THE WALL OF FACES

HOMETOWN HONORS VIETNAM SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER

CHARLES LINDEWALD, MISSING IN ACTION SINCE 1968,

MEMORIALIZED AFTER HIS REMAINS FINALLY ARE FOUND


By COLLEEN MAIR

21 MARCH 2005


Stephen Bradshaw never met his uncle.

But the 26-year-old has always felt a connection to the man who served five tours of duty in the Vietnam War and made the ultimate sacrifice there more than 36 years ago.

United States Army Master Sergeant Charles Wesley Lindewald Jr. has finally come home.

The LaPorte native was declared missing in action in February 1968 near Lang Vei in Vietnam when his Detachment A-team 101, Company C, 5th Special Forces came under attack.

The Green Beret was 28.

His body was not found until late 2003.

Since Bradshaw was a boy, he has heard stories of his uncle's bravery in combat.

Following in Lindewald's footsteps, Bradshaw also joined the Army, returning home from Iraq in July as a sergeant with the 1st Armored Division.

On Saturday, Bradshaw, who now lives in Chicago, sat in the first row of LaPorte New Church, where more than 130 people gathered for a memorial service in honor of Lindewald, who was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three awards of the Purple Heart.

Members of the Wall Gang stood along the perimeter of the packed church, sun shining through the stained-glass windows.

On a table stood black and white photos of Lindewald and his brother Tom next to a Green Beret hat.

" I'm very proud of him," Bradshaw said later at LaPorte's American Legion Post 83, where a reception was held following the memorial service." I've always felt he has been watching out for me."

After the service, a procession of cars and motorcycles worked its way down Pine Lake Avenue to Soldiers Memorial Park, where the LaPorte Honor Guard fired a 21-gun salute and member Dick Kuta played Taps on his trumpet under the gray skies.

Military veterans from as far away as Portage gathered around the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as American flags and POW / MIA flags ruffled in the chilled breeze.

The military service was organized by Amvets 911, Vietnam Veterans Inc., VFW Post 9423, VFW Post 1130, American Legion Post 83, and the Wall Gang.

" I still can't believe this is actually happening," said Vietnam veteran Richard " Mose " Mrozinski, commander of Amvets 911 and past president of Vietnam Veterans Inc., after the service. " This is what we have been demanding from the government for so long. We want every guy to be accounted for."

Lindewald's sister, Mary Perez of Michigan City, was 17 when her brother went missing.

He left for the Army when the 54-year-old was 6. Their brother, Tom, died five years ago.

" In the limited time we had together, he was so much fun to be with," she told the Herald-Argus after the service.

Initially ( when he was declared missing ), I thought there had to be some mistake, but as the years went on, I came to accept that he wasn't coming home. I never realized there was this piece of me missing until his remains were found. There has been a sense of relief and closure."

Perez, who has three adult children, has been touched by the community support she has received. " I can't believe all of the people who still care after all these years."

In late April, the family will travel to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where Lindewald's remains will be buried on the 29th.

His commanding officer and two other survivors of the battle will also be there.

Growing up, anytime Lindewald would come home to LaPorte, he would talk about the country's commitment in Vietnam, Perez said.

" He felt we did have a place over there. He loved what he did," she said.





~~~ DE OPPRESSO LIBER ~~~




YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE

MASTER SERGEANT

CHARLES WESLEY LINDEWALD JR.


who served as a

PLATOON LEADER

with


COMPANY C

DETACHMENT A-101

12th MOBILE STRIKE FORCE

5th SPECIAL FORCES GROUP

at

Lang Vei Special Forces Camp


was a posthumous recipient of the


SILVER STAR

BRONZE STAR with 'V' for VALOR device

PURPLE HEART with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

ARMY GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL

NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL

VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL

REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM CAMPAIGN SERVICE MEDAL


and was entitled to wear the


COMBAT INFANTRYMAN BADGE



Today he rests in honored glory in


ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

" WHERE VALOR PROUDLY SLEEPS "





~~~ DE OPPRESSO LIBER ~~~





YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE





18 JANUARY 1999



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



A book entitled

NIGHT OF THE SILVER STARS

by WILLIAM PHILLIPS

tells the compelling story of what

actually took place at Lang Vei

where the following decorations were awarded

MEDAL OF HONOR (1)

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS (2)

SILVER STAR (21)

BRONZE STAR with 'V' for VALOR device (3)

Soldier killed in Vietnam to be buried.
By Amanda Haverstick
Courtesy of the Michigan City, Indiana, News-Dispatch

After almost 36 years, a LaPorte Green Beret declared missing in action in Vietnam will return to the United States for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

Master Sergeant Charles W. Lindewald of Detachment A-team 101 Company C, 5th
Special Forces Group, U.S. Army, will finally join his other fallen comrades in a February 4, 2005, service.

The service for the remains of Lindewald and Kenneth Hanna, a heavy weapons specialist, will be held in the Arlington National Cemetery. A service will take place
on February 3 at Murphy's Funeral Home in Arlington, Virginia, and a memorial
service will be held in LaPorte at a later date.

Lindewald's sister, Mary Perez of Michigan City, said knowing her brother's remains have been found gives her and her family closure.

"We knew he had been wounded. We presumed he was dead, but there still is that element of wondering," she said. "I feel a great sense of relief that we know for sure and that we have closure on this."

"I'm glad they found him and are burying him in Arlington and giving him a resting place," said Lindewald's uncle, Carl Lindewald of LaPorte.

Lindewald, born July 30, 1938, was killed during the battle of Lang Vei, which took place during the Tet Offensive.

On Feb. 6, 1968, a Special Forces Camp near Lang Vei, Vietnam, came under attack
by enemy forces. Lindewald sustained severe injuries to his chest and abdomen. A statement from the Army said Lindewald and the rest of the detachment "fought bravely and defended their positions for 11 grueling hours."

"Another Green Beret carried him into a bunker," said Perez, who added the bunker was hit by artillery and both men were buried together. The camp was eventually
overun by Viet Cong forces.

Another member of Lindewald's unit, Sergeant First Class Eugene Ashley, earned the Medal of Honor for leading a counterattack back into the camp allowing U.S. and
coalition troops to escape. Unfortunately, Lindewald was not among the rescued soldiers.

In November 2003, after a long search, an excavation team recovered remains and
personal effects of fallen soldiers. Later, those remains and personal effects were positively identified as belonging to Lindewald.

"There were remains identified as Charlie and remains identified as Kenneth Hanna and then there are joint remains" Perez said. "Next week there is to be a burial in
Arlington for the joint remains. On April 29, 2005, I'm going to have Charlie's remains buried."

Lindewald, said Perez, was a career soldier and had served in Vietnam from the war's start in the early 1960s. "He had been over there, re-enlisted and went back there," she said. "He was quite a bit older than I was. I was about six years old when he went in the army."

Perez said Lindewald was 12 when she was born, but she recalled that he taught her how to ride a bike.

"When he was back on leave, he bought me my first bicycle and taught me how to ride it," she said.

Carl Lindewald described his nephew as good man and a hard worker. "He earned his own money, bought all his clothes and his own car," he said.

Lindewald and his uncle, who were close in age, were good buddies. "We'd go out and drink and talk and have a good time," Carl Lindewald "We were pretty close."

Perez said it was difficult for the family not knowing exactly what had happened. "The first couple of years, they were very difficult," she said. "(It was) hard on my father. It was really pretty devastating, I think."

Lindewald's return to the U.S. is part of a long effort of the Department of Defense to fulfill a promise to never leave a man behind.

Perez said the Army had been in contact with her family regarding her brother and even took a blood sample from her if a DNA match was needed.

"I knew in my heart that some day his remains would be found," she said.

Perez will attend services in Arlington. Vietnam Vets Inc. of LaPorte will also be represented at Arlington.

The Battle of Lang Vei is detailed in "Night of the Silver Stars" by William R. Phillips.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cwlindewald.htm

I have not forgotten you. I chair the Adoption Committee for The National League of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. We will always remember the 1,889 Americans still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and the thousands of others that lost their lives. We will not stop our efforts until all of you are home where you belong.

We need to reach the next generation so that they will carry on when our generation is no longer able. To do so, we are attempting to locate photographs of all the missing. If you are reading this remembrance and have a photo and/or memory of this missing American that you would like to share for our project, please contact me at:

Candace Lokey
PO Box 206
Freeport, PA 16229
[email protected]

If you are not familiar with our organization, please visit our web site at :

www.pow-miafamilies.org

Charles Lindewald was killed when the NVA overran the Lang Vei Special Forces CIDG camp in Quang Tri province on the night of February 7, 1968. He was calling in very effective artillery fire from Khe San when he was hit by a single machine gun bullet in the stomach. He contiued to direct deadly artillery fire on the enemy until he lost conciousness and died 15 minutes after being hit. 2/7/68 was one of the single bloodiest days of US involvement in Vietnam.