THE WALL OF FACES

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Semper Fi, Marine

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. May you rest in eternal peace.

Steven.....Honoring you on your birthday.......Never forgotten........God Bless

LCPL Steven A. Bell was a radioman serving with E Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. On March 19, 1969, LCPL Bell was a member of a seven-man reconnaissance team, call sign Iron Hand, for a planned 120-hour recon mission northwest of Cam Lo in Quang Tri Province, RVN. During the patrol, the Marines observed enemy invariably in both green khaki and black pajama outfits. The enemy combatants were seen moving on trails and near tree lines, and at one point, cooking in a bunker. After calling an artillery mission, the team moved when it came into contact with enemy soldiers. The Marines attacked with grenades and small arms, then moved away. The enemy probed the team’s position, and various other contacts occurred. Gunships came on station in support of the team, and extraction of the Marines began when a helicopter landed and picked up three members. A second helicopter landed, and three more members climbed aboard. The seventh man, Bell, was not able to get inside as the helicopter lifted out of the landing zone, and he hung from the aircraft as it began to gain altitude. At a height of about 400 feet, Bell lost his grip and fell to his death in the jungle below. A second six-man Marine recon team, call sign Amanda, was immediately dispatched to recover the lost Marine’s body. A gunship had stayed on station, circling the general area where his body had fallen. The recon team was inserted, and they quickly located Bell’s body in the jungle on the side of a hill. The team leader and medic placed Bell in a body bag and a hoist was lowered to lift the remains out. Halfway up to the hovering helicopter, the bag broke open and Bell fell into the jungle for a second time. His body was located a little further up the mountain, and this time, wrapped in a poncho and tied inside the body bag, he was hoisted successfully to the waiting helicopter. The recon team was next lifted up one by one, receiving some sporadic enemy fire in the process. They flew with Bell’s body to the Battalion Medical where Bell was officially declared dead and taken to the morgue on a stretcher. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, 3rdrecon.org, and Headquarters, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, Command Chronology, March 1969]

Lance Corporal Steven Allen Bell, Served with Company E, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.