THE WALL OF FACES

Some may think you are forgotten
Though on earth you are no more
But in our memory you are with us
As you always were before….

I was on the gun crew of the 8 inch SP, howitzer, Destruction, during this attack in November 1967. Being 75 years old now almost 54 years ago don't remember the details as are in the below post but remember Gary who directed our guns in FDC. Today I am going to see a travelling version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall and will find his name on the panel.

At 10:13 PM on November 3, 1967, a 4th Infantry Division firebase in Darlac Province, RVN, manned by Company C, 1st Battalion, 22d Infantry, came under a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) mortar barrage followed by a ground attack. The base perimeter was probed from three sides, and by 10:55 PM, the attack had become so intense that the unit had to lower their howitzers tubes to direct fire angles to keep their perimeter intact. The attack lasted until 1:30 AM when the enemy withdrew. A dawn sweep outside the base resulted in twenty-four NVA bodies and one prisoner of war. Friendly losses from the encounter were one U.S. killed, SP5 Gary L. Hensley from D Battery, 5th Battalion, 16th Artillery, and eighteen wounded. A 4th Aviation Battalion gunship flying in support of the contact crashed and burned with the loss of all crew members. The aircraft, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C (tail number 66-00538), was making a gun run supporting the ground unit being overrun when the ship came under heavy fire. The helicopter, possibly damaged from the ground fire, flew into trees and exploded. Personnel in a wing gunship overheard aircraft commander 1LT James E. Pavlicek Jr. scream “Pull out!” two and a half times before they hit. Witnesses in the supporting gunship reported that the crash may have been caused by either target-fixation or enemy fire. Despite being a hazy night, the visibility in the area was reported to be good at the time. Ground troops located the crash site the following day. The lost crewmen included Pavlicek, co-pilot WO1 David E. Thomas, crew chief SP4 James E. Anderson, and gunner SP4 Randall W. Ernsberger. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, vhpa.org, and “Lessons Learned, 4th Infantry Division, Period ending 31 January 1968” at cacti35th.com]

Remembering our classmate Gary Lee Hensley who lost his life on Nov. 3, 1967 in Viet Nam, we offer this promise:
"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...

Gary was a beautiful person and I was a cousin but I was young , I remember looking at him and wish I could be like him. Think of you often and miss you with all my heart. Thank you for your service RIP.