THE WALL OF FACES

Forever in our hearts my first cousin.

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers

Proud to call you my great uncle, and our families hometown hero. Although I never met you, you are always proudly talked about by family members, you are always remembered, and always in our hearts. We constantly visit your gravesite back in our hometown. On Wednesday we drove a 24hr drive to pay our respects to you and your fellow brothers and sisters that gave your lives for our great country, and to get a rubbing of your name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. So many family members have followed in your footsteps from your brothers (one of whom is my grandfather), my uncle and your nephew, Rodolfo Villafranco (named after you), cousins, and we now have our first female family member Rae Ann Villafranco (your great niece) currently serving in the military. We are so very PROUD AND HONORED TO CALL YOU OUR UNCLE AND OUR HERO! I’m 35 years old never met you but it’s as if I did. I’ve read many of your letters that were sent home while you were in Vietnam and all are very touching and loving. Thank you for your service, uncle Rudy. You will forever live in our hearts and your memory will forever live on and passed along to our younger and future generation/family members. ????????

You will never be forgotten. God bless your soul uncle.

The 1/502 Monument was dedicated on July 9, 2010 at Fort Campbell, KY in the 1st Battalion 502 Infantry area. There are videos on youtube of the Monument. The names of the 267 men from this battalion who lost their lives in Vietnam are engraved on the Monument. These men are not forgotten.