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 Lt Reuben Williams, Thank you for your service as a Basic Supply Administration
& Operations Officer. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. You are remembered. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I never cried when you died Charley Williams
I never cried when anyone died
It was day's work then
An everyday event
It happened all the time

Marines don't cry
Death is a fact of war
Part of our job
We can't afford to cry
While death hovers near

I was already crying
Even before I found your name
Written on a cold, black, granite wall
20 years after your death

Look at me now
Tears slide down my cheeks
Too ashamed to sob
Too moved to stop
Crying for the first time

Is it for you that I cry?
You've been dead for 20 years
You and the other names I remember on that wall
And the names I no longer can recall

I never cried when you died my friend
I never cried when anyone died
I could not cry then
I can now

At 9:30 AM on August 30, 1967, Gio Linh Artillery Base in Quang Tri Province, RVN, received 47 rounds of 85mm artillery and 17 rounds of 82mm mortar fire. A combat wrecker received a direct hit during the barrage. Counterbattery fire was returned on four suspected enemy positions. Two Marines were killed in the attack, including 2LT Reuben C. Williams, an Administrative Supply man from Headquarters Battery, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, who suffered fragmentation wounds to the entire body plus second degree burns from the waist up. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and 3rd Marine Division Operations Log for August 1967]

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.