THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you soldier for your courage, honor and loyalty to your country. We are still here living in America...home of the free, because you gave the ultimate sacrifice. I am forever indebted to you...all the days of my life. Sleep well dear angel, until you meet your beloved Catherine in heaven.

I think of Richard often over these many years. We were classmates at Edward B. Shallow JHS #227 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He was bright, good looking and athletic. He skipped 8th grade. He was very popular with the boys and the girls. I was a little jealous. I’ll never forget his backwards, somersault center field catch during our intramural softball game. We parted upon graduation, going to different high schools. I never saw Richard again and only heard what happened many years later. He had a bright future that was cut way too short. I was spared by a ping pong ball with a high number. I wish Richard had been so lucky.

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 sun 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.

As long as you are remembered you will never truly die.

Specialist Four Richard Adiutori, Served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, United States Army Vietnam.

At 5:55 PM on January 14, 1969, a M113A1 armored personnel carrier (APC) from Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, detonated an anti-tank mine on Highway (Route) TL-7A, one-half mile north of the Highway 1 junction. The APC was turned over by the force of the blast. One Bobcat from Company B, SP4 Richard Adiutori, was killed. Four others were wounded. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and bobcat.ws/history1969]