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.

Sergeant Marvin Louis Dooley, Served with the 4252nd Field Maintenance Squadron, 4252nd Strategic Wing, Strategic Air Command.

Dear Sgt Marvin Dooley,
Thank you for your service as a Fixed Wing Crewman. We remember all you who gave their all. It has been too long, and it's about time for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

On May 19, 1966, a USAF Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker (#57-1444) from the 919th Air Refueling Squadron was destroyed in a takeoff accident at Okinawa-Kadena Air Force Base in Japan. The tanker was on temporary duty from Turner Air Force Base to Kadena in support of Young Tiger refueling missions over the Gulf of Tonkin. On the day of the crash, the crew was waiting for a break in the heavy rains to takeoff. Three tankers ahead of the flight aborted their takeoffs because of the rain and runway conditions. There were varying accounts of this crew’s mission. One account claims they were asked to ferry an engine to a stranded RC-135 in Alaska. In another report, they were supporting a surprise bombing in Vietnam at a time it would be least expected. In this same report, they were also carrying some aircraft generator parts bound for Yokota, Japan. Purportedly, when they were halfway down the runway on takeoff, they got a radio call to cancel the flight, that the Yokota tankers had been fixed. It was too late to abort the takeoff, and it is believed they were hydroplaning. Once airborne, they are thought to have touched back down, then get airborne again, then lose their engines, possibly #1, #2, and #3 at once. The jet veered left, came down nose high, and crashed into a hill by an ammo depot and a cement bridge. Some of the debris impacted on Highway 16, killing a Japanese civilian. Six crewmen and four passengers on the aircraft were killed. One crewman, assistant crew chief A1C Kenneth Alston, was pulled from the wreckage alive, but died three days later. The other lost crew members comprised aircraft commander CPT Benny T. Stowers, co-pilot 1LT James N. Spangler, navigators CPT Charles T. Haffendorfer and 1LT Ronald W. Ringwall, boom operator SSGT Charles E. Stuart, and crew chief SSGT Glen E. Wallace. The lost passengers were SSGT Clyde A. Crow, TSGT Franklin D. Waters, SGT Marvin L. Dooley, and A1C Thomas R. Annis. One person on the ground was killed, an Okinawan motorist named Kazuo Skhimizu. The eleven lost airmen had their names added to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in May 1986. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, aviation-safety.net, and “Voices from an Old Warrior: Why KC-135 Safety Matters” by Christopher J.B. Hoctor]

Dear SGT Marvin Louis Dooley, 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, Sir

Curt Carter