THE WALL OF FACES

Corporal Grat Geleane Myers, Served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force. Montani Semper Liberi !

I had the honor to say your name during the 40th anniversary commemoration of the Wall. May you rest in peace.

"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."

Buster. I remember the day you started school in 6th grade; I remember when you left home to join the Marine Corps; I remember the last time I saw you. I found your name on the wall in Washington. You were not old enough to die. You were a good friend and I still think of you often.

Dear Cpl Grat Myers, Thank you for your service as a Rifleman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is the 12th Day of Christmas, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

On August 24, 1965, a United States Marines Corps Lockheed KC-130F Hercules (#149802) from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152) was scheduled to ferry a group of U.S. Marines back to South Vietnam from a rest-and-relaxation leave in the former British Hong Kong. The 10:00 AM flight crashed on take-off from Kai Tak Airport, killing 59 out of 71 on board. The cause of the accident was attributed to the aircraft commander disregarding standard operating procedure and choosing to make a three-engine takeoff with the No.1 engine's prop unfeathered and operating only on limited power. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and veered left shortly after leaving the runway. The port (left) wing struck a sea-wall, causing the plane to burst into flames before crashing into Kowloon Bay. This was the first Hercules hull loss in Marine Corps service. Two crewmen perished in the crash, navigator SGT Gordon H. Blexrude and radio operator CPL Jerry L. Gerry. The 57 lost passengers included LCPL Major Arnold Jr., PFC Dennis D. Backen, PFC George A. Bell Jr., LCPL Narciso Bertomen Jr., LCPL Harold J. Brazen, LCPL Joseph E. Brunelle, LCPL Cecil W. Burton, PFC Terry A. Chase, LCPL Joseph A. Clancy, PFC Thomas M. Crow, LCPL Ronald L. Davis, LCPL Harold V. Dayringer Jr., LCPL Maarten DeGroot, HN Robert T. Efaw, LCPL Carroll E. Fankhauser, LCPL Joseph A. Ford III, CPL James A. Gilford, PFC Frank A. Given, BUL3 Gary W. Grimes, PFC Barry N. Hambleton, LCPL Donald D. Hansen, LCPL Lonnie D. Hartsock, SSGT Kelly K. Heinze, SGT Gerald V. Johnson, LCPL Richard L. Jossendal, LCPL Robert J. Kuzmanko, SGT Dahl J. La Porte, CPL John W. Lake, BUL3 Robert M. Lathrope, PFC Jack B. Leaf, LCPL Dennis R. Martin, SGT James Massey, LCPL Harry C. McCartney, PVT Ricardo Mesa, PFC John S. Michel, LCPL Edward J. Monahan Jr., CPL Grat G. Myers, LCPL David C. Ney, LCPL James B. O’Kane, PFC Warren W. Pfefferle, CPL John T. Povey, LCPL Ronald L. Powell, LCPL Felix Rodriquez, LCPL John P. Roland, 1LT Paul E. Rudeen Jr., LCPL Ronald L. Runkel, CMH3 Thomas A. Sagen. LCPL Jerry J. Sanders, LCPL William K. Shoup, CPL Richard Smith, CPL Otha T. Thompson, BUR3 John H. Van Wyk, LCPL James J. Votava Jr., LCPL Roland L. Wafford, LCPL Richard F. Wallace, LCPL Donald R. Wiest, and LCPL Richard A. Willis. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, aviation-safety.net, c-130.net, cgibin.rcn.com, wikipedia.org, and the book “U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Aircraft Damaged or Destroyed During the Vietnam War” by Douglas E. Campbell]