THE WALL OF FACES

Uncle Dick,
I’ll be marrying your niece in a few months. Your brother, Jack, has three wonderful adult children and I’ve been lucky enough to earn the love of his youngest.

I wish I could have met you. I wish you could be here to see your beautiful niece on what I hope will be one of her happiest days. And I wish you were just here to be here with us.

Thank you for fighting for us even before we could have known you. I think about you often, and I think we would have been fast friends.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from fellow soldier Ken Tyner is especially poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

Specialist Four Richard Earl Beckwith, Served with the 42nd United States Army Postal Unit, 26th General Support Group, United States Army Support Command (DaNang), 1st Logistical Command, United States Army Vietnam.

2LT Victor DiCavallucci was the commanding officer of the 42nd Army Postal Unit and SFC Edward J. Kaminski and SP4 Richard E. Beckwith postal clerks serving with the 42nd APU. On February 29, 1968, they were travelling in a M151 jeep to Camp Eagle when they were ambushed by a group of North Vietnamese Army regulars. The three postal soldiers were driving from Phu Bai Combat Base, taking a shortcut from Highway 1 to Camp Eagle, on a road which had not yet been cleared that day. They were on their way to meet up with the recently arrived 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division to whom they were to be assigned to provide postal services. SP4 Beckwith was driving when their vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The explosion overturned the vehicle and all three men were wounded. The NVA then moved in and machine gunned them at close range. A reaction force which responded to the scene reported finding spent M16 shell casings, revealing that the lightly-armed Americans had attempted to defend themselves. Members of the 8th Radio Research Field Station (8th RRFS) at Phu Bai Combat Base were sent out with an ambulance to help recover their bodies. A memorial service was later held for the three soldiers at the 8th RRFS chapel. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Dwaine Heinrich (June 2017)]

DEAR SPEC 4 BECKWITH,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A POSTAL CLERK. YOU WERE KILLED ON LEAP YEAR DAY - SIGH. THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IS OVER, AND IT IS A NEW YEAR, WHICH MAKES IT FAR TOO LONG FOR YOU TO HAVE BEEN GONE. WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU HAVE DONE, AND YOUR SACRIFICE. 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.