THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. That you died so close to your end of tour is especially tragic. May you rest in eternal peace.

SP4 Kenneth L. Green and SP4 Edward C. Beck were Airborne-qualified infantrymen serving with Tiger Force recon platoon. Tiger Force was the name of a long-range reconnaissance patrol unit of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade (Separate), 101st Airborne Division. The unit consisted of approximately 45 paratroopers and was alleged to have committed war crimes from May to November 1967, including the killing of hundreds of civilians. While Army investigators concluded that many of the war crimes indeed took place, no prosecutions were ever pursued. On September 29, 1967, during Operation Wheeler, a multi-brigade effort to blunt an offensive being conducted by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) northwest of Chu Lai, RVN, Tiger Force spent the day searching for NVA complexes. As evening approached, they began to look for a place to set up their night defensive position. Gunfire suddenly erupted from an adjacent undergrowth and the Tigers dove for cover as a steady stream of AK-47 fire raked their position. Tiger team leaders broke the unit into three teams to confront the estimated platoon-sized enemy force. One of the team leaders ordered Green and Beck to move forward and scout the enemy’s position. Because of the seven-foot elephant grass, thorn bushes, and mangroves, it was difficult to see where the enemy was concealed. Unhesitatingly, the two Tigers crawled through tall grass to a clearing. Now exposed to the enemy, the NVA sprayed their position with gunfire. Green was wounded and cried out for a medic. An aidman moved forward, and as he pulled Green’s ankle to draw him back into the brush, the enemy opened fire again, fatally wounding Green in the head. Beck was also hit four times in the stomach and upper torso. As the medic attempted to provide aid, Beck expired. The medic withdrew, and the Tigers had to wait until air cover suppressed the enemy snipers long enough so the two dead troopers could be recovered. One of the helicopters then landed in a clearing, and Green and Beck were placed in ponchos and put on the aircraft and taken to their base camp at Chu Lai. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and the book “Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War” by Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss]

I purchased a POW/MIA bracelet as a teenager when the War was going on, and received Sgt. Beck's bracelet. I still own it, and wear it, to this day as (to my knowledge) he still has never been found. I would love to speak with any member of his family and share this, if they would like. There is so much I would like to learn about him, as he has been a part of my life now for a long time. God Bless him and his family, and thank you for your service.

DEAR SPEC 4 BECK,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS AN AIRBORNE QUALIFIED INDIRECT FIRE INFANTRYMAN. .IT IS THE EPIPHANY. AND WE ARE THANKFUL FOR YOU. IT IS NEW YEAR, WHICH MAKES IT FAR TOO LONG FOR YOU TO HAVE BEEN GONE. WATCH OVER THE U.S.A., IT STILL NEEDS YOUR COURAGE.. GOD BLESS YOU. MAY THE SAINTS AND ANGELS BE AT YOUR SIDE. REST IN PEACE.

Specialist Four Edward Charles Beck, Served with the Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.