THE WALL OF FACES

There is a place
Not far from here
Where spirits walk
And heroes live
And honor still resides.

It is a wall
With names inscribed
Of those who served
When they were asked...
The brothers of my youth.

I go there still
To walk and think
About my life,
And what I've done since
And things that might have been.

There is a debt
I can't repay
Too many lives were spent.
And one man's life cannot suffice
To make their deaths worthwhile.

But there is hope
In the memory
Of those we leave behind
Who know the price that freedom brings
Who can carry on in kind.

I send you now
To touch a name
So the vision can be passed
Remember there is honor still
It is for you to see it lasts.

They are not dead
And have a wish
As all old soldiers do
The reflection you see before you now
Is their wish to live in you.

Dear Cpl Peter Maciel, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is Memorial Day weekend, but like none other. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

On January 23, 1967, two minesweepers from Mine Squadron 11 (Detachment A), Task Force 116, were conducting a routine patrol of a Saigon-area shipping channel when they were struck by Viet Cong heavy automatic weapons fire from the west bank of the Song Dan Xay River. The minesweepers, MSB-16 and MSB-32, were hit by VC hidden in a mangrove swamp as they passed along the channel, the main line for ships moving from the coast up to the port of Saigon. Two crewmen from MSB-16, EN1 Donald C Peddicord and SN Terry L. Braden, were killed by the first burst. Moments later, four PBR’s (river patrol boats) and a helicopter fire team exchanged heavy fire with the enemy. Approximately forty minutes later, an U.S. Army helicopter fire team arrived to lend support. During a low-level firing run, one of the Army helicopters, a UH-1B Razorback gunship (#63-12948) from the 120th Aviation Company, was seen to explode under heavy ground fire and crash into the trees in flames. PBRs immediately lifted a Vietnamese Regional Force platoon to the area. When the Regional Force troops reached the burning helicopter, they noted that the bodies of three of the crew members were still inside the helicopter. A fourth burned body was found near the wreckage. The troops were unable to remove the bodies because of the intense heat. Three hours later, when the troops were withdrawn by Navy river craft, the helicopter was still burning. The remains of the crew were recovered in the days following the incident. The lost Razorback crewmen included pilots CPT Guinn J. Rogers and WO1 Julian A. Fincher Jr., crew chief CPL Peter Maciel Jr., and gunner SP4 Michael J. Vitacco. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, vhpa.org, and “VC Machine Gun Minesweeper, Down Helicopter.” Pacific Stars and Stripes, January 25, 1967]

AWARDS AND CITATIONS

Distinguished Flying Cross

Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Corporal Peter J. Maciel (ASN: RA-17679614), United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty in the Republic of Vietnam. Corporal Maciel distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 25 August 1966 while serving as gunner on an armed helicopter flying in support of Vietnamese combat operations near Xom Huong Viet Can. While flying strafing runs over extended Viet Cong troops, Corporal Maciel so effectively fired on their positions that he drove them back from the line of contact. The Vietnamese force advanced, but detonated a hidden mine which wounded many men and threw the force into confusion. Corporal Maciel's helicopter immediately flew into their midst to protect them from a renewed hostile assault until they could regain order. He remained at his gun mount, exposed to the intense fire, to suppress the Viet Cong movements 100 meters away. When the helicopter landed, he left it and risked setting off hidden mines to carry wounded soldiers to the aircraft. Completely disregarding his personal safety, Corporal Maciel repeatedly entered the mined field until all of the wounded were loaded aboard the aircraft. In combat and in rescue, he undoubtedly saved the lives of many men. Corporal Maciel's outstanding courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam, General Orders No. 302 (January 20, 1967)

Action Date: August 25, 1966

Service: Army

Rank: Corporal

Company: 120th Aviation Company

Battalion: Capital Aviation Battalion

49 Years Ago Today you left this world and you will never ever be forgotten. You are an American Hero. Our family had a loved one who operated in the same area that you did and he was in an out of the Rung Sat Special Zone with Echo Company 2nd Battalion 3rd Infantry Regiment "The Old Guard" 199th LIB The Redcatchers based out of Long Duc II a village in the Mekong where he was with around 99 other Americans and probably 300 South Vietnamese Rangers. I will be praying for you today at St. Brigid of Kildare my home parish in South Boston Massachusetts when I attend my 4:00PM Saturday mass. Thank you for your service. It is American Heroes like you that made the ultimate sacrifice that will be honored for all time to come. It was beautiful thing this morning holding my 8 month old daughter in a free land.