THE WALL OF FACES

RABBI, I AM PROUD OF YOU! AND WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR SACRIFICE!

"An God said who shall we send.I answered I am here,send me."

Isaiah 6:8

Vitesse de Dieu

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

Photo and article were taken from the Philadelphia Daily News of October 26, 1987. The special supplement entitled, 'SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY,' was published in conjunction with the dedication of the Philadelphia Viet Nam Memorial.

A chaplain in three wars, Rabbi Engel was a spiritual advisor to Jewish GI's from the South Pacific to Europe. He was born in Palestine and came to the United States in 1937 after receiving a master's degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Engel served briefly as the religious leader of Brith Sholom Community Center in Philadelphia before joining the Army in November 1943. After tours of duty in the Pacific, he returned to civilian life in 1946, serving congregations in North Carolina and Massachusetts. Meir was called back into the military, enlisting in the Air Force in September 1950. Over the next 14 years he saw combat in Korea, was the Jewish adviser to the European Army Command and became the first Jewish chaplain to be sent to Viet Nam. He died in the US Navy Hospital in Saigon on December 16, 1964, at the age of 50, after suffering a heart attack. The lieutenant colonel was survived by his wife, two sons, two brothers and two sisters.

If I should die, and leave you here awhile, be not like others, sore undone, who keep long vigils by the silent dust, and weep...for MY sake, turn again to life, and smile...Nerving thy heart, and trembling hand to do something to comfort other hearts than thine...Complete these dear, unfinished tasks of mine...and I, perchance, may therein comfort you.