THE WALL OF FACES

Thinking of you and your sacrifice on this Memorial Day. You left us much too soon. Still miss you and will never forget you.

Camp Radcliff was a U.S. Army base located in the An Khe District of Binh Dinh Province, RVN. It was established late August 1965 by the 70th Engineer Battalion as the headquarters for the 1st Cavalry Division. At 12:20 AM on February 20, 1966, elements of the 407th Viet Cong (VC) Battalion struck Camp Radcliffe with a well-coordinated attack while simultaneously assaulting the adjacent communications facility on top of Hon Cong Mountain. The enemy used infiltration of the perimeter of Radcliffe combined with a mortar barrage on the Division base area as a diversion for the main attack on the hilltop. The VC company attacking Hon Cong used one platoon in the actual assault with two platoons positioned in ambush posture to stop any ground relief forces which might be committed. All reinforcements for the facility, however, were affected by helicopter and the enemy ambush sites were successfully avoided. Although the attack on the communications site failed to destroy any of the signal vans or transmission equipment, friendly losses included five signalmen. They were (A Co, 13th Sig Bn) PFC Emmitt C. Adams and SGT John E. Kerns, and (586th Sig Co, 41st Sig Bn) PFC Leonard J. Chislock, PFC Myron McClelland, and SP4 Charlie K. Scates. Material losses included the destruction of four generators and one M60 machine gun missing. Down below, the diversionary attack on Radcliffe killed eleven 1st Cavalry Division personnel. They included (A-2/12 Cav) SP4 Jerry B. Harris, PFC Jerome L. McCormick, PFC Pedro Santos-Pinedo, and PFC Larry D. Stice; (B-2/12th Cav) SP4 William A. Davison Jr.; (D-2/12th Cav) SP4 Raymond S. Ford; (C-1/5th Cav) SSG James O. Allen; (HHC-15th S&S Bn) MSG Richard A. Filliator; (HHC-11th Avn Group) PFC Richard K. Jamros; and (HHC & Band-Div Spt Cmd) two Army band members, trombone player SP5 Thomas M. Dillard and conductor SFC Victor J. Kohlbeck. The few VC which penetrated the perimeter were killed immediately. The enemy mortar attack delivered 106 82mm rounds which impacted in the vicinity of Division headquarters, the Division's helipad, and the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry compound causing little material damage. Artillery and Aerial Rocket Artillery fired more than 1700 rounds of countermortar fire at suspected enemy positions with unobserved results. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Interim Report of Operations, First Cavalry Division, July 1965 to December 1966” published by 1st Cavalry Division Association]

Jerry, it has been so very long since you gave your life for our country. You were gone much too soon. You are often thought of and missed so very much. Thank you for your sacrifice.

Specialist Four Jerry Bruce Harris, Served with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, United States Army Vietnam.

Remember to save for them a place inside of you, and save one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go...