THE WALL OF FACES

On November 22, 1967, U.S. forces intercepted a radio transmission sent by the North Vietnamese Army’s (NVA) 3rd Regiment. Triangulation of the signal placed its origin at Hill 63, a small granite outcrop east of LZ Ross in Quang Tin Province, RVN. The information was passed on to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, where Companies B and D were patrolling near Ross with two platoons of armored personnel carriers from Troop F, 17th Cavalry, and a platoon of tanks from Troop A, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry. The following morning, this task force split into two groups and approached Hill 63 from opposite sides. When the Americans began climbing its slopes around 7:00 AM, they met a torrent of small arms and machine gun fire from concealed positions higher on the hill. Four U.S. soldiers were killed and eleven were wounded. As the infantrymen slugged their way up the northern and southern slopes, a group of M48 tanks and M113 armored personnel carriers moved around the hill to establish a blocking position on its western side. A platoon of NVA soldiers appeared near the base of the hill, fired at the Americans, then sprinted to hamlet some 220 yards away. Moments later, recoilless rifles concealed in the hamlet opened fire on the troopers. The NVA rounds slammed into two armored personnel carriers. The armored vehicles responded with machine guns and cannon fire. Taking the hill was slow and costly work, with the companies sustaining some fifty casualties in the first two hours of combat. More troops were landed near the eastern side of Hill 63 to assist in the fighting. With the NVA trapped on Hill 63, 4/21st Infantry was ordered to seize the hamlet. Supported by several M48 tanks, Company B entered a maze of hedgerows enclosing the settlement. The infantrymen silenced several recoilless rifles, allowing the tanks to destroy the NVA bunkers. On Hill 63, Companies B and D, 4/31st Infantry, reached the summit, killing the last defender around noon. The battle for Hill 63 cost seven U.S. lives and eighty-four wounded. The lost personnel included PFC Kenneth S. Adams, PFC Philip F. Adams, PFC Rodney E. Loatman, PFC Robert D. Waddell, SP4 Calvin M. Strong, SP4 Ronald H. Essler, and SGT Joseph Cloud Jr. K. Adams, P. Adams, and Loatman were posthumously promoted to Corporal. Communist losses were 128. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and wikipedia.org]

Corporal Kenneth Stanley Adams, Served with the 2nd Platoon, Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, United States Army Vietnam.

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizen in a Republic", April 23, 1910

DEAR CPL. ADAMS,
YOUR RANK IS LISTED AS CORPORAL. THAT MEANS YOU WERE PROMOTED POSTHUMOUSLY. THANK YOU! REST IN PEACE.

Dear CPL Kenneth Stanley Adams, 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.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter