THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever.

Dear Cpl Clarence Tiffany, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Tomorrow is your 75th birthday, happy birthday. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Today is the 58th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I did not know Clarence but did certainly remember him. My Grandmother's maiden name was Tiffany and am unsure of the direct family connection to Clarence (nephew, maybe?). She married Gaylord Pennay and lived in Harford Township until their death in the mid 80's. I remember when I was 11, in 1967 that she told me that he had died in Vietnam in a helicopter which was downed off shore. It stuck in my mind from that day on and like many others who were too young to serve yet vaguely lived the war through the news, that the war did not become real until someone in your family was gone. I enlisted in the USAF after graduating from Mountain View High School in 1975, serving for 4 uneventful years. Always in the back of my mind was the remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice that Clarence and others had made.

I was born approximately 5 months after Clarence's passing. Until visiting my mother and new step-father in Maryland, I would have never even of heard of Clarence Tiffany. This is where everything starts. I visited the Vietnam Wall, and while walking along this massive memorial, my shoe came untied and while bending down I looked up and staring right at me was Clarence's name. What are the odds of that? I am from the Southern California area and in 1994, this occurred. Growing up, I watched the Vietnam war on TV, had vivid nightmares of what I thought were plane crashes, and fighting, I presumed it was related to TV. I have always been pro-military, law enforcement, and a HUGE helicopter buff. I was in the Navy on my 17th b-day, and now I'm a Master's degree nurse with the VA in Phoenix. I never looked into any family history. To this day I always think about the day I saw Clarence's name on the Memorial, but this weekend is Memorial Day and I decided to look into his history. No words can ever thank you and your family enough for your sacrifice. Thank you for your service Sir. God Bless...Eric S. Tiffany, MSN, RN

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for stepping up and answering your country's call. Rest easy knowing you will never be forgotten.