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.

Dear Cap Robert Sandner, Thank you for your service as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot. Glad you were identified in 1996. Welcome home. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Thanksgiving is this week. Time moves quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Captain Robert Sandner was awarded the Silver Star Medal for his exemplary courage under fire while serving as a pilot of a tactical aircraft with the 14th Air Commando Wing, 7th Air Force.

CAPT Robert L. Sandner was U.S Air Force pilot assigned to the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 14th Air Commando Wing, 7th Air Force. On June 7, 1966, he was piloting a Douglas A-1E (#52-132449) in the vicinity of Chu Prong Mountain (Hill 732), Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia, attacking enemy ground targets. While pulling off a strafing run in his third pass on the target area, his aircraft was observed by the forward air controller to climb in a left turn, gain altitude, then dive into the ground. No radio call was made by CAPT Sandner nor was he seen to leave the aircraft. A subsequent rescue helicopter crew was unable to locate his body or evidence of his remains in the unpopulated marshy grassland of the crash site. The crash was later attributed to hostile ground fire as heavy ground fire was reported in the target area and weather was not considered a factor. Because the crash site was in an unsecure area, no recovery effort was attempted. CAPT Sander was listed as Missing in Action. In April 1995, CAPT Sandner’s remains were recovered and positively identified in March 1996. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, pownetwork.org, aviation-safety.net]

Thank you Captain Sandner for your skill and exemplary courage under fire.