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.

He was my idol. Marine and like my big brother, came to see me in his vette when he got home from nam.
Was supposed to be stateside but got called back the night he was with me. Never saw him again alive. ❤️

Staff Sergeant Thomas Philip O'Neill was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, with Combat Distinguishing Device (V), for his exemplary gallantry in action. He served as an Infantry Unit Leader and was assigned to USMC ADV UNIT, NAVAL ADV GROUP.
See https://marines.togetherweserved.com/

Dear Ssgt Thomas O’Neil, Thank you for your service as an Infantry Unit Leader. Tomorrow is the 53rd anniversary of the start of your tour. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Lent has begun. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

On March 14, 1970, SSGT Thomas P. O'Neill volunteered as a member of an ambush team to capture or kill Viet Cong tax collectors. Intelligence reports indicated that two tax collectors were coming across a bridge at a certain time. The operation was organized by a Naval Ship Officer who had no prior knowledge of ground combat operations. SSGT O'Neill and a Force Recon Gunnery Sergeant were placed in a patch of bushes in the center of a "Y" trail. The main ambush force was placed along a ridge line overlooking the "Y" intersection. The Naval Commander had anticipated the VC would enter the trail nearest the main ambush force. However, the VC tax collectors entered the trail on the far side of the "Y," away from the ambush location. The ambush commander, fearing the VC would escape, gave the signal to open fire, causing friendly fire to pass through the position where O'Neill and the Marine were located, causing fatal wounds to O'Neill and wounding the marine. The tax collectors were able to escape. RM1 Bill Gow carried O'neill’s body back to the helicopter during the extraction. [Taken from macvsog.cc]