THE WALL OF FACES

You are my cousin, but I was born long after the Vietnam War ended, so I never met you. I heard about you from my grandma, who was your mom’s cousin. I always remember you on Memorial Day and visit your name anytime I’m in DC. Thank you for your sacrifice, you will always be remembered.

Operation Jefferson Glenn (September 5, 1970 - October 8, 1971) was the last major operation in which U.S. ground forces participated during the Vietnam War and the final major offensive in which the 101st Airborne Division fought. The purpose of the operation was to shield critical installations in Hue and Da Nang by patrolling rocket belts along the edge of the mountains. During the 399 days of operations, the Allied troops established multiple firebases throughout Thua Thien Province and regularly encountered North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) troops. In early November 1970, the 1st Battalion (Airmobile), 327th Infantry conducted search and attack operations in the Firebase Veghel area. At 1:40 PM on November 4th, a patrol from Second Platoon, 1/327th, with the command element attached, walked into an NVA ambush 17 miles southwest of Hue. Automatic weapons fire killed point man SGT Joseph M. Soto and company commander CPT Robert H. Bennett and mortally wounded Bennett’s radioman PFC Charles D. Hoffman. Despite his injuries, Hoffman remained on the radio with battalion headquarters and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal. Helicopter gunships from the divisional aviation element supported the action while other elements of the brigade reinforced the pinned-down troops in contact. Heavy enemy fire delayed the evacuation of three other Americans wounded in the engagement. A landing zone (LZ) was established, and after extraction, the casualties were flown to Camp Eagle. The wounded were admitted to the 85th Evacuation Hospital and the dead were released to Graves Registration where they were positively identified by battalion personnel before being processed for return home. Seven enemy were killed, and one crew-served weapon was destroyed. Following the fighting, poor weather conditions and fog prevented the removal of the remaining troops by aircraft, and they remained overnight in the LZ. That evening, in an extraordinary show of support dispelling Army protocol, assistant division commander BG Sidney B. Berry flew in and spent the night in the jungle with the troops. In a cruel twist of irony, Soto was to be removed from the field the day he died as his rotation date home was approaching. Reportedly, the 11:00 AM flight out was pushed back to 2:00 PM, twenty minutes after the ambush occurred. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by J. Mark Reisetter and Dreafus C. Woods Jr. (July 2023)]

Private First Class Charles David Hoffman, Served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, United States Army Vietnam. Montani Semper Liberi !

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. Your Silver Star citation attests to your courage and devotion to your fellow soldiers. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever….