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 sun 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.

Mary Frye – 1932

William is buried at Arlington Nat Cem.

"An God said who shall we send.I answered I am here,send me."

Isaiah 6:8

He was killed in action in Vietnam on August 13, 1964 along with two other Americans and more than 200 South Vietnamese in what the Army called "the 60 minutes of the bloodiest fighting."

He was a graduate of the Citadel and his wife was the daughter of the Commandant there.

According to witnesses, the unit he served with refused to retreat and fought to the end. A US survivor said, "All of them were professionals. They were made of the stuff that makes men heroes."

The Old Guard officer in charge of his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery was his closest friend who had been rotated home from Vietnam a short time earlier.

He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army Commendation Medal, the Purple Heart and an Oak Leaf Cluster.

He is buried in Section 35 at Arlington (adjacent to the Memorial Amphitheater) and next to him is buried the young daughter that he never met, Lisa Ann Ragin, who was born on October 15, 1963 and who died on October 1, 1964.

Another casualty from that battle, Byron Clark Stone, is also buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Captain Ragin was killed in what was termed the bloodiest 60-minutes of fighting in the war. For valor in that battle, he was posthoumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (our nation's second highest medal for bravery in combat) and the Purple Heart. He lies in eternal peace among the other American heroes in Arlington National Cemetery and with the infant daughter that he never lived to meet.