THE WALL OF FACES

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

As long as you are remembered you will never truly die....

Private First Class Ronald Eugene Adkins, Served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.

At 8:15 AM on August 29, 1968, while establishing a blocking position with Mike Company 3rd Battalion 7th Marines (3/7) in preparation for Operation Sussex Bay, a search and clear operation in Quang Nam Province, RVN, the lead Platoon of Lima Company, 3/7, received intense hostile sniper fire and made heavy contact with the enemy in the Dodge City area southwest of Da Nang, 2 miles south of Hill 55. While attempting to maneuvering against the enemy flank, the Marines came under a heavy volume of automatic-weapons fire delivered from three sides by a large North Vietnamese Army force, and sustained numerous casualties. Mike Company 3/7, and elements of Company D, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, Company G, 2d Battalion, 27th Marines, and 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, First Tank Battalion joined in the battle assisting Lima company to extract from the ambush area. Assisted by aircraft and artillery, the Marines dislodged the North Vietnamese. Friendly losses totaled 10 dead and 33 wounded. The Marines reported killing 42 of the enemy.
The Lima 3/7 losses included; PFC Ronald E. Adkins, LCPL Willie J. Faulks, Platoon Radioman CPL Louis A. Herrera, PFC Lile L. Johnson Jr., PFC Richard S. Moxley, LCPL Raymond P. Reilly and Navy Corpsman Richard Lee Powell. The Mike 3/7 losses were CPL Gary A. Hall, and PFC Donald W. Simonson. 2LT Harold C. Dailey II, platoon commander of 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, First Tank Battalion, fell victim to an enemy sniper’s bullet while in a strategy session with the tank commanders who were under his command.
[Taken from virtualwall.org, coffeltdatabase.org, and “U.S. Marines in Vietnam: 1968 The Defining Year” and the Navy Cross citation of “Doc” Richard Powell]

50 years today six young souls taken from Lima 3/7.

At 8:15 AM on August 29, 1968, while occupying a blocking position in preparation for Operation Sussex Bay, a search and clear operation in Quang Nam Province, RVN, Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, made heavy contact with the enemy in the Dodge City area southwest of Da Nang, 2 miles south of Hill 55. While maneuvering against the enemy flank, the company came under heavy fire from three sides which wounded several men. A corpsman, HN Richard L. Powell, braved the enemy fire to assist the wounded and was himself hit by machine gun fire, rendering his arm useless. Despite his wounds, Powell continued to treat the casualties, at one point advancing to assist a fallen Marine who lay within 15 meters of a Communist machine gun. Here, Powell was hit again and killed. For his selfless act, Powell posthumously received the Navy Cross. Company D, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, and Company G, 2d Battalion, 27th Marines, joined the action with tanks. While awaiting the arrival of a medical evacuation helicopter for wounded Marines, 2LT Harold C. Dailey II, platoon commander of 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, First Tank Battalion, fell victim to an enemy sniper’s bullet while in a strategy session with the tank commanders who were under his command. Assisted by aircraft and artillery, the Marines dislodged the North Vietnamese. Friendly losses totaled 10 dead and 33 wounded. The Marine losses apart from Powell and Dailey included PFC Ronald E. Adkins, LCPL Willie J. Faulks, CPL Gary A. Hall, CPL Louis A. Herrera, PFC Lile L. Johnson Jr., PFC Richard S. Moxley, LCPL Raymond P. Reilly, and PFC Donald W. Simonson. The Marines reported killing 42 of the enemy. [Taken from virtualwall.org, coffeltdatabase.org, and “U.S. Marines in Vietnam: 1968 The Defining Year”]