Brian Reiss is a decorated Vietnam veteran who was missing in action himself more than once in that conflict. He said he holds out hope that his missing son will turn up in Iraq.

The younger Reiss, stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., disappeared March 23 near a Euphrates River bridge near Nasiriyah.

“I know what he’s facing,” said Brian Reiss, who earned two Purple Hearts during his tour in Vietnam. “I am concerned that with him being a sergeant, he’s a prime candidate for torture or someone they’d like to extract information from.”

Brendon Reiss, who shipped out in January, was trying to secure the bridge when his unit came under fire from nearby buildings, his father said. The Marines told the elder Reiss the Marines were forced to abandon their vehicles to seek cover.

“That was the last time he was seen,” said the elder Reiss, who lives in Washington state.

The young man grew up in Hanna, Wyo., about 125 miles southwest of Casper, and finished high school in Casper before enlisting.

Brendon Reiss called his wife of three years from Kuwait on their anniversary in recent weeks. Since then, he has been out of contact.

— Associated Press