THE WALL OF FACES

On June 15, 1967 a wonderful young man lost his life for our country. I will never forget his writing me to let me know he was no longer doing "point" duty. That was in the last letter I received from Mike. That was Mike...he never wanted us to worry. It is difficult to put into words what his family, his friends and those who never had the honor to know him are missing. You are always remembered and in my heart.

To Lonnie Michael Holmes, our 2nd-47th Brother: We who served so proudly with you want to let you know that we have established a Memorial Scholarship to honor your memory and the ultimate sacrifice that you and the other 195 brave soldiers of the 2nd-47th Mechanized Infantry made while serving our country in Vietnam in 1966-1970. Our wish is that this Memorial Scholarship conveys the highest tribute possible to each of you because it comes from the hearts of the soldiers who served with you. It represents the everlasting and inexpressible gratitude we feel for your sacrifice. We got to live the lives that you were deprived of, and this scholarship is one small way of expressing our sorrow for your loss and our appreciation for the magnitude of what you gave. Many of you brave young soldiers sacrificed your own lives to save one of us, and we have carried heartfelt memories of you for nearly four decades. This perpetual Memorial Scholarship is our way of being sure that the memories of love, honor, and respect we feel for you, our Panther Brothers lost in combat, will live on forever. [If you are a 2nd-47th veteran, or a friend or family member of one of our fallen Brothers, and would like more information about how to support or apply for our Memorial Scholarship, information is available at www.247scholarship.org]

Lonnie is buried at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles, Mich.

I have never forgotten the sweet, wonderful man I knew. You gave your life for this country, you will never be forgtten.

I would like to post a remembrance to thank you for what you did by representing our country in the Vietnam War. Our country stands for freedom and I thank our soldiers for having the courage to try to bring our highly cherised freedom and spread it to others who suffered from governmental domination. God Bless your selfless actions, You Are Remembered.