THE WALL OF FACES

Never forgotten.

HOOAH

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers

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 always be with us...

PFC Juan Antu was an infantryman serving with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. PFC Antu was a grenadier, carrying an M79 grenade launcher. On the evening of June 9, 1968, C Company left its base camp and split into three different platoon-sized ambush sites along a major supply route west of the village in Ben Cui Rubber Plantation in Tay Ninh Province, RVN. The rubber plantation was hundreds of acres of rubber trees stretching upwards toward the dark sky about 30-40 feet. Once under the umbrella of the trees, the stars and night light were vanquished. It began to rain and got so dark that everyone in the platoon had a hand tucked into the ammo belt of the guy in front of him. Without doing this, they could not see the guy to their front. It continued to pour and all one could hear was the water splashing off of the leaves of the trees and striking the ground. An occasional lighting flash lit up the trees. One lighting flash cut across the sky and revealed a group of people, 5 or 6 or more, dressed in dark clothing standing on a road to the front. Unsure of what might have been enemy combatants, the platoon continued moving forward toward those figures about 100 feet away. Suddenly shots rang out and the platoon dived for cover, landing in pools of water and mud on the floor of the rubber plantation. The platoon was as surprised as the Viet Cong as they come face to face less than 50 feet apart. There was random and sporadic fire directed at the Viet Cong. They were returning fire and fired rocket-propelled grenade rounds at the Americans. There were loud explosions as the RPGs sprayed fragments all around. During the exchange, PFC Antu, was wounded. A round hit his helmet, spun around in the helmet liner, and entered the back of his skull. The enemy abruptly stopped firing and disappeared into the darkness. The platoon did a quick check for casualties. The medic was busy with other wounded, so the RTO (radio telephone operator) tried to help Antu. He feels around on his chest and arms trying to find wounds or blood. Antu’s helmet was off and he was lying in the wet mud on his back. They couldn’t risk using any light because the enemy may have still been around. Antu was lifted up out of the water and mud to check his back side. His body was limp and lifeless. There were no wounds that can be found to his chest. The RTO probes around on his head and found a wound. They determined Antu was KIA. Dustoff aircraft were requested, and a helicopter finally braved the inclement weather to remove the wounded and one KIA. After being loaded up, the aircraft was unable to gain lift, so Antu was pulled out. He would remain overnight with his comrades until a truck came in the morning to carry him back to the base camp. In all, thirteen were wounded, four seriously, requiring hospitalization. A sweep of the battle area found 4 VC ponchos, one with a lot of bullet holes, but no blood trails and no bodies. The platoon reported a possible five VC body count. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “A Night Ambush Patrol and Viet Cong Firefight during the Vietnam War” by Peter Alan Lloyd at peteralanlloyd.com]

DEAR PFC ANTU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS AN ARMY GRUNT. REST IN PEACE.