THE WALL OF FACES

On May 16, 1971, a New York Times article described heroin use by American troops in Vietnam had reached epidemic proportions. The piece reported that 10 to 15 percent of lower-ranking enlisted men were heroin users, and military officials working in drug‐suppression estimated that as much as a quarter of all enlisted personnel, more than 60,000 men, were hooked. They added that some field surveys reported units with more than 50 percent of the men on heroin. In Vietnam, the drug was plentiful, cheap, and 95 percent pure. Its effects could casually be achieved through smoking or snorting, as compared to the U.S., where the drug was impure, only about five percent heroin, and had to be main-lined or injected into the bloodstream to achieve a comparable high. The habit, which cost 100 dollars a day to maintain in the U.S., cost only five dollars a day in Vietnam. PFC Roy R. Dukes was a draftee from Flint, MI, and trained as an infantryman before being shipped to Vietnam, arriving on January 2, 1971. Dukes was assigned to D Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. At this time, 1-9 Cav provided general support to combat operations within the Division’s area of responsibility. This included convoy escort and air cover duties. On February 17, 1971, Dukes was the gunner on a jeep escorting a supply convoy traveling through Phuoc Long Province, RVN. At 8:15 AM, when the procession was approximately eleven miles northwest of Phuoc Binh near the Song Be (river), Dukes was found unconscious at his gun. He was admitted at 10:30 AM to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh suffering from anoxic encephalopathy, the result of a drug (heroin) overdose. Cases of anoxic encephalopathy occur when the brain has been deprived of oxygen. Dukes’ condition failed to improve, and he remained hospitalized at the 93rd until he expired March 3, 1971. His body was forwarded to the U.S. Army Mortuary at Tan Son Nhut Airbase where Graves Registration personnel prepared the remains for shipment back to his family in the United States. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “G.I. Heroin Addiction Epidemic in Vietnam.” New York Times (New York, NY), May 16, 1971; also, “Operational Report -Lessons Learned, Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), period ending 31 May 1971” at archive.org]

Image courtesy of Redbird Research LLC, Saint Charles, MO.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from Chrostopher Paul Curtis is especially poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us.

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers

Private First Class Roy Raymond Dukes, Served with D Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, United States Army Vietnam.