06 Aug 2007 VISIT TO THE WALL As I approach the Wall, in the early morning light, the sky is gently showering everything with dew. Here at the break of day's new dawning, I come much like Mary to visit the empty tomb. I come not with spices but with my heart wanting to speak to you once again. Today I come to meet with my brother, my friend. I know deep within me that we are still kindred in spirit, together and yet apart. We have shared the days of our childhood and we have felt the sting of death. Yet, for all of this, nothing can really ever separate us, not even a broken heart. William, my sweet William, how I long to see you once again. Can you hear me? Do you see me as I search for your beloved name? Many years have passed since I last spoke with you and beheld your dear sweet face. Yet it seems like only yesterday that I stood beside your open grave. Brother, teacher, companion and friend, how the memories do ebb and flow. Can you see me? Do you hear me as I search for your beloved name? Suddenly, as though from a lighthouse, a tiny ray of sun seems to point out your beloved name. Billy, dearest brother, I know that you still watch over me. Can you feel the mist that is falling? Do you see how the dewdrops look just like teardrops as I caress your beloved name? I counted 16 teardrops falling, one for each letter and character in your name. Do you remember bat-light, butterflies and fishing in the rain? Do you remember how you taught me to fish and then threw them all back into the lake again? You said: "We should never waste God's beauty or abuse the bounty of his land." Do you fish the lakes of heaven, still teaching the little ones? Do you walk the fields with Jesus and OH! Do you still sing slightly out of tune? Here in the misty morning sunrise, I feel close to you once again. I can almost hear you singing, "Halleluiah! To Christ our King!" Best of all, sweet William, it sounds perfectly in tune. William, my sweet William, I shall always love you so. Billy, dearest brother, it is time for me to go. I know now, deep in my heart, that you are well and happy. Now not even 16 teardrops falling can take away my joy for you. "Vaya Con Dios," until we meet again. From his sister, Christine Kildare Trollinger E-mail address is not available.

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 21 September 1967 the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, engaged NVA regulars in a ferocious battle just east of Con Thien a few kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone. Thirty-one Marines and sailors died in the fighting, 11 of them from Golf 2/4: Sgt Charles W. Roberts, Alexandria, LA Cpl Richard A. Janigian, Beaverton, OR LCpl Willie Greene, Macon, GA LCpl John L. Harris, Baltimore, MD LCpl John H. Kavulak, Omaha, NE LCpl Juan A. Rodriguez, Corpus Christi, TX LCpl Gary R. Schafer, Bel Air, MD Pfc William J. Kildare, Ogallala, NE Pfc Robert S. Mueller, South Haven, MI Pfc Walter Sauer, Hinckley, OH Pfc Clarence D. Sheibley, Elliottsburg, PA A number of the bodies could not be recovered as the Marines were forced to withdraw. The 2/4 Marines Command Chronology for October 1967 contains the following statement: "On 10 Oct the Battalion made a sweep to the North East of Con Thien to recover the bodies lost in combat on the 21st of Sept. All bodies were recovered with the exception of one which is known dead. All bodies were removed to 'D' Med." The missing Marine was LCpl Kenneth L. Plumadore from Fox Company, 2/4 Marines, who had been captured and died of wounds in a North Vietnamese hospital. According to DoD's PMSEA office, his remains were repatriated on 20 June 1996 and identified on 23 Oct 2002.

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