THE WALL OF FACES

I was assigned to Camp DeShurley in 1969 as part of NCB 9 Detail Echo. Was on a mortar crew hauled asphalt paving Rte 1 north and south. These men are heroes. I've been to the graves of Galati and Mair . Went back to the site of Camp DeShurley 2019 and the Vietnamese are still operating a stone quarry there. It was surreal standing at the site. 50 years is a long time

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from your friend George Ligmal is moving and harkens back to a carefree time of our youth. Sadly that time ended much too soon for you. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Three miles northwest of Phu Bai in Thu Thien Province, RVN, U.S. Navy Seabees built and maintained a quarry cantonment and rock crusher on Hill 494. The facility produced material for road and airfield construction projects. On the early morning of March 31, 1968, the installation came under an enemy mortar and recoilless rifle attack. The Seabees immediately manned an 81mm mortar position and commenced a sustained countermortar barrage which reportedly destroyed two enemy gun positions and broke the attack. Five hours later, as a second attack on the quarry transpired, the Seabees again manning their mortars, standing their ground despite the enemy having bracketed their position. The navymen continued countermortar fire until the enemy scored two direct hits on their position. Six Seabees from Detachment Echo, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 9 (NMCB-9), 3rd Naval Construction Brigade were killed. The lost personnel included BUL3 George R. De Shurley, CMGCN James F. Galati, BUL3 Mark E. Hodel, BUL3 Allan L. Mair, BUL3 John F. Peek, and BUHCN James R. Retzloff Jr. Several other Navy and Marine personnel were wounded. During medical evacuation operations, a UH-34D helicopter (#148792) chase aircraft from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362 (HMM-362), Marine Aircraft Group 36 (MAG-36), 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1ST MAW), crashed and burned at approximately 4:00 AM after taking hostile small arms groundfire. Two crewmen, crew chief CPL Kenneth R. Yantis and gunner SGT Daniel Pesimer, perished in the crash. Both pilots were recovered five hours later, suffering from first- and second-degree burns. Six days later, on April 6, 1968, the Hill 494 facility was dedicated as Camp De Shurley by Rear Admiral J.V. Bartlett, commander, 3rd Naval Construction Brigade, and CDR J.A. Wright, commanding officer of NMCB-9, in honor of mortar crew leader BUL3 De Shurley and the five other Seabees of Detail Echo, killed in action in the defense of the facility on the morning of March 31st. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and seabeemagazine.mil]

Dear PO3C Mark Hodel, Thank you for your service as a Builder (Light) 3rd Class. Today is the first day of summer! Please watch over the USA, it still needs your strength. Rest in peace with the angels.

I was in the U.S. Navy Seabees with Mark Hodel. I went to "A" Builders School with him in Port Hueneme, CA. Then on to Vietnam.
Mark was a Christian friend and brother. We shared the same faith.
Recently I visited The Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. and got a picture of his name with my reflection in the back. A very moving moment for new.