THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. You died at 18 years of age. I am 73 and have lived a long and fulfilling life. It is tragic you never had that same opportunity. May you rest in eternal peace.

On the remembrance of your 73rd Birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Forever 18.

HOOAH

Dear Sgt David Holmes, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Your 53rd anniversary is soon, sad. Today is Independence Day, and there is no better time to honor you. Please watch over the USA, it still needs your strength. Rest in peace with the angels.

You were one of the brave that answered the call. You honored us by your service and sacrifice. We now honor you each time we stand and sing the words “THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE”. Rest in Peace and Honor David.

The Boi Loi Woods lay about 25 kilometers northwest of Cu Chi. Like the nearby Ho Bo Woods, the Boi Loi was a long-time sanctuary for VC (and increasingly NVA) forces. When the 25th Infantry Division arrived at Cu Chi in early 1966 a major objective was to reduce the value of these areas to the enemy - and that meant extensive search-and-destroy missions.

On 19 July 1966, Company A, 1st Bn, 27th Infantry was conducting such a mission in the Boi Loi Woods when it was ambushed by a main force VC battalion. Twenty-four Americans died in the bitter fight which followed. They were

PFC Hearne W. Beaver, Beacon Falls, CT
PFC Kenneth M. Branaman, Seymour, IN
PFC Dannie J. Brewington, Broadway, NC
PFC Jack M. Brown, Washington, DC
SP4 Thomas J. Butler, New York, NY
SP4 Rodger D. Clawson, Allegan, MI
SGT Charles H. Crane, Molokai, HI
SP4 Bernard Dillard, Chicago, IL
PFC John T. Doike, Honolulu, HI
PFC Charles R. Fleming, Charlotte, NC
SP4 Jose C. Gosse, San Francisco, CA
PSGT Bernard A. Green, Los Angeles, CA
PFC Dallas E. Green, Oliver Springs, TN
SGT David W. Holmes, Crossville, TN
SGT Meredith G. Hubbard, Detroit, MI
SP4 Lamond J. Jackson, St Louis, MO
PFC Allen L. Jelinek, Cleveland, OH
PFC Douglas H. Knott, Dayton, OH
SSG Michael J. Mummel, Reidsville, NC
SP4 Leroy E. Peterson, Coon Rapids, MN
PFC Eugenio Rosado-Rodriguez, Ponce, PR
PFC Robert W. Ruhl, Lansdowne, MD
CPL Turner L. Thompson, Talihina, OK
PFC Lawrence H. Wilson, Lorane, OR