THE WALL OF FACES

Blair...
This day still remains as one of my most difficult to get through each year.
I think of you, Henrickson, and Whitfield with reverence and sadness in my heart. 39 years, my friend... 39 years, and I still weep.

I will always remember Kenneth's Georgia accent & his good looks. He was my younger cousin by 6 months, and being half the country apart, we only saw each other one or two times a year, but I still remember the times at the family reunions fondly. I remember us singing "The Battle of New Orleans" at the top of our lungs in the car from Brownwood to Richland Springs. I remember Kenneth ripping the drive-in movie speaker off the pole with the car one night in Brownwood when the "cousins" all went to a movie. But most of all, I remember a drop dead handsome guy who was always fun to be around. And then I remember the phone call in Aug. '68... I remember the ache in my heart knowing your parents were on the road to TX & would eventually be met by a Chaplain with the news of your death, and I remember the stricken look & broken hearts of your folks when we got to them. I remember your funeral-- the church overflowed to the outside & the line of cars to the cemetery was miles long. I remember your Mom showing us your letters from Nam and telling us how you said you wished you could bring home one of the little kids. Your memory will forever be frozen in time as that sweet handsome young man with the soft spoken Georgia drawl. It's been almost 40 years, but we still love you and miss you and always will.

Ken...
I will never forget you. We fought with the same company F, 51st Inf, Airborne, Long Range Patrol. I was working in the supply room after injuries I received when you went out on that last patrol. You were supposed to go home on the 1st of August. You extended a couple weeks in country so you could get out of the Army 5 months early. You didn't have to go out on that last patrol, but you volunteered. You guys were ambushed and didn't stand a chance. I recall most of your ammo being used up before you were taken from us. I was the one who had to pack your belongings and send them back to your family. It broke my heart. I wish it could have been me instead of you. I still grieve for you and your family.

An insight into some of the conditions that Kenneth Blair experienced can be read in the nonfiction book "Soul Patrol" by Ed Emanuel (published in 2003 by the Random House Publishing Group). We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Sp4 Blair and the other members of our military who gave so much.

I spent my first ten years growing up next door to Kenneth and his four younger brothers. He and I played and "fought" every day it seems.
Lost contact after my family moved until I visited his body years later. It was a very sad time.
Don't know what happened on his last day but I'm sure he went down swinging.