THE WALL OF FACES

Private First Class Douglas Vernon Andre, Served with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry 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 truly die....

Operation Bloodhound, later renamed Operation Bushmaster II, commenced on December 1, 1965, when the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment (2/2nd Infantry) was put on the ground at Landing Zone (LZ) Dallas inside the Michelin Rubber Plantation in Binh Duong Province, RVN. LZ Dallas served as the command post for the two Battalions involved in the operation. From December 2–5, the U.S. battalions searched southeast of LZ Dallas in the Viet Cong 272nd Regiment’s base area known as the Long Nguyen Secret Zone. At midday on December 5th, three companies from the 2/2nd Infantry came under fire from Viet Cong bunkers. An American attempt to outflank the Viet Cong position was repulsed and a Viet Cong force then attempted to outflank the Americans who withdrew into a defensive perimeter. The 2/2nd Infantry commander LTC Shuffer called for air and artillery support and the 8th Battalion, 6th Artillery Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 32nd Artillery Regiment, provided fire support on the southwestern perimeter, while air strikes were conducted on the east and helicopter gunships strikes on the north. The Viet Cong attempted to escape this firepower by "hugging" the American positions, but were forced back by small arms fire. The barrage continued for over four hours, allowing the 2/2 Infantry to secure their position and permit Companies A and C to move south behind a creeping barrage and overrun the Viet Cong bunkers. By 2:30 PM, the Viet Cong were abandoning their positions and fleeing the battlefield, leaving behind their dead and weapons and equipment. LTC Shuffer decided not to pursue the retreating Viet Cong, fearing a further ambush, and withdrew into a night perimeter. After spending the night defending the landing zone and evacuating their wounded by helicopter, the men of 2nd Battalion resumed their search of the battle area to recover their dead comrades and prevent the Viet Cong from salvaging equipment from the battlefield. Their actions resulted in 300 dead Viet Cong, the wounding of an estimated 200, the capture of many enemy weapons, and the destruction of the base camp and training facility. The 272nd Regiment disappeared for the next four months presumably to recover its losses. U.S. losses in the battle numbered 43 killed. The lost American troopers included PFC Douglas V. Andre, PFC Steven H. Boyer, PFC David L. Brodeur, SP4 Frederick C. Cadille, PFC Morris F. Dibble, SGT George J. Eisenberger, PFC Richard M. Facondini, PFC Henry Gentry Jr., SGT Robert Goines, SP4 James Graham, SP4 John P. Greene, PFC Michael A. Gruber, PFC Jorge M. Jaramillo, PFC Norman W. Johnson, PFC Grandville R. Jones Jr., SP4 Leonard A. Jones, PVT George E. Joyce, SP5 Raymond E. Kellems, SP4 Richard Killens, SP4 Patrick W. King, SSGT Czeslaw Kowalczyk, SP4 O’neal Legette, SP4 McGeary Littlejohn, SSGT James E. Lofgren, PSGT Luis B. Lopez, SP4 Charles E. Manzanares, 1LT Edward K. Marsh, PSGT Donald W. McCammon, SGT Philip J. McCarthy, PFC Warren S. Oshiro, SGT Leonidas Raisis, PFC Joseph D. Riggle, SP4 Julius Roberts Jr., PFC Carlos H. Ruiz, PFC Michael P. Schwebel, PVT Milton Solomon, SGT Roger W. Spradlin, PFC Don G. Stallard, SSGT John L. Thibeault, SSGT Harry S. Thompson, PFC David J. Tungate, SSGT Edward C. Upner, and SFC Willie S. Right. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, wikipedia.org, and 2nd Battalion’s Valorous Unit Award citation]

DEAR PFC ANDRE,
THANK YOU FOR BEING AN ARMY GRUNT. IT IS THE 9/11 WEEKEND WHEN WE HONOR THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES, IT IS A GOOD TIME TO HONOR YOU TOO. REST IN PEACE.

He loved us so.
Every day, in a hundred ways, he told us so.
In honesty, in affection, he told us so.
He loved us so.
Every day, in a hundred ways, he showed us so.
With loyalty and bravery, he showed us so.
He was our defender, and he kept us free!
He took an oath to guard us, and fought for liberty!
He loved us so, and we should know.
For we loved him so.
PFC Andre, you were the very essence of DUTY!...HONOR!...and COUNTRY! You had been there and done that in Vietnam! You were one brave man who did brave deeds for our America! You fought for the right without question or pause! Your name and fame are the BIRTHRIGHT of EVERY American citizen! In your youth and strength...your love and loyalty...you had given all that mortality can give to defend liberty everywhere! Chicora is very proud of you! You had sacrificed your life so that freedom and justice may live! You had lived up to the code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land!...an ideal SO NOBLE that it arouses all of us a sense of pride, and yet, of humility! I strongly and honestly believe that Avonmore's own Jill Corey, whom I greatly and immensely admire as one of my three top favorite songbirds of all time, the other two being Walton-on-Thames's own Julie Andrews, England's musical queen, and London's own Dusty Springfield, another thrush from England, would be very proud of your service to America, and the sacrifices you made to keep us and our country free! Well done, Soldier! Be thou at peace. ARMY STRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!