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 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.

For all your love, you gave to others and our country.
RIP*
Gold Star Sister, Karen Hickman

CPT William N. Feaster was a Protestant chaplain in the Army Chaplain Corps serving with Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 196th Infantry Brigade. CPT Feaster was beloved by the troops, and on September 18, 1966, agreed to accompany them on a mission. During the patrol, the unit’s encampment was hit by friendly artillery fire. There were several casualties, including fatalities; Feaster was critically wounded. While being treated for his injuries in a U.S. Army field hospital, he contracted an infection. Feaster’s wife, an Army nurse stationed in Seoul, South Korea, was summoned to Saigon where Feaster was a patient. The treatments he endured as the medical staff tried to save him were very trying: surgeries for side effects from the drugs used to treat the infection, and finally, an amputation. Early in the morning of October 26, 1966, his wife was awakened by the chief nurse, whose couch she was sleeping on. She was informed, “The chaplain just expired.” Feaster would be the first chaplain to be killed in the Vietnam War. During the time he was a patient, he was visited by the young captain who was in charge of the artillery unit that fired the errant rounds. Feaster tried to comfort him and assured the captain he did not blame him or harbor any ill will. The chaplain granted the forgiveness he asked for, but the young captain’s face and demeanor failed to conceal that he had been broken by the experience. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Vietnam Stories: The many victims of Vietnam” by Judith Miller at concordmonitor.com]

Captain William Newcomer Feaster, Served with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 196th Infantry Brigade, United States Army Vietnam.

Without people like you our great nation would not exist. Rest in peace CAPT. Feaster, I salute your brave soul.