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.

Dear PFC Alan Lockard, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is another spring, but like none other. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Dear PFC Alan Carroll Lockard, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter

I had the good fortune to grow up as a good friend of Alan Lockard's in the Pimlico neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. in the 1960's. I entered the Army in November of 1966 and left the states for deployment to II Corps (1st Field Forces) in Vietnam in early June of 1967. ( I extended my tour twice in order to qualify for the "early out" program which meant that I was still in country when Lock arrived there in November of 1968. I wrote Lock an "in country" letter on 12-9-68 and the envelope was postmarked 12-10-68. I know the postmark date because I received the unopened letter back on New Years Eve in 1968 in a larger envelope with the following letter enclosed:
Dear Sgt. Rosenblatt,
The enclosed mail, addressed to PFC. Alan Lockard, US 51674041, bears your return address.
Official records of the Dept. of the Army, as of 16 Dec. 1968, indicate that he was reported to have deceased on 13 Dec. 1968.
I regret that it was not possible to have delivered this mail to him.
Sincerely,
Thomas C. Adams
LTC., AGC
Commanding

I still regret that I wasn't able to attend Lock's funeral but do visit his gravesite on holidays such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, etc. and still miss him.

Alan is buried at Moreland Memorial Park in Baltimore, MD. BSM/OLC PH