THE WALL OF FACES

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

May those who served never be forgotten. Rest in peace 1LT. Henjyoji, I salute your brave soul. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Dear LT Grant Henjyoji,
Thank you for your service as an Infantry Unit Commander with the 1st Cavalry. It's Mother's Day. The war was years ago, but we all need to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in Peace with the angels.

LZ Grant was an isolated outpost of the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, acting as a tactical control point and logistical supply area for the maneuver elements of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry. Located one kilometer from the Cambodian border in Tay Ninh Province, RVN, it was near a trail down which the North Vietnamese Army funneled supplies and personnel to fight in South Vietnam. At half past midnight on March 8, 1969, the North Vietnamese Army struck LZ Grant, announcing the battle when a 122mm rocket with a delay fuse arched across the sky and slammed into the sandbagged command bunker. The big projectile sliced through three layers of sandbags and detonated inside. The battalion operations officer was outside the bunker checking on the readiness of the base defense when the rocket hit. He raced back and found it demolished. When he looked through the smoke and dust, he could see LTC Peter L. Gorvad dead in his chair at the map board. On the east side of the LZ beyond the second or third row of wire, five Americans from D Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, comprised a listening post. Situated in a large depression in the ground, 10 to 12 feet in diameter, they held their position when the onslaught began. Just before daylight, they decided to try to make it back to the LZ. They got half way back when they ran into NVA. Outnumbered, PFC Charles D. Snyder and PFC Larry E. Evans were hit with very heavy fire and killed. The other three made a mad dash to the LZ, running in a crouched position and made it. At the entrance of the LZ, enemy Bangalore torpedoes blew a hole in the gate as B-40 rockets screamed in from hidden spots, and mortar fire rained down on the landing zone. The NVA launched a human wave assault, sending masses soldiers through the ruptured gate. Another D Company member, 1LT Grant H. Henjyoji, leaped out of his bunker with a M16 rifle to confront the enemy. He was killed almost instantly. The rifle company that defended the camp fought so well that most of the Claymore mines ringing the camp were not needed and were not fired. Air strikes and Spooky gunships peppered the NVA as they charged, and the camp's defenders lowered their artillery pieces and fired point-blank into the on-rushing enemy. At least six enemy made it through two rings of concertina barbwire to die less than 30 feet from the guns of the Cavalry troopers. None made it through the final defense. At 6:15 AM, the enemy withdrew, leaving behind 157 dead and two prisoners of war. U.S. losses were 14 killed in action and 31 others wounded. The lost Americans included Gorvad, Snyder, Evans, and Henjyoji; also CPT John P. Emrath, 1LT Peter L. Tripp, CPT William R. Black, SGT Walter B. Hoxworth, CPL Vincent F. Guerrero, SP4 John R. Hornsby, SP4 Thomas J. Roach, PFC Glenn R. Stair, Akron, PFC Roy D. Wimmer, and SP4 Gordon C. Murray. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, virtualwall.org, and “GIs Hurl Back Charge by N. Viet Battalion.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, March 10, 1969; “Gentle Warrior.” The Oregonian, May 28, 2000; and information provided by Bob Jones at 12thcav.us]

Grant Henjyoji is a Great American Hero, who gave his life for the Freedom we enjoy today. On 3/8/1969 in a faraway country in Vietnam the Portland, OR Japanese American community and all Americans lost a Great American Hero. The Onchi family was forever tied to Grant and his family when my older brother Curtis gave his life for our Freedom in Vietnam in the same month on 3/24/1969.

As time had stopped for a longtime for me and my family, I later learned that Grant's younger brother Richard and I am sure Grant's whole family experienced this same stopping of time, sadness and loss.

I am sorry that I never got to know Grant, but I did become friends with his brother Richard and I truly believe we were destined to be friends, because of our older brothers sacrifices. The Henjyoji family is beautiful with a special kind of warm spirit that will forever hold a special place in my Kokoro (Heart).

Thank you Grant Henjyoji for being a role model and know that your sacrifice will never be forgotten.