THE WALL OF FACES

On December 23, 1969, four artillerymen from C Battery, 8th Battalion, 6th Artillery, were traveling in a jeep pulling a trailer on their way back from Lai Khe to their artillery base in Binh Duong Province, RVN, when they were ambushed by a group of 15-20 enemy soldiers dressed in Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) uniforms. The hostile force opened fire on the jeep, disabling the driver and forcing it off the road about three miles southeast of Lai Khe. Three of the Americans were killed in the attack, and a fourth wounded soldier, feigning death while the enemy rifled through his pants pockets and took his watch, was able crawl away after the enemy left the area. He spent the night in the jungle and was picked up the following morning by a passing American mine-sweeping team. The three lost U.S. personnel were SP5 David E. Bergfeldt, SP4 Easley P. Byers Jr., and SSG Oscar B. Lyles Jr. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Plays Dead, Survives.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, December 28, 1969]

Specialist Five David Edward Bergfeldt, Served with Battery C, 8th Battalion, 6th Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

DEAR SPEC 5 BERGFELDT,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A FOOD SERVICE SPECIALIST. THE PICTURE OF YOU AND THE DOG IS SWEET. IT IS 2017, WHICH MAKES IT FAR TOO LONG FOR YOU TO HAVE BEEN GONE. IT IS ALSO PRESIDENTS' DAY WEEKEND. WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU HAVE DONE, AND YOUR SACRIFICE. WATCH OVER THE U.S.A., IT STILL NEEDS YOUR COURAGE.. GOD BLESS YOU. MAY THE SAINTS AND ANGELS BE AT YOUR SIDE. REST IN PEACE.

I sat next to you in the jeep and was ready to leave when ssgnt lyles told me I had to ride shotgun on the ration truck. I remember talking to you and joking about how you would love to be going by chopper instead of jeep. You were going to cook us Christmas dinner. I think you were one of the cooks. I was probably one of the last guys to see you alive. Your not forgotten Dave. I carry you with me through life. We'll meet again someday my friend

Dog tags present quest for local students
IDs of Vietnam soldiers were sold in Saigon flea market


May 27, 2002 12:00 am • LOUISA MURZYN Times Correspondent
ST. JOHN -- From around the necks of U.S. servicemen to a hidden bowl sitting on a crowded counter in a hot and musty Saigon flea market, the dog tags of four fallen soldiers have been on a journey to the hands of the servicemen's surviving sons and daughters.

Vietnam veteran Bob McMahon, 58, of Hancock, N.H., learned that vendors were selling dog tags of American servicemen, so he made a special trip to the back-alley markets of Vietnam's largest city to purchase whatever tags he could find.

"You'd go down row by row, and it was dirty," he said. "They were in bowls, not up front, but set back. It was repulsive. It was upsetting when I first heard of them, and even when I went to get them.

"It's like they were selling memories. I had to overcome that sickening feeling and bring the tags back. There was no way I could pass them up. It would have been like leaving the men behind."

By the time he returned to the United States last summer, McMahon had nearly 3,000 tags.

He paid 16 cents each. About 220 have been returned, 40 of which were for soldiers killed in action.

He was referred in December to Lake Central High School teacher Tom Clark, who now has three tags and will be receiving one more within a month. His history students located the families.

Pilot Francis Midnight was born on July 11, 1939, and was listed as a Gary native. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado and still is missing in action.

"It's the only shred of evidence they've had in 30 years on that boy," Clark said. "They don't have the plane. Not one single item has ever been recovered."

Dennis M. Fairchild was born Oct. 8, 1948, and lived in Akron, Ind. He was in the 1st Infantry Division of the Army and was killed by small-arms fire in Binh Duong on Jan. 15, 1969.

The state will present his daughter with the tag at a special ceremony in Kokomo in September.

Michael Randall was born Nov. 17, 1945, and lived in Warsaw, Ind. He was in the 1st Infantry Division of the Army and was killed in a helicopter crash Oct. 21, 1968, in Tay Ninh. Clark will take the dog tags to Randall's son next month.

Clark inadvertently received the tag of David E. Bergfeldt, who lived in New Mexico. He was born Dec. 20, 1949, and died Dec. 23, 1969.

Bergfeldt's sister told Clark how her brother had been ambushed in Binh Duong.

"They'd turned the jeep over on them and doused it with gasoline," he said. "I got the dog tags two days (after I talked to his sister). I opened the envelope, and the tag was burned."

Those are the kind of details that convince Clark the dog tags are authentic.

Midnight's tag had the date of a tetanus shot that matched his first year at the academy, information that could only be learned from a personal military file.

The return of tags to families of U.S. soldiers has been met with some controversy. Skeptics say selling counterfeit, artificially aged tags to American tourists is a cottage industry in Vietnam.

"After collecting this kind of stuff all these years, I've looked at a lot of war memorabilia -- and I know dog tags," Clark added.

"I've seen and know too much. They're discolored, burned and bent. There's still mud and dirt in the letters. By the condition they're in and the data on them, I feel they're real."

Kim Adank, 17, of Dyer, said Bergfeldt's sister is glad somebody is preserving the memory of her brother.

"Just to hold the dog tag was a moving experience," she added. "To know where it came from and what it stood for -- it's very powerful."

Alison Jaroszewski 18, of Schererville, is the head researcher and was also involved with the St. John Township Memorial.

"It's a strange, odd feeling to know you're holding something that's all that is left from this man's life," she said.

"I've gained more respect and admiration for all people who have lost their lives for their country because they're willing to do anything to make it better."