THE WALL OF FACES

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

Dear Sp4 Billy Hunter, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

The men of the 4th Battalion of the 9 Infantry were called the Manchus after the fierce Manchu warriors of China. The Manchus were assigned as a Battalion to Vietnam on April 29, 1966 and they quickly established a base at Cu Chi along with the rest of the 9th Infantry, known as the "Tropic Lightning" combat division. The 9th Infantry was assigned to the 25th Division in Vietnam that was operating near the Cambodian border. Platoon size groups of the Manchu soldiers were deployed in "snatch teams" to find the hiding places of the Viet Cong identified by intelligence sources. The snatch teams traveled in helicopters, which would land them right in the middle of the Viet Cong strong hold. This deployment of highly mobile platoons that could react on a moment’s notice proved so successful that many Viet Cong were captured in the Duc Hoa district by the Manchus. In the early afternoon of November 27, 1968, three companies of Manchus at different locations near Tay Ninh, were being airlifted by UH-1 Huey helicopters for an assault into an area near the Cambodian border known as the Black Virgin Mountain. Five UH-1 Huey helicopters based at Dau Tieng were each loaded with six 25th infantry division troops or "electric strawberries" as the other troops called them. The five choppers were rendezvousing with other choppers at a landing zone three miles southeast of Tay Ninh to pick up other members of the Manchus. Unknown to the helicopter pilots, the Viet Cong had been gathering near the landing zone for a mass attack on Tay Ninh. The company of Manchus knew that there were Viet Cong very close to their position however they did not realize that they were right beside a well-fortified base camp of the Viet Cong D14 regiment. The Viet Cong had 250 bunkers, trenches, and spider holes that had been prepared for defensive fighting. They were well armed with .51 caliber heavy machine guns, RPG-7 rockets, B-40 rockets, mortars, mines, and AK-47 assault rifles. As the five Huey's got near the landing zone, they were peppered with Viet Cong automatic gun fire, heavy caliber machine gun fire, and rocket propelled grenades. As the choppers were shot down, some of the Manchus were able to jump off, before they crashed. The Manchus quickly formed into squads of long lines on the ground. Intense fire suddenly erupted from the Viet Cong, killing all of the officers in Alpha Company, many of the soldiers, and the company's radios were knocked out. The few surviving Manchus were wounded and pinned down in tall grass, unable to move for the next eighteen hours. They were rescued the following day when tanks and the Manchus from Company B moved into their area. As Company B slowly moved through the area, a sudden barrage of fire power killed many of them. When the firing stopped, the surviving members of Company B found PVT Malcolm E. Lomax and SP4 Billy C. Hunter dead. Fourteen Manchus from Alpha Company, three from Bravo Company, and six men of the 187th AHC Crusaders died. [Taken from ancestry.com]

Dear SP4 Billy Charles Hunter, 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