THE WALL OF FACES

March 10, 1971 is a day that I will never forget. We had been out picking March flowers. When we returned to my mother's house, there stood two soldiers. Those two soldiers were there to deliver devastating news that would change our lives forever. My mother had lost a son and my brothers and sisters and I had lost a brother.

Bill and I were the closest in age out of seven. We were eighteen months apart with Bill being the older. We did everything together; played together, went to school and church together, climbed trees and built tree houses together. We were inseparable. There were days that we just rode our bikes for miles and miles.

There wasn't anything that Bill wouldn't do for his family. He always told me that his dream was for our mother to have a house that she could call home and his little sister to have a good education. His dream came to be but it cost him his life.

Bill was the most caring person you could ever meet. He was like a dad to us. He never met a stranger and if you ever needed help, no matter what it was, he was always there to do what he could.

Bill loved his family, he took care of us. Bill loved his fellow soldiers, always willing to take their place in the call of duty. Bill loved his country so much that he died protecting it.

Bill gave his life along with 58,261 other men and women serving our country so that we may have freedom. May we never forget the price that our loved ones paid to protect us. They may have gone from this earth but they will never be forgotten and will always be missed.

I would like to say, as I know Bill would have as well, thank you to all the men and women of all the military branches who served in Vietnam. You made great sacrifices; leaving behind family and friends to fight for our country. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. May God bless you.

Remembering You.

Bill is my cousin. He died when I was 4 years old. There are family members that would like to talk with those who knew Bill in Vietnam. Please email if you knew him.

Bill is buried at Bevil Cemetery, Paris, Henry County,TN.

I can shed a little more light on "Bill Bailey," as he referred to himself by his entire name when he frequently talked to himself.

I reported to my platoon, "F, First of the Fifth, First Infantry Division," in September of 1968, and shortly thereafter, Bill came to me as platoon sergeant from the 25th Division after already having served an entire tour plus an extension.

His was a direct commission, not a battlefield commission. Part of the reason he applied for the commission, with my encouragement, was because rank was impossibly difficult to come by in the First Division. Bill was an E-5 with several years in grade, exemplary service records, and couldn't get his "6" stripes. The reason he transferred was because he'd heard that rank was easier to come by in the Red One - Wrong!

Consequently, Bill took a battery of tests, and I wrote a letter of recommendation for him, and after nearly six months and somewhat to our mutual surprise, his commission came through. I actually pinned his bars on him (without ceremony or celebration) right in the field. Conjunctively, I wrote the congratulatory letter to his mother, Allie Bailey, in Paris, Tennessee where Bill was from, not Memphis as his military records obviously state!

Bill was very laid back, but was great with the men, and was an extremely cool head in combat. A fine example of the above, was his taking over command of the 4-Duce Mortar, FDC when Fire Support Base Junction City came under ground attack, at about 3 a.m. on December 1, 1968.

While I was occupied with the perimeter and our defensive effort there, Bill called in indirect fire support, adjusted and coordinated fire and illumination from not less than four artillery batteries throughout the remainder of the night. His professionalism and expertise was undoubtedly instrumental in allowing us to beat off the attack.

Bill made my tenure as platoon leader much easier than it might have otherwise been, and became a great friend to me.

He was devoted to Country Music, and I had never listened to it much until I met him. Needless to say, he converted me to one of the faithful. Yes, he devoted to his Mother, his Army Career, and to Country Music - in that order.

Bill was in a kind of limbo, awaiting what we both knew would be a reassignment, when I rotated to my staff position at Division Headquarters after nearly nine months with him in the field.

My new duties encompassed so much of my time that I did not have an opportunity to visit nor hear from him again once I left the unit, and subsequently the country three months later in September of 1969.

I was much saddened a few moments ago to have learned of his death, and I will remain the poorer for that knowledge for the rest of my life. I salute you, "Bill Bailey!," as soldier, hero, and friend extraordinaire!