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 a day to maintain in the U.S., cost less than $5 a day in Vietnam. PFC Mark J. Eklund was a Heavy Vehicle Driver serving with the 585th Transportation Company, 39th Transportation Battalion, 26th General Support Group, Army Support Command Da Nang, 1st Logistical Command, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam. On August 5, 1971, Eklund reportedly went to sleep in his unit’s billets at Phu Bai Airfield in Thua Thien Province, RVN. The following morning, he was found expired in bed. Army postmortem studies determined he died from pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, and aspiration of stomach contents, common adverse events following a heroin overdose. Eklund was 20 years old. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “G.I. Heroin Addiction Epidemic in Vietnam.” New York Times (New York, NY), May 16, 1971]

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

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from Sister Helen P Mrosla is poignant (in response to a question as to the veracity of this story I did google her and there is a professor by that name). As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever…..

On the remembrance of your 70th birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

Mark's teacher was a nun in a religious school and she wrote a viral story about Mark that is shown in the remembrance's for Mark. Some people worried if was really about Mark Eklund but it was as this letter shows...