THE WALL OF FACES

Carl is buried at Westminister Cem, Winfield, MD.

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.

Mary Frye – 1932

FOREVER REMEMBERED

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you....and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.....Be not ashamed to say you loved them....
Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own....And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind...."

Quote from a letter home by Maj. Michael Davis O'Donnell
KIA 24 March 1970. Distinguished Flying Cross: Shot down and Killed while attempting to rescue 8 fellow soldiers surrounded by attacking enemy forces.

We Nam Brothers pause to give a backward glance, and post this remembrance to you, one of the gentle heroes lost to the War in Vietnam:

Slip off that pack. Set it down by the crooked trail. Drop your steel pot alongside. Shed those magazine-ladened bandoliers away from your sweat-soaked shirt. Lay that silent weapon down and step out of the heat. Feel the soothing cool breeze right down to your soul ... and rest forever in the shade of our love, brother.

From your Nam-Band-Of-Brothers

SUNDAY MAY 28, 1989 CARROLL COUNTY SUN

U.S. Army Spec. 4th Class Carl M. Egolf, 21, drowned December 25, 1966, at a place called American Beach while on a week's rest and recuperation leave from his station near Saigon.

The construction engineer from Westminster was with the 643rd Engineer Company and a draftee with less than a year left to serve in the Army.

William Egolf said his son had arrived in Vietnam Nov. 4 and developed an immediate liking for the country.

"He said in one of his last letters that he hoped they left him there until his time was up," Mr. Egolf said at the time of his son's death.

Drafted Nov. 30, 1965, Specialist Egolf was not a career soldier, his father added.

"He had 291 days on the calendar in his last letter we got," Mr. Egolf said. "He said he was counting his days."

Specialist Egolf was born Aug. 15, 1945. The Westminster native attended Westminster High School, then worked for his father's carpentry subcontracting company, E and O Contractors, before being drafted.

He was fond of baseball, having the ability to play all positions in high school, his father noted.

Specialist Egolf was also survived by his mother, Natrel, and two brothers, Charles William Jr. and Ellsworth.

He was buried in Westminster Cemetery.

As one of the 1046 Marylanders who made the ultimate sacrifice we are honored to post your photograph. Operation Remember will continue until we have recovered the photos of all our fallen brothers from the State of Maryland.

Visit www.vva451.org and click Operation Remember banner for more details.