 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 3, 2012 at 7:48 PM EDT

Syndey "Sookie" Penczek was only two years old when her brother, Tech Sergeant William Mashaw, disappeared during World War II.

She came to know him through pictures and family stories.

"You came to love him and what he did for his country. He loved God, country and family, believe me. He was a good man," said Sookie.

She says the Lyons Falls native, who everyone knew as "Bum," deserves to be remembered.

It's why she shared her brother's story at the Lowville VFW's POW/MIA remembrance ceremony.

"Bum belonged to the 7th Army Air Force, 11th Bomb Group, 42nd Squadron. He completed 28 missions north of the Marianas," she said.

And it's why she presented the post with a posthumous Purple Heart and other medals her brother earned to go on permanent display.

"I don't know what they all stand for to be honest with you, but they would have been the ones that he would have gotten and I wanted them here at the VFW for the final destination where they belong - him and his story," said Sookie.

It's a story that has taken Penczek years to sort out - years of research, reaching out to anyone who could help, to find some answers about what happened to her brother.

That hard work has paid off.

She says she has enough information to finally have some closure.

"I feel that I know where he is now.  Whether they find him or they don't find him, it doesn't matter to me anymore," she said.

What matters now is that her brother's service and sacrifice are never forgotten.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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