THE WALL OF FACES

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from your sister Marsha is touching. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever....

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers

I was a coxswain (driver) of a Mike boat in the 1099th Trans Co. It was the end of March and my time to go home had finally come. Coffey (to not know someone's first name was common, it was not what soldiers called each other) had just come on my boat a couple of months before. Our unit was not what would be called a front line unit, although the lines were often fuzzy over there. During my 27 months there we'd come under fire a number of times but never suffered casualties until a few months before Coffey arrived. I'm from rural Washington and didn't understand racism but I knew we had boats with black crews and boats with white crews. Somehow Coffey was assigned to my white boat. I quickly learned to love him. I had a good crew, my engineer was from upstate New York, one deckhand had recently graduated from barber school in Minnesota and Coffey filled it out. We were supporting a helicopter supply base with 7 other Mike boats, 6 would pick up jet fuel from a tanker off the coast and I would load 60 tons of munitions from a cargo ship to deliver to the base. There was also a maintenance boat. I think Coffey was the only black soldier. I've thought about Coffey often in the years since and especially in our nation's recent struggles. Black crews gave Coffey grief because he was on a white boat, because he followed the Golden rule. I was so angry when I came back from getting my going home papers in order and found out they'd transferred him to one of the fuel boats. I tried to get him back but we lost his entire crew and boat. He was a man whose skin color was goodness. They tell me I have PTSD and one of the ways I handle it is to try and let Coffey's skin color become my skin color.

I think of you often, and remember how good you were as a Track & Field athletic. I think about your sacrifice and you giving your life for our nation. Over the years I used to run into your Dad, he was so proud of you.
I pray you rest in peace and I pray one day we meet in Heaven as brothers in Christ forever.