THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever….

On October 14, 1967, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, was participating in a Battalion-sized search and clear operation in the Que Son Valley in Quang Tin Province, RVN. A couple of days previous, they had relieved Marines at a nearby firebase, and now were perched on ridge with D Company on another hill about 2000 yards to their right. Battalion ordered B and D Company to link up before dark midway between the bases of the two hills. The plan was to interdict and destroy any North Vietnamese Army units they encountered. B Company’s Commanding Officer (CO) put Third Platoon on point, and they were supposed to move in tandem with D Company down the hill. Before heading down, B Company lost a trooper to an NVA sniper when SP4 John D. Williams was shot in the head while digging a hole to relieve himself. By midafternoon, it became clear that D Company was not as far down their path as was being reported. The Battalion Commander ordered D Company to ignite a purple smoke which confirmed they were moving slower downhill than B Company. B Company was then directed to move laterally across their hill towards to link up with D Company. By this point it was dusk, and Third Platoon, the point element, reported that they had D Company in sight. Actually, the men in helmets and uniforms they were seeing were NVA. Third Platoon was suddenly thrust into battle when ambushed by the enemy. The platoon suffered several wounded and four killed: CPL Woody J. Frost, CPL William R. Henry, CPL Kurt B. Pearson, and PFC Robert A. Van Ballegooyen. Van Ballegooyen was not well-liked by the Company after he earlier had dropped a grenade in an NVA privy which he mistook for an enemy tunnel. The blast sent fecal matter in all directions, splattering his fellow troopers, and earning their ire. But he more than made up for it when he sacrificed his life by exposing himself to enemy fire by carrying desperately needed mortar rounds until he was fatally wounded by the NVA. Van Ballegooyen received the Silver Star medal for his actions. After the fighting ended at 2:00 AM, some members of the Company went down to help carry the dead and wounded back up the hill. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and PFC Van Ballegooyen’s Silver Star medal citation; also from information provided by Anonymous (September 2019)]

Dear Cpl William Henry, Thank you for your service as an Indirect Fire Infantryman with the 1st Cavalry. Watch over America, it still needs your courage. Rest in peace with the angels.

William.....Honoring you on your birthday....God Bless...You will never be forgotten

Thanks to all who have remembered my brother. -- your thoughts are greatly appreciated.