THE WALL OF FACES

There is a place
Not far from here
Where spirits walk
And heroes live
And honor still resides.

It is a wall
With names inscribed
Of those who served
When they were asked...
The brothers of my youth.

I go there still
To walk and think
About my life,
And what I've done since
And things that might have been.

There is a debt
I can't repay
Too many lives were spent.
And one man's life cannot suffice
To make their deaths worthwhile.

But there is hope
In the memory
Of those we leave behind
Who know the price that freedom brings
Who can carry on in kind.

I send you now
To touch a name
So the vision can be passed
Remember there is honor still
It is for you to see it lasts.

They are not dead
And have a wish
As all old soldiers do
The reflection you see before you now
Is their wish to live in you.

Dear Sgt Ronald McNeill, Thank you for your service as a Logistics Man. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. This Friday is the anniversary of the terror attacks. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

SGT Ronald P. McNeill was a Logistics Man serving with Headquarters & Service Company (H&S Co), 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On August 3, 1970, SGT McNeill was critically injured in a traffic accident on Highway QL-1, five miles southwest of Hoi An in Quang Nam Province, RVN. The incident occurred while he was a passenger in the back of a jeep traveling north on QL-1 when a Vietnamese civilian on a bike tried to cut between the jeep and a southbound Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) convoy moving in the opposite lane. The Marine jeep attempted to avoid colliding with the bicyclist, and in doing so, entered the lane of the oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into an ARVN truck. Four Marines in the jeep were injured and one Vietnamese national was killed. McNeill succumbed to his injuries the following day. There is a personal account of this incident by John Hurley (edited for clarity): “Ron was a very good friend. The day he died was a rainy day. It was also the day I was supposed to catch my "Freedom Bird" back to the states. I was rotating back home, but the helicopters were not flying because of the weather. Our Captain, CAPT Wallace, advised me that he was taking a jeep to Da Nang and could drop me off. Ron was going along with the Captain, who also had business in Da Nang. We were on Highway 1 and an ARVN convoy was coming in the opposite direction. Being in the back seat with Ron, I don't know how it happened, but we ran straight into a large truck head on. I woke up on the medivac helicopter and Ron was beside me. The next remembrance was that I woke up in the hospital and Ron was again beside me, but he was unconscious and moaning. We both went to surgery and later that day I was told that Ron did not make it.” [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, Command Chronology, 7th Marines, August 1970, and information provided by John Hurley (October 2018)]

Mac, I remember the day all to well. You were seated right next to me in the jeep when everything went blank.It's taken me many, many years to deal with my tour in Nam. You were a great friend and always had something good to say. Your laugh was contagious. I've prayed for you daily. May you rest in peaces and watch over your daughter, who you told me that you were looking forward to holding her in your arms.
Brothers Always, Semper Fidelis.
Hurley

Today it is 45 years since you left us, I remember that day all to well. I miss you and love you and wish we could have grown old together. I thank you for the sacrifices you made for our country and for our freedom, but most of all I am grateful to have had you for a brother.
Love your sister, Charlene