THE WALL OF FACES

In middle school I remember I once had an old substitute teacher who I used to talk to. He was a Vietnam veteran, and I remember when I told him I was visiting he told me to look for a name “Robert Crabbe”. It’s easy to view the casualties and be shocked by the scale, and while the number of deaths is horrifying, we should also never forget that each man, each boy who died would have lived a life as rich as you and I. They would be our neighbors, our friends, our teachers. Your life was taken too soon Mr. Crabbe, but know you were never forgotten.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

On April 18, 1967, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C (tail number 66-15048) from A Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, was conducting a reconnaissance by fire near An Loc in Binh Dinh Province, RVN, when the helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire and crashed with the loss of all aboard. Reportedly, the helicopter was in a flight of several aircraft and the door gunner, SP4 Vernice Hollingsworth, was using his M60 machine gun’s tracers to show the location of enemy anti-aircraft placements. The flight was in close formation, side by side, when a single round was observed to come up and hit Hollingsworth’s helicopter in the nose area. A radio transmission suddenly came over the intercom reporting a fire as flames were observed raging within the aircraft’s cabin area. The stricken helicopter rolled a couple of times, then rocked back and forth before nosing into the jungle below. The flight circled over the crash site, but no survivors were sighted. The lost crew included pilots MAJ Thomas D. Mendenhall and CPT Patrick L. Haley, crew chief SP4 Ronald D. Bruce, and gunner Hollingsworth. Also lost was 1LT Robert J. Crabbe, a 1st Cavalry Division artillery officer. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, vhpa.org, and information provided by Craig Matlock in the book “Headhunters: Stories from the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, in Vietnam 1965-1971” by Matthew Brennan]

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for stepping up and answering your country's call. Rest easy knowing you will never be forgotten.

1st Lt. Robert Crabbe was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor for his exemplary courage under fire while serving as a Field Artillery Unit Commander with the 1st Cavalry Div.