THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. You died at 18 years of age. I am 74 and have lived a long and fulfilling life. It is tragic you never had that same opportunity. May you rest in eternal peace.

On the remembrance of your 72nd birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Forever 18.

HOOAH

Dear PFC Richard McDaniel, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Yesterday was Purple Heart Day. Time passes quickly, but our world needs help. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Fire Support Base Jaeger was built in the middle of an open field in the Mekong Delta, about 40 miles southwest of Saigon. The base was a temporary home for four 155 mm howitzers (B Battery, 1st Battalion, 84th Artillery) providing security for Highway QL-4, the lifeline upon which rice was transported from the delta to Saigon and further north. Jaeger was approximately one acre in size, surrounded by coils of barbed wire and machine gun-mounted armored personnel carriers (APC’s) positioned about 25 yards apart. There were tree lines about 1000 feet to the north and west of the base. Approximately 200 Americans were on FSB Jaeger, 80 assigned to the artillery unit, and 120 with the infantry company (Company C, 5th Battalion,60th Infantry) providing security for the big guns. On February 25, 1968, at 1:45 AM, Jaeger was assaulted by the 263rd Viet Cong Battalion. The VC initiated the attack with a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades (RPG-2 and RPG-7), combined with small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire followed by a heavy ground assault. The enemy attempted to breach the perimeter on the southwest and northwest with Bangalore torpedoes and turtle mines. Artillery, Light Fire Teams (helicopter gunships), and airstrikes supported the besieged Americans at Jaeger. The VC partially penetrated the perimeter where the artillery battery was located but were driven back by a large volume of friendly fire. The enemy broke contact when U.S. reinforcements arrived. Twenty Americans were killed defending Jaeger and sixty-eight wounded. The lost U.S. personnel were SP4 Stanley O. Jackson, PFC Earl E. Parker, SP4 Joe H. Brown, CPL Ronnie L. Clark, CPL Larry A. De la Rosa, CPL Dennis E. Lane, PFC William L. Newsome, SGT Robert L. Simmons, SP4 James C. Blout, CPL Manuelito L. Herrera, PFC Leslie R. Lewis, PFC Richard B. McDaniel, CPT Daniel R. Schueren, SP4 Edward Singleton, CPL George D. Whitelaw, PFC Frederick T. Williams, CPL Maxie E Ackerman, 2LT Gordon K. Hughes, PFC Gearwin P. Tousey, CPL Richard M. Scala, PFC Michael D. Sheahan, and SP4 Michael C. Zeller. Nine of the twenty-five APC’s were destroyed and two 155mm howitzers damaged. One hundred and five of the enemy were killed. Their remain were bulldozed into a massive grave near the firebase. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Fire Support Base Jaeger” at ttu.edu]

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for stepping up and answering your country's call. Rest easy knowing you will never be forgotten.