THE WALL OF FACES

At 9:55 AM on June 1, 1970, a Recon Team, call sign Cherry Jam, from B Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, III Marine Amphibious Force, was conducting a patrol seven kilometers north of the U.S. Army’s 5th Special Forces CIDG camp at Thuong Duc in Quang Nam Province, RVN, when it engaged four North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers with small arms. The team killed two NVA, then hastily moved to a landing zone on Charley Ridge for helicopter exfiltration. At 10:45 AM, a CH-46D Sea Knight helicopter from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM 262) landed for the extraction. As the Recon Team approached the aircraft, one of the Marines detonated a booby trap under the forward part of the helicopter. The powerful blast caused the aircraft to overturn, catch fire, and explode. The pilot, MAJ Robert M. Fitzgerald, perished in the post-crash fire. Cherry Jam Team Leader, SGT Roe Hopson Jr., sustained fatal blast and fragmentation wounds in the explosion of the booby trap. Eleven other personnel were wounded. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, popasmoke.com, and “III MAF Command Chronology, June 1970” at ttu.edu]

Major Robert Michael Fitzgerald, Served with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM-262), Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16), 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), Third Marine Amphibious Force.

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 sunlight 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.

May those who served never be forgotten. Rest in peace MAJ. Fitzgerald, I salute your brave soul. My heart goes out to you and your family. Semper Fidelis!

My mother lost her father, Robert, when she was a little girl. Her brother Kevin and her grew up without a father. My grandma, his late wife, is still heartbroken over his unfortunate passing. I wish you were still here, Grandpa. I love you.