THE WALL OF FACES

Publication and date unknown.

PFC Donald J. Knebel was a truck driver serving with the 73rd Engineer Company, 864th Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Group, 18th Engineer Brigade, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam Engineer Command. On Christmas Day 1970, Knebel was at Whiskey Relay, also known as Hill 386 (Nui Ta Dom mountain), a lone sentinel in a large coastal lowland plain north and west of Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan Province, RVN. During the day, he reportedly had been heavily drinking Vietnamese liquor. At 5:50 PM, Knebel was found dead on the floor of the barracks. A subsequent autopsy determined he had died of asphyxiation (aspiration of stomach contents) due to an acute alcohol use disorder and head injury (cerebral contusion). Knebel was 19 years old. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

Image courtesy of Redbird Research LLC, Saint Charles, MO.

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

PFC Donald Knebel is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Jasper, IN.