I know that the gallery says '67-'68, but Pat Francis transcends that label. He was a friend and classmate from 7th Grade through Jr. College. We took many classes together through those years. Pat was a serious student with a great sense of humor and a bright future. He was one of the nicest kids in our class.

After I got home from Vietnam I had not seen Pat in a long time and hoped that he was safely enrolled in grad school somewhere. Instead, in late May/early June of '69 I picked up the Napa Register and found Pat's photo on the front page, along with an accompanying article with sketchy information about his death in Vietnam.

Pat was a graduate of an NCO development program, which turned out E-5s in a relatively short period of time. Although those graduates (we called them "Shake & Bake" NCOs) were kind of a mixed bag because of their having rank without real experience, Pat was clearly one of the program's successes. He had been promoted to SSG/Platoon Sgt. for an infantry platoon in the 4th Infantry Division. Pat was killed on a night patrol. It's clear that the welfare of his soldiers was more important to him than his own safety. Pat was an American hero, and one of our generation's best.

Pat was killed in action along with 5 of his soldiers on 27 May '69 - 47 years ago today. Rest in peace, Pat. You are remembered fondly by your friends.

Please take a moment to visit his page here: http://www.virtualwall.org/df/FrancisJP02a.htm