THE WALL OF FACES

Operation Delaware was a joint military operation of troops from the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The mission was to move into the A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, RVN, to dislodge North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces there since March 1966 after overrunning an isolated U.S. Special Forces camp. The A Shau Valley, west of the coastal city of Hue along the border of Laos, was a vital corridor for moving military supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail and used by the NVA as a staging area for numerous attacks in northern I Corps. The operation began on April 19, 1968, after preparatory B-52 and tactical bombing of NVA anti-aircraft and troop positions. On the west side of the valley, troops from 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division were placed by helicopters as a blocking force on the road adjacent to LZ Tiger (Low). During the troop lift, a ship carrying members of D Company, 5/7th, was approaching the LZ on short final when it was taken under fire by a .51 caliber NVA anti-aircraft gun. Rounds passed through the front of the UH-1 helicopter, miraculously missing both pilots, but striking two of the troopers behind them. PFC Michael G. Lipsius, carrying his platoon’s radio, died instantly after the round passed through him and the radio and entered the aircraft’s transmission well, disabling the helicopter. Also killed was PFC Curtis R. Riley, who collapsed and was thrown from the ship when the pilots made a “hard landing” following power loss. The troopers remained under fire until U.S. Air Force tactical air strikes silenced the anti-aircraft positions. So great was the damage inflicted on the American’s lift force that no helicopters were available to remove the dead. Lipsius and Riley were put in ponchos and placed in a bomb crater until helicopters were available the following day. At the conclusion of the operation, they were remembered at a memorial service conducted by the battalion chaplain at the 5/7th’s staging area near Camp Evans. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by J. Mike Sprayberry (September 2020)]

Dear PFC Michael Lipsius, Thank you for your service as an Airborne Qualified Infantryman with the 1st Cavalry. Tomorrow is your 52nd anniversary. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Today is Easter Saturday. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for stepping up and answering your country's call. Rest easy knowing you will never be forgotten.

To my father’s brother Michael: Reflecting on your service and sacrifice on Christmas even 2018. Many years after your passing. I wasn’t even born when you passed away. I read today about your brief service. But no service is too brief. And the sacrifice of your life will never be forgotten as you rest in your place of honor among your brothers. Your name forever etched on the wall and in our hearts. To any other family that happens to read this - you are all on my mind. Merry Christmas.

I will always remember you and your friend Curtis Riley that were lost this day in the A Shau Valley on Tiger Mountain. I'm proud have had the privilege serving together, even in the worst of times.