THE WALL OF FACES

Taken from the New Mexico Gallup Independent (Gallup, NM), June 15, 1983, courtesy of Katherine Miles-Montoya, New Mexico State Library, Santa Fe, NM.

Landing Zone English was a U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base at Bong Son in Binh Dinh Province, RVN. The base was located along National Route QL-1, approximately 82 kilometers northwest of Qui Nhon. LZ English was originally established as LZ Dog by the 1st Cavalry Division in late January 1966, later becoming the headquarters for the 173rd Airborne Brigade during May 1968 to August 1971. On the late evening of January 6, 1971, it was the site of a mass shooting incident when a 173rd paratrooper opened fire on personnel in the motor pool, then moved to a barracks area where he fired half a dozen magazines before being taken down by return fire. At 11:15 PM, PFC Steven Mike, an armor crewman from E Troop, 17th Cavalry Regiment, retrieved a M16 rifle from a parked armored personnel carrier and began shooting at people in the area. After wounding three, he proceeded to the troop billeting area, firing approximately 62 rounds into one of the billets. He was engaged by one of the wounded paratroopers who hit Mike twice, in the base of the neck and upper right chest; he died shortly after. It is unclear what provoked the shooting spree as the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division’s records unit makes it difficult to obtain copies of the investigation; however, alcohol reportedly was a factor. Mike, an Army volunteer, was 20 years old. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

Image courtesy of Redbird Research LLC, Saint Charles, MO.

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Taken from the Daily Leader (Lovington, NM), June 22, 1971, courtesy of Amy Schaefer, Librarian, Southwest Collection, New Mexico State Library, Santa Fe, NM.