THE WALL OF FACES

Dear PFC Richard Williams, Thank you for your service as a Rifleman. 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.

grew up with rick in richfield was a fellow marine with 1st bn. 7th marines attached to india co. go to wall frequently in st.paul mn.

I would like to take this time to thank you for your sacrifice. What you did was brave and kind for the rest of the civilians of the United States. We can live the lives we do now because of the courage you held. We will always remember you even if we lived in different lifetimes. Thank you

Rich, or "Willie," as we sometimes called him, was the big brother I never had. He was the absolute best. We both attended the same grade school in Richfield. Just so happened that we flew to Boot Camp on the same day and were in the same platoon. Being a year and a half older he always looked out for me. After Boot Camp we attended further training together at Camp Pendleton. We were able to take a few weekend liberties together ... to San Diego, to Long Beach and stayed with a relative of his (an uncle I think) and on Thanksgiving Day hosted by a family living near Pendleton. Wonderful memories. But my most cherished memory of "Wille" was the weekend we climbed the mountains behind our Victor Company barracks. It was an awe-inspiring view from the mountain top overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean, unable to tell where the water ended and the sky began. It was a glimpse of the beauty of heaven. (More of the climb on another time.) I think of Rich often and what the world has missed by his absence. He was my friend, my big brother, and I miss him to this day. Semper Fi, "Willie." Rest in peace, and if you are on guard duty at the Pearly Gates when I arrive, please let me in! That's what Big Brothers do!

Richard Williams lived in Richfield, Minnesota and is pictured as a junior at Richfield High School. He also went to a seminary named Nazareth Hall on the shores of Lake Johanna in St Paul, Minnesota, where he is pictured as a freshman. The two photos were sent by his classmate and friend Ron Baregi.