THE WALL OF FACES

Never forgotten.

HOOAH

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

Operations El Paso and El Paso II (May 19 - July 13, 1966) were conducted by the U.S. Army's 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Binh Long Province, RVN. In April 1966, prisoner interrogations revealed that the Viet Cong (VC) 271st and 273rd Regiments were planning a major offensive near Loc Ninh. On June 11th, Company A, 2/28th Infantry, patrolling northwest of Loc Ninh with a platoon of CIDG indigenous soldiers, was engaged by the VC 1st Battalion, 273rd Regiment, located on two adjacent hills, Hill 150 and Hill 177. As the battle developed, Company C, 2/28th Infantry, was deployed as reinforcements, and following air and artillery strikes, assaults were launched on the hills. At 2:30 PM, Company C and the battalion's reconnaissance platoon assaulted Hill 177 from the south and west but were pushed back by a VC counterattack. The reconnaissance platoon retreated to a position in a trench covered by a VC machine gun and lost seventeen killed. Despite this, by 4:15 PM, the VC were forced from the hill and withdrew northwest, harassed by air and artillery strikes. On Hill 150, Company A made two assaults, both of which were repulsed. Company B then joined the fight, and by 4:30 PM, had forced the VC from the hill where they were ambushed by a waiting CIDG Company. U.S. losses were thirty-four killed. The lost personnel included: (A/2/28) SP4 Henry Burch, SGT John E. Miller, and PFC Roy S. Pitt; (B/2/28) SP4 Charles H. Shelton; (C/2/28) SP4 Dennis E. Brown, PFC David G. Bryan, SP4 Willie Cole Jr., PFC Michael A. Garris, SP4 Donel R. Johnson, PFC Jerry W. Looney, PFC Herman R. Meneely, PFC Tim A. Noe, PFC Clae T. Norman, SSG James W. Phair, PFC Harvey J. Profitt, PFC Ronald Richards, and SSG Franz X. Wallner; (Recon Platoon) SP4 Kenneth A. Babb, PFC Dannie G. Braswell, PFC Ronald J. Brissette, PFC Thomas S. Cameron, PFC Thomas W. Chatburn III, SSG Ernest L. Duran, SGT Grady L. Elder, PFC Charles E. Ford, PFC James E. Hill, PFC Louis A. Jefferson, SSG Glen D. Lofton, PFC Richard A. Mitchell, PFC Jack R. Price, PFC Jessie E. Shannon, PFC Michael T. Sukara, PFC John R. Thompson, and PFC J.C. Williams. PFC Noe was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal. VC losses were 98 by body count with subsequent intelligence indicating that half the VC 1st Battalion had been killed. [Taken from virtualwall.org and “Stemming the Tide” by John M. Carland]

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers

Dear PFC James Hill, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Your 53rd anniversary is soon, sad. 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.