THE WALL OF FACES

Dear PFC John McGonigal, Thank you for your service as a Military Policeman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. 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.

Never to be forgotten, the genes are being passed along to a great generation! I know that you would be proud brother!
Never forget!

On May 13, 1968, a U.S. military communications relay facility on the 3000-foot of summit of Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain) in Tay Ninh Province, RVN, was attacked by a Viet Cong force using 82mm mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and satchel charges. The base was occupied by over 140 American personnel from numerous 25th Infantry Division and non-divisional units which were under one administration as D Company (Provisional), 125th Signal Battalion. The main unit atop Nui Ba Den was the 372nd Radio Relay Unit (RRU) out of Sobe, Okinawa, a special section of the American Security Agency. The attacking force was successful in breaching the perimeter of the mountaintop compound and destroyed all of the buildings on the two-acre camp built among rocks and boulders. Twenty-two Americans were killed in the attack, and one person went missing. The assault on the camp began at 9:45 PM with a combined 82mm mortar and rocket propelled grenade (RPG) barrage. U.S. personnel from the manned bunkers opened fire on the advancing enemy force, but the mortars and RPG’s destroyed several of the bunkers allowing the Viet Cong to pour into the camp. Many of the U.S. personnel displaced by the destroyed bunkers sought safety outside the camp’s perimeter in the rocks. The enemy secured a helicopter pad as a Command Post and mortar location, then split into groups at approximately 10:00 PM. A large group moved west up the hill behind a barrage laid down by the mortar crew on the helicopter pad. A smaller force continued along the south perimeter of the mountain, securing bunkers 11, 12, and 13. As each bunker was approached, the enemy threw satchel charges or hand grenades into the doorways. The personnel in each bunker manned their positions till they were forced to evacuate. The enemy spread out and placed satchel charges in the operations building and the officer’s quarters, destroying them and all the other buildings on the mountain. A lone radio operator was able to direct supporting forces which came to assist the besieged Americans. U.S. Air Force C-47 gunships and flare ships combined with UH-1C helicopter gunships provided fire and illumination during attack. By 2:30 AM, the enemy had left Nui Ba Den. No medical evacuations of survivors were possible until morning due to rain, fog, and gusting winds. The lost U.S. personnel included SP4 John A. Anderson, SGT Joseph Adams, SP4 Ralph R. Black, SGT Fernando Calle-Zuluaga, CPT George Coleman, PFC Samuel G. Connelly, SP4 Moses J. Cousin, SP4 Albert E. Dahl, CPT Arthur L. Davis, SP4 James A. Davis, SP4 Gary J. Gilin, SP4 Jeffrey W. Haerle, SP4 Paul R. Hoag Jr., SP4 Michael J. Juneau, SP4 Paul R. Lozano, SP4 Frank J. Makuh, PFC John P. McGonigal Jr., SGT Timothy J. Noden, SSG Ray W. Owen, SSG Harold A. Stone, 2LT Thomas N. Teague, and SSG Bobby C. Wood. PFC Donald G. Smith, who had been reported missing, was captured during the attack held for 243 day before he was released on January 1, 1969. Twenty-five Viet Cong were reportedly killed. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, wikipedia.org, and manchu.org/country/Nui_Ba_Den]

Dear Johnny ... In recent months, I had the opportunity to work on a book about a U.S. surgeon who served from 1968-69 in Vinh Long, Vietnam. In researching, he shared a letter about trying to save little children who died in their school from enemy bombing. It was May 13th and it was the very day my daughter, Elizabeth, was born and the same day you were brought into the arms of our Lord. In 2018, it will be 50 years since we lost you. I promise to repeat a prayer for you that I said at "the wall" in DC when I touched your name. I will now add those children and of course, continue to pray for my daughter. I am always reminded that May 13th, 1968 isn't just another day ... it is one shared by many and you are in good company. God Bless You.

Although you were killed less than a year after I was born and we had never met, I've spent the last few hours researching your life for a project to remember the service members whose names are listed in Memorial Circle. Your life and service to our country are not forgotten.....R.I.P.