THE WALL OF FACES

I visited the cemetery where Furnace Freeman is buried. Spent two hours there but could not find his grave. I will go back again in the next few months. I was Freeman’s squad leader and was with him when he died. I am on a mission to find him!

Corporal Furnace Freeman Jr., Served with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Army Vietnam.

CPL Furnace (Furnice) Freeman Jr. is buried in the Warren Cemetery in Snow Hill, NC. He is buried under the name "Furnice Freeman Jr."

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

During the first half of March 1969, infantrymen from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division conducted search and destroy operations in Binh Duong Province, RVN, in tandem with tanks and armored personnel carriers from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment under the command LTC George Patton IV. The A-2/28 infantrymen generally rode on the M48A3 Patton tanks (named for the commander’s father, GEN George S. Patton Jr.). Sometime after midday on March 14th, soldiers from 2nd Platoon riding on the M48’s were forced to dismount around a thick stand of bamboo when the tanks unwittingly ran into a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) base camp. During the sudden engagement, the Americans and NVA traded rifle fire as each side sought fire superiority over the chaotic battlefield. Two 2nd Platoon members died in the fighting. After dismounting, PFC Furnace Freeman Jr. backed up against a large anthill when he was struck in the head by small arms fire. And PFC Waymon L. Jones Jr. was fatally injured after one of the tanks, maneuvering to engage the enemy, rolled over him. Both men were posthumously promoted to Corporal. Two other 2nd Platoon troopers were wounded. A third member of A Company, SP4 Stephen W. Lucia, was killed trying to retrieve two enemy observed scrambling into a tunnel. Before entering, grenades were tossed in, followed by M16 fire, then more grenades. Believing the threat had been neutralized, Lucia was sent in. Trading his rifle for a .45 pistol, he dropped into the opening. As soon as he lowered his body inside, a burst of AK-47 fire struck him in the chest area. Two soldiers quickly hoisted out the mortally wounded Lucia. An aeromedical evacuation was requested while a medic assisted Lucia, who was lucid and sitting up while being treated. He was flown to a military medical facility where he expired shortly after. Determined not to let the killers escape, a stay-behind force remained as the tanks and troopers pulled away from the area. Reportedly, at approximately 3:00 AM, the two enemy slipped out of the entrance whereupon they were gunned down by the waiting Americans. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Marshall Knight (November 2022) and Thomas C Dando Jr. (January 2023)]

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….