THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from your parents and sister Michelle are touching and reflect their enduring love for you. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Dear PFC Thomas Poteet, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Sunday was the 77th anniversary of D-Day, Operation Overlord. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I was a year behind Tom. We were casual friends and I would work out with him, on occasion, Thursday after school to help him make weight for his wrestling match. He enlisted after graduation. He was a quiet person and always very respectful of all.
I found out about his death in the cafeteria at Triton Jr. college. It was a shock to all that knew him. I was drafted in 67 and became a medic and surgical scrub serving 2 years. After discharge my cousin Richard Bahl was killed in RVN.
Early in Richies life his legs were broken in a pedestrian auto accident and was thought to never walk again without assist.
I often think of the two, as they both had a little "s" in their speech and similar in their demeanor. They would enjoy each other and hope their paths would cross in the beyond.
I have both remembrances from the wall in my hallway and think of both often as great losses to our times.

Tom was in my outfit in 1967 and I remember his good sense of humor. He performed his duties well as an infantryman in the midst of hardships. Tom served our country well.

Tom was such a cute and nice boy. He was always friendly and smiling, as I remember him. He is the only fellow I knew who died in Viet Nam and it is a very sad thing. I think of him with kindness and affection and sure he would have made a great Dad and now Grandpa. I always remember him on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and anytime I am reminded about Viet Nam. I hope his family knows he is not forgotten and his smile stays with me always. He was one month and one day older than I am. What a staggering loss; what a wonderful hero!