THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Information about Lieutenant Barry Wayne Hooper, USNA Class of 1964, from the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Virtual Memorial Wall is at this website link:

https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/BARRY_W._HOOPER,_LT,_USN

Remembered on what would've been his 80th birthday - 12 November 2021.

Dear Lt Barry Hooper, Thank you for your service as an Unrestricted Line Officer - Surface Warfare. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

On March 5, 1968, a River Division 55 convoy composed of five amphibious transport LCUs and three LCM-8 logistical craft, two LCM-6 minesweepers, two armed patrol craft, and two U.S. Marine Corps armed helicopters, departed Cua Viet bound for Dong Ha to deliver vital cargo to beleaguered allied forces as part of Task Force Clearwater. The convoy commander was LT Barry W. Hooper, USN. As the convoy approached the mouth of the Hien Giang River, it was ambushed by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces who were entrenched in heavily fortified bunkers along both banks of the river. The enemy rained a deadly hail of crossfire from heavy automatic weapons, small arms, and recoilless rifles on the convoy. LT Hooper reacted to the ambush in a swift, bold, and decisive manner as he climbed to the conning area of the YFU-64, on which he was embarked, and from an exposed position, he effectively directed the convoy units in evading the enemy fire and returning accurate suppressive fire at the enemy positions. For 30 minutes the battle raged, and as the last unit had cleared the ambush zone, YFU-64 received a direct hit in the conning area that mortally wounded LT Hooper. As a result of his superb leadership, the convoy fought its way through to its destination with the vital supplies it carried. [Taken from United States Naval Forces, Vietnam, Monthly Historical Supplement, March 1968]

Dear LT Barry Wayne Hooper, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

With respect, Sir

Curt Carter