THE WALL OF FACES

Earl,
Remembering you this Memorial Day, hope you are resting in peace.
Byron

Duc Lap Special Forces Camp was a U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The base was situated on two hills overlooking a broad, fertile plateau approximately fourteen kilometers (8.4 miles) from the Cambodian border. Its strategic location covered the southwestern approaches to Ban Me Thuot. In August 1968, the base was manned by U.S. Special Forces, a small radio intelligence detachment, eleven ARVN special forces, and over 600 CIDG indigenous fighters. From August 23–25, 1968, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) 95C Regiment attempted to overrun the base. On the 23rd, NVA infantry stormed and captured the smaller northern hill of the camp when CIDG companies were overrun after half-hearted resistance. The following day, a relief force was able to reach the camp. While key personnel conducted a meeting outside the tactical operation center, a B-40 rocket exploded near the group, killing SFC Harold F. Kline and an indigenous fighter and wounding several others. The casualties had to wait twenty-four hours before medivac aircraft could reach them. On the 25th, the NVA made another effort to smash the camp. Enemy sappers breached the wire allowing the NVA to charge in. They were halted by thrown hand grenades. During the fighting, radio operator SSG Michael B. Dooley was killed by a sniper. At 2:30 PM, a plan was put into action as the Special Forces leaders and their CIDG soldiers counterattacked up the NVA-occupied northern hill. Near the ridge, CPT Norman E. Baldwin was fatally wounded. SSG Leslie L. Brucker Jr. raced through the fire-swept hillside moving the wounded to safer ground. While heading back uphill to rejoin the fight, he was killed by enemy fire. Also killed were SP5 Forestal A. Stevens as he rushed a bunker, and medic SP5 Paul R. Severson, who died in hand-to-hand fighting with an NVA squad in occupied trenches. The frenzied fighting caused the NVA to flee, and by late evening, all had been pushed out of the camp or killed. The assault was defeated at a cost of six U.S. personnel, one ARVN, thirty-seven CIDG, twenty civilians, and over 300 NVA killed. Baldwin, Brucker, Severson, and Stevens were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and Dooley received a Bronze Star for rescuing an F-100 pilot shot down by NVA gunners on the first day of the siege. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and the book “Green Berets at War” by Shelby L. Stanton]

Another year passes and I get older, you stay the same and I still miss you.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from your friend Charles Gayle are especially touching. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

I held you when your were a little baby, watched you grow up running around the backyard of your parents home. Your Dad was my uncle who taught you what freedom for America meant having been a marine himself in WWII. I cried the day I rec'd a call hearing that you gave your life with great heroism to our Country. I am now so proud to have been able to produce Earl's full dress uniform photo so that the document on the OFC WALL exists in honor of him with all his documents that were required.