THE WALL OF FACES

I think of you often and remember you staying with us before you went to Vietnam. I was a small girl but your memory has stayed with me all these years. Thank you for your service and for paying the ultimate price. God bless you cousin Joe.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us...

Specialist Four Joseph Lopez Bedolla, Served with the 666th Transportation Company, 54th Transportation Battalion, 8th Transportation Group, United States Army Support Command (Qui Nhon), 1st Logistical Command, United States Army Vietnam.

At 6:00 AM on January 25, 1968, a westbound convoy under the control of the 54th Battalion, consisting of 95 vehicles destined for Pleiku and 23 for An Khe, departed the marshalling area at Cha Rang Valley. The 95 vehicles bound for Pleiku consisted of 65 M52 5-ton cargo trucks; 19 M35 2½-ton cargo trucks; five 2½-ton gun trucks, radio-equipped radio gun jeeps and two 5-ton maintenance trucks. A gun truck led each convoy march serial accompanied by radio-equipped gun jeeps evenly spread throughout the convoy. Each task vehicle only had one driver. M48 tanks and M113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) manned the security check points along the route as the quick reaction force. At approximately 10:15 AM, the convoy received automatic and small arms fire from both sides of the road about 7 miles west of Mang Giang Pass. The gun trucks and convoy personnel returned fire, and within 10 minutes, elements of the 2/1st Cavalry arrived with APCs and tanks. This ended the enemy fire for a while; and after all the firing stopped, the convoy proceeded west for approximately 500 yards when the convoy again came under fire. The two kill zones spanned 1,000 meters. The NVA opened fire on the second and third vehicles in the convoy with rockets, heavy machine guns, grenades and small arms fire from both sides of the road. A machine gun position was later discovered approximately 25 yards from the passenger (north) side of the road. One 2½-ton gun truck and one 2½-ton cargo truck were damaged, and a Pacific Architects & Engineers (PAE) commercial tractor was destroyed. Two drivers, SP4 Joseph L. Bedolla and PFC Joseph A. Klenhoffer, were killed, and one was wounded. The reaction force immediately left their previous location and raced to the new kill zone where the fire again ended. Three armed helicopters arrived at approximately 10:45 AM. Two medevac helicopters arrived within 10 minutes after receiving the request. Two officers, members of the engineer team, were wounded while clearing explosive ordnance from the site. One of the engineers, 2LT Arthur C. Grange, later died of his injuries at the 71st Evacuation Hospital. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and vietnam-guntrucks.com]

DEAR SPEC 4 BEDOLLA,,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A LIGHT WHEEL VEHICLE MECHANIC. 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.