THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. We should be forever thankful for the sacrifices of you and so many others to ensure the freedoms we so often take for granted.

BM1 Larry J. Young was a Boatswain Mate serving aboard the supercarrier USS America (CV-66). During the summer of 1972, America was on her third deployment to Vietnam, commencing combat operations July 12th. Its tenure would be brief, as a ruptured main feed pump prompted its departure to Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines for repairs. On July 20, 1972, before leaving operations at Yankee Station in the South China Sea offshore of the Republic of Vietnam, the Navy announced that Young had expired from a sudden illness. He reportedly succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest caused by fulminant (sudden) acute bilateral (double) lobar pneumonia. Lobar pneumonia is a type of pneumonia characterized by the infection and inflammation of one or more lobes of the lung. It is typically caused by bacteria, most commonly Streptococcus pneumoniae. Young was 26 years old. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

Image courtesy of Redbird Research LLC, Saint Charles, MO.

Dear PO1C Larry Young, Thank you for your service as a Boatswain's Mate 1st Class on the USS AMERICA. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Lent has begun, and did Daylight Saving. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance, and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

May those who served never be forgotten. Rest in peace BM1. Young, I salute your brave soul. My heart goes out to you and your family.