THE WALL OF FACES

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 sunlight 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.

Dear Sp4 Dickie Trinkler, Thank you for your service as a CH-47 Helicopter Repairer. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is Agent Orange Awareness Month. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Dickie was my mom’s first cousin, one of 26 grandchildren of MW & Effie Davis, his namesake and son of LaVaughnda C Davis & Richard Trinkler. Siblings were Judy, Jane and Dennis. .. On May 12, 1966, this AP story was picked up & ran in newspapers all across the US. .. 'Copter Crash Kills GI - Sgt. Trinkler Went to Vietnam So Mother Would Be Spared War PIEDMONT, Mo. (AP) — Sgt. Dickie Davis Trinkler told his mother six months ago: "I'm going to Vietnam so you won't find out what war is like." Trinkler, was killed when a helicopter was shot down over a Vietnamese jungle Monday, the same day his parents received his last letter. .. Set to Leave - The 20-year-old sandy-haired former Boy Scout had been scheduled to leave Vietnam last week. However, he had remained when replacements for his Special Forces team were killed after a copter they were riding was hit by gunfire. "I am just fine and I hope you all are well," Trinkler . wrote Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Trinkler. "I am writing you this letter while I have time, for I am leaving to go back into the jungle and I don't know when I will be able to write again' Trinkler grew up in the shadows of Zark's (Clark's) Mountain at Piedmont, a town of 1,500 persons near Clearwater Lake in southern Missouri. He was graduated from high school in 1963. He joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars post at Piedmont on his last trip home. He was on his way to Vietnam and his first actual combat with a helicopter squadron. "We gave him a lifetime VFW membership," said Bill Coder, director of a Piedmont funeral home. .. "Not Afraid" - "I am not afraid of getting killed," Trinkler said in the last letter to his parents. In the sergeant's next to last letter home he wrote: "Don't send me any more packages. Don't send me any more letters, for I will be leaving here soon." Trinkler had planned to leave the Army when his enlistment was up June 7 because "I have seen a lot of killing and I have done my share of it." .. "He wasn't afraid," sobbed Mrs. Trinkler. "I don't remember him ever being afraid of anything. He did his job and I'm proud, more, than proud. But I know what war is like."

Dear SP4 Dickie Davis Trinkler, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, Sir

Curt Carter

On May 9, 1966, a U.S. Army helicopter CH-47A (tail number 62-02121) from the 147th Assault Support Helicopter Company ("Hill Climbers") crashed between Vung Tau and Saigon. The aircraft reportedly lost all control except collective pitch (thrust) in the forward head. One of the four crewmen, gunner SP4 Dickie D. Trinkler, received fatal injuries in the crash. The rest of the crew members and all 8 passengers suffered injuries. [Taken from vhpa.org and armyaircrews.com]