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 Kerry R. Gossman was a Water Treatment Specialist serving with Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. At 6:30 AM on October 15, 1970, Gossman was found without life signs in his bed at Camp Gorvad (Phuoc Vinh Air Field) in Binh Duong Province, RVN. A subsequent autopsy determined he died of “acute narcotism.” Gossman, 18, had been in Vietnam less than three months. [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. I am 73 and have lived a long and fulfilling life. It is tragic you never had that same opportunity. May you rest in eternal peace.

The Wall That Heals was erected in Eagan, Minnesota at Rahn Elementery School on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Kerry Ray Gossman is named on The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Panel 6 West, Line 2. On this day, Kerry’s sister Connie drove up from the Rochester area to help with the setup. Three panels were carried to their frames by loved ones that day. One was a cousin, one a classmate, and the other was by Connie. Panel 6 West is a heavy panel and was carried by two other ladies with Connie. After the panel was set, Connie asked for a picture to be taken of her pointing to her brother’s name. After the picture was taken, the mysterious thin shaft of light was on the image. There was nothing that anyone there knew that would cause the light to show up. It can be seen passing through Connie’s hand and through her brother’s last name. No one there could explain the light but all agreed that something special happened that day. A month before, Connie placed an additional 13 pictures for her brother on The Wall of Faces. Connie’s devotion to Kerry will never end.

Never forgotten.

HOOAH