THE WALL OF FACES

CAPT Douglas K. Martin and CAPT Samuel L. James were flying a forward air control mission over Cambodia on April 18, 1973, when they descended below a 6,000-foot layer of haze in their F-4E Phantom. They radioed they had the target in sight, but their wingman was unable to maintain visual contact. He asked Martin and James to give him an automatic direction-finder signal but there was no response. On several passes over the target, the wingman noted fires and explosions near the target area. There were no parachutes sighted, nor emergency beeper signals. Enemy activity in the area prevented a ground search, but aerial reconnaissance the following day noted aircraft debris at the site. In 1993, 1995 and 1997, three joint U.S./Cambodian teams developed leads through interviews with local villagers and surveys of the crash site. The informants noted that the crash site had been heavily scavenged and that remains had been present at one time. Then in January 1998, a joint team excavated the site where they found remains amid numerous pieces of aircraft wreckage. Anthropological analysis of the remains and other evidence by the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii confirmed the identification of the two servicemen. [Taken from pownetwork.org]

I never met you and your loss has always marked my life. I will teach my daughter of your devotion and sacrifice, and will always love my uncle whom I never met. God bless you!

I did not know Capt. Martin nor did I serve with him. My connection to Capt. Martin is a bit remote. But a rubbing of his inscribed name has hung in my home for almost 20 years. I was drafted into the army in 1972 and was not particularly thrilled about it. I had a family, a good job and a promising future. I took advantage of the "delayed entry" program while I situated my family before going on active duty. Since then I have often wondered what I might have achieved in my life had it not been so drastically interrupted back then. Then during my first visit to the wall in the early 90's, the bigger thought occurred to me as to what those on the wall might have achieved if their lives had not been taken. So I searched for a name of a casualty close to the time that I went active duty and decided whatever I would achieve, it should be in honor to those who did not have the opportunities that I have had. We must never forget those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom and the freedom of others.

I dated Doug a couple of times when he was at Kirtland AFB in the summer of 1968. He was funny, smart and incredibly handsome. He was also a very nice person.
I am so sorry to hear of his sacrifice and heartbreaking loss. We lost so many of our finest young wariors. Rest in peace and honor, Doug, and thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

Doug Martin is my uncle. I never had the privilege to meet him, but I am very proud to have been named after him. Those that did know him in my family miss him greatly and have sacrificed a lot on account of his loss. It is very nice to see the other posts here. God bless.