THE WALL OF FACES

You will never be forgotten, my Grandson is named after you. Miss you Brother.

You will never be forgotten, my Grandson is named after you. Miss you Brother.

It has been fifty one years since you were killed. You have not been forgotten.  We both experienced the trial of war together and I carry with me the memories of that experience.  As members of the 3rd Platoon, Hotel Company, 1st Marines we traveled along antagonistic and dangerous paths daily.  We agonized over the loss of our brothers Richard Walker and Jack Quinn at Viem Tay. The heat of each day was burdensome as we patrolled NVA and Viet Cong infiltrated areas south of Marble Mountain along area best known as boobytrap alley, the Rocket Belt, and Reviera or stood security watch at the Tu Cau Bridge or the watch towers along the military supply road connecting Hoi An to Danang.  It was the night patrols that were the most frightening.  Every step was perilous as sympathetic Viet Cong villagers lay boobytraps everywhere.  Like our breaths, our sense of ourselves was momentary as we relentlessly prayed to survive another day.  There is a no moment involved in war that is ordinary, but through the calamity of it all you kept yourself together, you sustained the Marines around you, you provided courageous leadership skillfully, and because of that you will continue to be remembered as a heroic Marine.  I was not with you when the ammo exploded having been wounded two months earlier, but I was saddened hearing of your loss.  As your former platoon leader, I pray you continue to rest in peace and that God has blessed your family with sustained happy memories of your life.  Semper Fidelis.

Semper Fi, my Brother.

Private First Class William Michael Short, Served with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.