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.

It was July 1964, Charlie and his parents had just dropped off their daughter, his sister, for Junior year abroad. They were passing through the Alps anyway....I was spending
part of summer in Heidi country. They found me in Maiensfeld and we went to dinner in Lichtenstein, in the shadow of that Disneylike castle.
16 yo can drink wine in Europe. His parents bought wine...it was enough to make any awkwardness go away.
After the meal Charlie and i walked to the stone pillars of the gateway, he hoisted me up and we talked face to face the way should have done on our disastrous first date, the night before we sailed away to live in Switzerland.
That night was uforgettable.
By the way, Mia Bray told me about Charlie being attacked and kissed in grammar school...he didnt fight back...

Dear Sp4 Charles Willard, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Your 53rd anniversary was yesterday, sad. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance, and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I remember so many things about you, how very smart you were, how playful.
My earliest memory: In second grade at CCDS, when the bell rang for recess, Millie D. and I would follow you from the classroom, hurry down the back steps and race into the playground where we’d chase you and try to pin you down so we could kiss you. (You didn’t run all that fast as I recall...). We were classmates for years until I went away to school. Though I never saw you after that, I’ve never forgotten you. What a courageous young man of service you became. My life was enriched by knowing you. Thank you, Charles.

Specialist Four Charles Randolph Willard Jr., Served with Company K, 75th Infantry Regiment (Rangers), 4th Infantry Division, United States Army Vietnam.