THE WALL OF FACES

Never forgotten.

HOOAH

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. We should be forever thankful for the sacrifices of you and so many others to ensure the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Dear Sp4 Richard Kelley, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. I researched you on the 51st anniversary of the start of your tour. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. We are approaching Thanksgiving. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Fire Support Base Airborne was a U.S. Army firebase located west of Hue overlooking the A Shau Valley in central Vietnam. The base was occupied by elements of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 11th Artillery, and 2nd Battalion, 319th Artillery when it was attacked at 3:30 AM on May 13, 1969, by about 110 members of the North Vietnamese Army’s 6th Regiment and K-12 Sapper Battalion. Wearing loin cloths or shorts and equipped with AK-47s with folding stocks, the advance party slipped through the barbed wire, neutralized the trip flares, and dashed inside throwing explosives. The enemy then assaulted the firebase on two sides with infantrymen and sappers rushing the perimeter. Heavy rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire supported the attack. Allied artillery from nearby fire bases responded within five minutes, silencing the mortar positions. An AC-47 Spooky gunship arrived within one hour of request. By 5:30 AM, the battle was over with twenty-seven U.S. losses. They included SP4 Carl F. Arbogast Jr., PFC Odell D. Beasley, SGT Oscar D. Boydston, CPL Edward A. Clarke, SP4 Donald J. Corbett, SSG Kenneth T. Cruise Jr., CPT Moulton L. Freeman, SP5 James R. Gohagin, CPL Ernest L. Gordon, James C. Harper Jr., PFC Cleabern W. Hill Jr., SP4 Eric B Johnson, SP4 Richard R. Kelley, SGT Bobby G. Lawrence, CPL Robert R. Malecki, SP4 Arlen J. Miller, PFC Warren P. Nix, PFC William D. Poole Jr., SP4 Roger D. Ross, CPL Thomas W. Sadler, 2LT Bruce Saunders, CPL William F. Silver Jr., SGT Francis L. Souza, SP4 Ira J. Sturgeon, PFC Lynn C. Swanson, SP4 Samuel C. Tharpe, and PFC James M. Thompson. Forty NVA were reportedly killed. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, wikipedia.org, and PFC Odell D. Beasley’s Bronze Star citation]

Dear SP4 Richard Robert Kelley, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for the ultimate sacrifice that you 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. And please know that men and women like you have stepped forward to defend our country yet again, showing the same love for country and their fellow Americans that you did- you would be proud.

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

Curt Carter