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.

PFC Richard F. Henrich was a Combat Engineer serving with 3rd Platoon, C Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. PFC Henrich’s unit frequently conducted mine sweeps on National Route QL-1 utilizing mine detectors and M51 five-ton dump trucks. Two teams would usually be deployed on a mission, rotating every thirty minutes or so due to long periods of listening to the buzzing in the headphones of the electromagnetic induction detectors which could make the user go tone deaf. The vehicles they used were from the motor pool and were supplied with a driver. The engineers placed sandbags in the metal bed of the dump truck and attached folding wooden seats to the sides. On May 23, 1967, Henrich was a member of a mine sweep team attached to 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, sweeping QL-1 approximately ten miles south of Phu Bai in Thua Thien Province, RVN. During the operation, the rear dually tires of the dump truck rolled over a mine planted in the roadway. The device detonated, sending shrapnel up through the bed, fatally injuring Henrich. Four other Marines were wounded in the blast. Some of the casualties were airlifted to Saigon and later transferred to a U.S. military hospital in Guam for further treatment. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and 11th Engineer Battalion Command Chronology, May 1967; also, information provided by John Huhn Sr. (December 2020)]

PFC Richard F. Henrich was a Combat Engineer serving with 3rd Platoon, C Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. On May 23, 1967, PFC Henrich was a member of a mine sweep team attached to 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, when the truck they were riding in detonated an enemy mine approximately ten miles south of Phu Bai in Thua Thien Province, RVN. Henrich was fatally injured in the blast; four others were wounded. [11th Engineer Battalion Command Chronology, May 1967]

Dear PFC Richard Henrich,
Thank you for your service as a Combat Engineer. Your 52nd anniversary is this month, sad. Yesterday was Mother's Day. The war was years ago, but we all need 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.

Semper Fidelis, Marine.