THE WALL OF FACES

Marion's ashes were scattered at sea off of Galveston Island,TX.

Semper Fi, Sir. I read your letters. I shared in the tragic-comic experience of being wounded in the butt. You are right - it did feel like being kicked.

20 Oct 66

Dear Aunt Fannie,

This morning one of my men turned to me and pointed at a plant with soft red flowers and said: “That is the first plant I have seen today which didn’t have thorns on it.” The plant and the hill upon which it grew was also representative of Vietnam…It is a country of thorns and cuts, of guns and marauding, of little hope and of great failure, yet in the midst of it all, a beautiful thought, gesture, and even person can arise among it waving bravely at death. Some day this hill will be burned by napalm, and the red flower will crackle up and die among the thorns. So what was the use of living and being a beauty among the beasts, if it must, in the end, die because of them, and with them? You are what you are, what you are. Whether you believe in God, fate, or the crumbling cookie elements are so mixed in a being that make him what he is: his salvation from the thorns around him lies in the fact that he existed at all, in his very own personality….The flower will always live in the memory of a Marine, but even if we had never gone on that hill, it would still be a soft, red, thornless flower growing among the cutting, scratching plants, and that in itself is its own reward.
Love, Sandy

I went to Galveston some years ago and I did remember that Sandy was from this nice town as I walked along the Sea Wall. His letters are among the most beautiful of the book.

Sandy, you are not forgotten.

An Open Letter to
Michael J.W. Remme.

Michael;

I sent you a email but your email address is not valid.

I came to Galveston and the Rosenberg Library. I had an opportunity to sit in Sandy's Room; look at his portrait and reflect on just how lucky I am to be in a country that develops young men like Marion Kempner; with such dedication to duty and to the cause of Liberty.

It was a memorable experience for me and I sat there for nearly an hour and then came back the next day for several hours more.

I did not lose any friends or family in the Vietnam war but lost several in WW II.

I have just visited the Dignity Wall which has been in Denver the past several days. I copied Sandy's name (12E-55) and have placed it on my 'Wall of Remembrances" in my office.

Your comments on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund website are poignant and well said.And I am glad I got to know Sandy in just a small way .It meant a lot.

The best to you in all you do in Life.

Regards,

Ed

Edward E. Adams
President/CEO
SourceOne Consultants,
Inc.
Denver, Colorado