THE WALL OF FACES

Jackson is buried at Mount View Cemetery, Sherwood, Franklin County, TN.

Dear WO Jackson Dillon Barnes, 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

I am a senior at Gridley High School, in Gridley, IL. I write this to you as part of the Gridley High School Posting Project, a project that allows us to remember those who fought and either lost their lives or were MIA during the Vietnam War. You have my deepest gratitude, dear soldier. I regret that this war cost you your life, but you memory lives on. I remember you on this day. Thank you and God Bless.

Jackson D. Barnes was one of the funniest guys I've ever known, and we were the best of friends during US Army flight school at Ft Rucker, ALA. Jack spent an extra month in flight training for family reasons, and I went to VN before he did. I had a motorcycle during flight school, and I asked Jack to sell it for me after I left so I could have it for the last month of school. As luck would have it, he got assigned to my same flying battalion, the Blackjacks, in the Saigon-Bearcat area. One day,one of my buddies told me he had been to Battalion HQ, and that a friend of mine said that he had the money for my motorcycle. I knew then that Jack was in the local AO, so I kept trying to raise him on our tactical freqencies whenever I thought I might be able to catch him out there.
I kept trying, but no luck. I wrote to his beautiful young wife a couple of times apprising her of my progress, and asking her if she knew how I could get hold of Jack. A few weeks later I got a letter from her telling me that I obviously hadn't heard, but that Jack had been killed within a month of his arrival in VN. His personal effects had been returned to her in a footlocker, and there, in the footlocker, was the check that Jack was going to hand off to me that day at Battalion, if only I had been able to see him one more time.
The world lost a funny, charismatic, intelligent man when Jack died, and I will always miss him.

Bill Bryndle
240th Assault Helicopter Company
RVN Nov 68--Jun 70
VN rank: WO1--CW2
LtCol USAF, retired
[email protected]