THE WALL OF FACES

Never forgotten.

HOOAH

Remember to save for them a place inside of you, and save one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go...

James and my mom Kathy would be first cousins. I have known about him all my life. I etched his name on my 8th grade trip to Washington, DC. He died when she was only 4yrs old but she has some memories of him. I have pictures of him and records or his and his family. He was awarded the Purple Heart. His family is all gone now that I'm aware of, His parents are buried close to him as well as his brother. I just visited him on Memorial Day and placed a white flower and Star next to the flag. I wish I could have met him and told him Thank you, but Thank you is simply not enough. James your story doesn't go untold, my son knows about you as well. We are PROUD to be your family!

After I left Knoxville to drive to Ft Leonardwood to get Sgt. Kovar to surprise his girlfriend at her H.S. graduation in Knoxville, then take him back to boot camp, I was asked to return to Ft. Leonardwood to bury him and did. I was 29 then and now 80, this memory is just as vivid as it was then-Reverend Marvin E. Purser

SP4 Jimmy Kovar was a member of D Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th US Cavalry. On the 5th of May 1966, the troop was in its second day of attacks on the North Vietnamese 9th Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment. One of our platoons was caught out in the open at one point and was receiving both machine gun and mortar fire. We pulled our 106mm RR rifles up on a dirt trail and began pouring fire onto enemy positions. They responded by shifting mortar fires onto our position. I was wounded and Jimmy went down from a blast by an 82mm mortar round. He died in my arms. At 27 years of age, he was one of our older troopers. A good soldier and an even better man.