THE WALL OF FACES

On the remembrance of your 76th birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Semper Fi, Doc

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....

Petty Officer Third Class Aldon M. Asherman, Jr.

Aldon M. Asherman, Jr., Hospital Corpsman Third Class, USN, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor for his exemplary courage under fire on 29 May 1966 in connection with operations against the enemy while serving with a Marine unit in the vicinity of Thanh Tan, Vietnam. The Combat Distinguishing Device (V) is Authorized.
See https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=26429

On Memorial Day 1966 (May 29, 1966), 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, were conducting squad- and platoon-sized patrols, sweeping villages just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Thua Thien Province, RVN. A platoon from Golf Company had just finished a couple days of patrolling near a village east of the Battalion temporary Command Post Headquarters located along Highway 1 just north of Hue. They radioed another Golf Company platoon relieving them of North Vietnamese Army activity in the area, referring to a fire mission they had called in that morning which resulted in several enemy killed. The other platoon rogered the intel and the relieved Marines moved on to Battalion CP. About the time they arrived, the Battalion net erupted with radio calls of contact. They could hear mortar and machine gun fire coming from the village. Evidently, a large group of NVA set up a giant, horseshoe-shaped ambush in and around the village. When the Marine platoon got in the middle of the kill zone, the NVA opened fire from three sides. The results were devastating. Twenty Marines and a Navy corpsman were killed. A reaction force sent to the scene found numerous NVA machine gun cartridges and different firing positions around the village, indicating a sizeable and strong force. After the ambush, the enemy slipped away undetected. The lost Marines included PFC David B. Brandon Jr., PFC Gordon M. Briggs, PFC James W. Briles, PFC Thomas W. Britton Jr., LCPL Robert A. Corkill, LCPL Richard E. Crowe, LCPL James R. Heath, LCPL Billy J. Holt, PFC David W. Johnston, SSGT James J. MacKenna, PFC RB Marchbanks Jr., LCPL Jerry L. Noland, PFC Ernest G. Paul, PFC Ronald Ralich, PVT Roy J. Richard, PFC Edward C. Sexton, SSGT Walter B. Stevens, PFC James H. Stewart Jr., LCPL Charles E. Walker, and CPL Kenneth W. Wickel; the lost Navyman was HM3 Aldon M. Asherman Jr. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Danny M. Francis (May 2019) at two1marines.blogspot.com]

Thank you Doc Asherman for your courage and for your devotion to your Marines.