THE WALL OF FACES

“Jim”, as we called him was the gentlest soul you could have ever met. I wax Only 20 years old when he died but I remember him so vividly. Jim you are still with us.

Your little cousin,
Wyvonnie Davis

Operation Garfield (February 25 – March 24, 1966) was a 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division operation in Darlac Province, RVN. The brigade was searching for North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces north and west of the province capital, Ban Me Thuot. On March 14th, the 1st of the 35th Infantry Regiment settled into a landing zone approximately thirteen kilometers (7.8 miles) northwest of Ban Brieng. During the night, an enemy force fired forty to fifty mortar rounds at the perimeter, all the rounds falling short. The following morning, Company A searched in the direction from which the barrage had come. The troopers found a number of unfired rounds, a booklet with firing tables, and a history of the enemy unit's operations over the previous year. They spent the next three hours moving northwest along the stream. Around noon, the platoon leader decided to return to base, but shortly afterward his point man discovered a wire and started to follow it to its source. When he did, NVA troops who had been watching all along brought the platoon under fire. Although outnumbered, the Americans held their own against possibly two reinforced companies. Within fifteen minutes, a forward air controller brought in the first of what would become sixteen tactical air sorties over the afternoon. At 1:15 PM, the commander of Company A air assaulted in with another platoon. The enemy attacked and inflicted casualties on the arriving troops. In the end, the North Vietnamese got the worst of it, as shells from the nearby 2nd Battalion, 9th Artillery, rained down upon them. A half hour, a third platoon landed. The company then counterattacked, overrunning and pursuing the NVA as they fled. Meanwhile, artillery and close-air support pounded likely avenues of escape. The Americans conducted a three-hour search, which resulted in 21 NVA killed. The Americans suffered 11 killed and 27 wounded. The lost personnel included (A-1/35) PFC Steadmon Adams Jr., PFC Gary E. Bartz, SP4 Thomas J. Chandler, PFC Richard Coleman (died of wounds 03/29/1966), SSG William R. Holbrook, SP4 Raymond Hood, SP4 Ignacio Huicochea-Reyna, SP4 Dorsey L. Tatum, PFC Pedro Vazquez-Gonzalez, and SSG Robert C. Williams; and (HHC/1-35) medic PFC Carmelo Sanchez-Berrios. Enemy casualties came to 36 known killed and possibly another 100 killed. The Americans captured twelve rifles and an American M79 grenade launcher. [“Combat Operations: Stemming the Tide, May 1965 to October 1966” by John M. Carland]

Never 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 sun 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.

As long as you are remembered you will never truly die....

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers