THE WALL OF FACES

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 sun 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.

As long as you are remembered you will never truly die....

Slingshots, bb guns, the old MGB .... you were my best friend as a kid. I was stationed in Germany when you died, but was given a fatigue shirt of yours when I got home, it hangs in my closet to this day and will accompany me when I come to join you.

Fire Support Base Airborne was a U.S. Army firebase located west of Hue overlooking the A Shau Valley in central Vietnam. The base was occupied by elements of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 11th Artillery, and 2nd Battalion, 319th Artillery when it was attacked at 3:30 AM on May 13, 1969, by about 110 members of the North Vietnamese Army’s 6th Regiment and K-12 Sapper Battalion. The enemy assaulted the firebase on two sides with infantrymen and sappers rushing the perimeter under a heavy mortar attack. Wearing loin cloths or shorts and equipped with AK-47s with folding stocks, the advance party slipped through the barbed wire, neutralized the trip flares, and dashed inside throwing explosives. Heavy rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire supported the attack. Allied artillery from nearby fire bases responded within five minutes, silencing the mortar positions. An AC-47 Spooky gunship arrived within one hour of request. By 5:30 AM, the battle was over with twenty-seven U.S. losses. They included SP4 Carl F. Arbogast Jr., PFC Odell D. Beasley, SGT Oscar D. Boydston, CPL Edward A. Clarke, SP4 Donald J. Corbett, SSG Kenneth T. Cruise Jr., CPT Moulton L. Freeman, SP5 James R. Gohagin, CPL Ernest L. Gordon, James C. Harper Jr., PFC Cleabern W. Hill Jr., SP4 Eric B Johnson, SP4 Richard R. Kelley, SGT Bobby G. Lawrence, CPL Robert R. Malecki, SP4 Arlen J. Miller, PFC Warren P. Nix, PFC William D. Poole Jr., SP4 Roger D. Ross, CPL Thomas W. Sadler, 2LT Bruce Saunders, CPL William F. Silver Jr., SGT Francis L. Souza, SP4 Ira J. Sturgeon, PFC Lynn C. Swanson, SP4 Samuel C. Tharpe, and PFC James M. Thompson. Forty NVA were reportedly killed. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, wikipedia.org, and PFC Odell D. Beasley’s Bronze Star citation]

DEAR SPEC 4 ARBOGAST,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS AN ARMY GRUNT. REST IN PEACE.

Specialist Four Carl Francis Arbogast Jr., Served with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.