THE WALL OF FACES

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Operation Emporia (July 21-September 14, 1967) was a 9th Infantry Division operation to secure the major transportation avenues in Long Khanh Province, RVN. The mission was to deny the Viet Cong (VC) concealment along routes QL-2 and QL-20, and National Highway QL-1, which the enemy had long used as vantage points for tax collection, as well as ambush purposes. U.S. ground operations were conducted by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) with convoy escort support provided by elements of the 720th MP Battalion. The first day of the operation began with 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry conducting a road march along QL-20 to secure route clearing and Rome Plow operations for the 86th Engineers. At 9:35 AM, the 3rd Platoon of L Troop, 11th ACR was leading the squadron column accompanied by members of the 615th Military Police Company when they were ambushed near the village of Xa Binh Hoa by a VC force estimated at two battalions. The enemy fired recoilless rifle, heavy machine gun, rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic weapons. CPT William F. Abernethy, the Troop commander, was able to issue an ambush report over the squadron frequency before being fatally wounded. Troops I and K were ordered to sweep to the east and west flanks of QL-20 at the point of contact. K Troop moved down QL-20 to aid the embattled 3rd Platoon. They were met by intense automatic weapons and anti-armor fire from the west of the road just south of the ambush site. K Troop replied with unit weapons supported by air and artillery strikes. At 11:00 AM, enemy fire from the east of the road had completely ceased; by 1:30 PM, enemy resistance ended, and their remnants withdrew from the area. The 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry lost fourteen men in the fighting. L Troop losses included CPT Abernethy (posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal), SP4 Lawrence M. Dawson, SP4 Richard J. Schutz, PFC Douglas W. Hill (a medic from HHC w/ L/3/11), PFC Frank D. Leal, PFC Gary A. McLennan, PFC James L. Whitfield, and PVT Thomas F. Ganion. Three artillerymen from L Troop's Artillery Forward Observer team were also killed: PFC James F. Bean, PFC John J. Campa, and PFC George Foster. K Troop losses were1LT Ponder R. Sims, PFC Roosevelt C. Curley Jr., and PFC Billy G. Rodgers. Another forty-seven Americans were wounded, and two South Vietnamese interpreters were killed. Enemy losses were put at 196 dead. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, virtualwall.org, and 720mpreunion.org]

Doug was a good friend of my oldest brother Johnny Stecco from Lawton High School. The Hill family lived a block over from our family and would play basket ball at our house. He
Came to our house one day and said he was drafted in the Army and he was going to Vietnam and he would bring My brother a souvenir from Nam. My brother was in his 2nd year of college then. When we heard the news of Dougies passing- our family was absolutely devastated. His Mom and Dad were the kindest people you could ever meet and Dougie was the same. Always think of him and will remember him as long as I live. Fly high with the angels.

Dear PFC Douglas Hill, Thank you for your service as a Medical NCO. Thanks for the lives you saved. Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and we should remember all of you who served. Watch over the USA, it still needs your courage. Rest in peace with the angels.

Doug was my mother’s cousin and her best friend growing up in Oklahoma. She loved him and treasured their friendship so much that she gave me his name for my middle name. I have served a career in the Army and am so proud to be named for such a brave, selfless, and kind soul.