THE WALL OF FACES

Staff Sergeant Laurie Leon Alexander, Served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, United States Army Vietnam.

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 sun 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.

As long as you are remembered you will never die...

Picture posted by Tom Clark, Teacher and Students, Lake Central High School, St. John, Indiana.
Please watch our video about what we have been doing in the classroom for the past 32 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohw6D-bcfPU
Picture from the Plain Dealer Library

During Operation Paul Revere II, the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, had a continuing mission, beginning in May 1966, to interdict infiltration and supply routes in the Pleiku and Kontum Provinces. The Operation ended at the battle of Hill 534, on the southern portion of Chu Pong Massif near the Cambodian Border. Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, while pursuing a group of Viet Cong on foot, ran into a North Vietnamese battalion in prepared, bunkered positions. Company B, 2/5, while attempting to link up with Alpha Company, began slugging it out with enemy troops, likewise in well-defended positions. As the size of the fortification became known, additional companies were committed until two battalions of Skytroopers were positioned around the enemy. The fierce, close-in fighting continued throughout the night of August 14th and well into the morning of the 15th. When it was over, a total of 138 NVA dead were counted on the slope of Hill 534. The 5th Cavalry Regiment also paid a high price at the battle on Hill 534, suffering 17 killed. The dead included SSGT Laurie L. Alexander, PFC Henry Butler, 2LT Edward J. Dalton, SP4 Jeffrey B. Wagman, PFC Richard A. Waltman, SP4 Fred Brown, SGT Wayland Dunn, SP4 Sanford L. Jackson, SP4 James T. Langlois, SGT James R. Morley, PFC Donald L. Summers, PFC Fred L. Thomas, PFC James E. Phillips, SSGT William M. Croy, SP4 Caney Green, FSGT Kenneth Hawsey, and MAJ William E. Taylor. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and virtualwall.org]

DEAR SSGT. ALEXANDER,
THANK YOU FOR BEING A 1ST CAVALRY GRUNT. I WISH YOU WEREN'T KILLED SO CLOSE TO YOUR BIRTHDAY, FOR YOUR FAMILY'S SAKE.
REST IN PEACE.