THE WALL OF FACES

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Dear Sgt William Groves,
Thank you for your service as an Infantry Operations & Intelligence Specialist. It has been too long, and it's about time for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

On November 30, 1967, a U.S. Air Force C-7B (#62-4175) from the 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron (TAS), 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing (TAW) at Cam Ranh Air Base, hit a mountain about 5 miles south of Qui Nhon after a bad weather missed approach. On the initial approach to Qui Nhon, the pilot was advised that the weather at the airfield had fallen below safety minimal. He replied that he would to proceed to Nha Trang where the weather conditions were better. Enroute to Nha Trang the aircraft hit a mountain at 1,850 feet. The presence of low clouds and rain had reduced visibility to about two miles. It took search and rescue teams five days to locate the crash site in the dense jungle. Twenty-six people were killed in the crash. The four lost crewmen included MAJ Thomas D. Moore Jr., MAJ William J. Clark III, SSGT Arturo Delgado-Marin, and SSGT Stanley J. Yurewicz. Two Air Force passengers and 18 U.S. Army personnel, including two U.S. civilians, were also killed in the accident. Five of passengers were medical personnel. They had been temporarily assigned to a Pleiku hospital and were returning to Qui Nhon. They included CAPT Eleanor G. Alexander, 1LT Jerome E. Olmsted, 1LT Hedwig D. Orlowski, 1LT Kenneth R. Shoemaker, and SP5 Phillip A. Ogas. Other lost personnel included SSGT Edward O. Bilsie, SP4 Bobby G. Brown, A1C Daryl L. Davis, PFC William R. Godwin, SGT William E. Groves, SGT Whyley E. Josh, SFC Bobby D. Likens, 1LT Norman F. Loeffler Jr., SSGT Jose L. Miranda-Ortiz, SSGT Clarence L. Palmer, CPL Jack Rogers, SP4 Lawrence D. Snyder, SGT Teddy Waxman, PFC Libert J. Weldon Jr., and PFC Edward J. Williamson. [Taken from forest-lawn.com, coffeltdatabase.org, and findagrave.com]

I WAS ONLY THIRTEEN WHEN WE WENT TO YOUR FAREWELL PARTY, AS YOU WERE HEADING TO VIETNAM. YOU WERE A NICE YOUNG MAN, VERY HANDSOME. NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE LAST TIME I WOULD SEE YOU. WE WENT TO YOUR FUNERAL, AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SO PROUD OF YOU AND YOU SERVICE TO YOUR COUNTRY. YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!

We never met...you died 4 years before I was born. But I hear stories about you from my dad. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. I work in education so every now and again I get an opportunity to share your story. Dad misses you something fierce-seems like its the reverse and every year it gets worse...the loss of a brother at such a young age is magnified. My son and daughter are just now developing a love of country they couldn't appreciate when they were younger. While I'd rather have you here to share your stories, I believe there will be a day when we will see you again.
Much love and respect-
DeAnna Kilga (Groves)-daughter of your older brother, Dave Groves