Charles R. Fletcher was 54 when he was last heard from on Mother’s Day, May 26, 1975. He placed a phone call to his mother from Glassboro, New Jersey, and had told friends he planned to travel to Philadelphia, where he lived. Fletcher was a Black man, 5 feet 6 inches, about 150 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a scar above his right eye; wartime injuries left metal plates in his head and arm and may have produced additional scars on his scalp.

Fletcher served in the 117th Infantry during World War II and was a Purple Heart recipient. He sometimes experienced disorientation, and family noted he had a history of disappearing for weeks or months but always maintained contact. After May 26, 1975, he fell silent: there has been no activity on his Social Security number, no use of veterans health benefits and disability checks went uncashed. The Philadelphia Police Department continues to list the disappearance as an open case; both the possibility of him turning up as an unidentified patient and the possibility of foul play have been considered, but no evidence has emerged to resolve what happened.

Did anyone in Philadelphia or Glassboro know where Fletcher worked, socialized or might have headed that weekend in 1975? If so, please share what might help the ongoing inquiry.