THE WALL OF FACES

It has been many years but I will miss and remember my father always.
The day my mom and I were told he died is burned in memory forever. A part of me died that day also.
So may God bless my father and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

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.

As long as you are remembered you will never truly die....

Staff Sergeant David Emil Aili, Served with the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 14th Air Commando Wing, 7th Air Force.

SSGT David E. Aili’s obituary, taken from The Daily Globe (Ironwood, MI), December 15, 1967, courtesy of Gary Harrington, Ironwood Area Historical Society/Gogebic Range Genealogical Society, Ironwood, MI.

SSG David E. Aili served with the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 14th Air Commando Wing, 7th Air Force. In late October 1967, SSG Aili was part of a vanguard of Air Force crewmen sent to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base (NKP) in Thailand to set up for a squadron of A-1E Skyraiders being transferred there. Because of the nature of their mission, secrecy cloaked the move to NKP, and the airmen were admonished not to talk or write to anyone regarding their new assignment. After about a month in which their mail had been sequestered, the rest of their unit arrived from Pleiku in Vietnam with recently arrived letters. On the evening of December 12, 1967, Aili reportedly showed up at the Skyraider Inn, an enlisted men’s bar on base, distraught and depressed after receiving a “Dear John” letter from his wife. He cried into his drinks that night and lamented over and over, “I’ve got to get home.” His buddies tried to cheer him up to no avail, and Aili slipped away and returned to his hooch. The following morning, his fellow airmen were shocked to learn that Aili was dead and a Royal Thai Air Force C-47 cargo plane had crashed while attempting a takeoff. Evidently, Aili somehow managed to gain access to the Thai side of the airbase and tried to fly home in the aircraft which was loaded with 250 lb. bombs and flares. He had successfully removed the rudder and aileron locks from the tail of the plane, but failed to take the locks off the elevator. As he took off, the aircraft continued to climb, then stalled, falling back to earth on its tail in a large fireball. Aili perished in the crash. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Earl Lanning (May 2018)]