THE WALL OF FACES

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Dear Cpl Benjamin Kenison, Thank you for your service as a Rifleman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Thanksgiving is in a few days, so this is the perfect time to say thanks. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

My friend Ben, Andy and I named our first son Benjamin Albert Kenison Hinkley. He was baptized at your home with your mother beside him, and I prayed he would grow up to be like you: quiet, kind, honest and brave. I remember the speech you gave in class about the Viet Nam war. You told us you would join the Marines when you graduated and you told us how you felt about going to war. I knew you could never leave a man behind. Thank you for your humanity. You live in love in my family, always.

Corporal Benjamin Albert Kenison, Served with Company D, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.

As the High School yearbook said, he was the strong handsome silent type. A few years ahead of me, I admired him from a distance. I remember the absolute shock that morning at school, my junior year, when we all learned that he had just been killed in Vietnam. "Not Ben Kenison!" was how everyone felt. I think of him every time I drive past the cemetery in Jefferson. What a shame.