THE WALL OF FACES

Staff Sergeant Ralph Thomas Berry, Served with the 303rd Munitions Maintenance Squadron, 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th Air Force.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. It saddens me so few have posted remembrances for you....surely you deserve better. May you rest in eternal peace.

At 3:00 AM on January 31, 1968, during the onset of the Tet Offensive, Bien Hoa Air Base, sixteen miles north of Saigon, RVN, was hit by a Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) mortar and rocket barrage followed by an attack on the eastern perimeter of the base. While base security moved to engage the VC force, NVA units infiltrated the perimeter in three different places and began firing on the base's III Corps Direct Air Support Center. An Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) security force cornered a group of VC/NVA in a supply shed and engaged them with recoilless rifle fire before U.S. Air Force Security Police arrived to help finish them off with grenades and rifle fire. At dawn, U.S. Army forces reached the base and engaged the remaining VC/NVA. Due to the battle raging at the east end of the runway, F-100 fighter operations were curtailed for most of the day while USAF, RVNAF, and U.S. Army forces fought the enemy. At 4:00 PM, two F-100 fighter aircraft were launched to the east through the groundfire with the intent of delivering ordnance on the battle raging on their own airbase. The actual strike was delayed because friendly forces were too close to the enemy forces. After about an hour of waiting, the separation between forces was still small but considered adequate for the F-100s to deliver their ordnance. Flight crew chiefs and armorers had their first chance to see their aircraft in action. The strike essentially ended the battle, reportedly the only time in USAF history that pilots conducted a controlled airstrike on their own airbase. American losses during the battle were four killed in action with another dying of a heart attack. The lost personnel included SSGT Ralph T. Berry, SGT James B. Des Rochers, CAPT Reginald V. Maisey Jr. (posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross for heroism), and A1C Edward G. Muse; SSGT William A. Berry suffered a fatal heart attack during the mortar barrage. Another twenty-six were wounded. VC/NVA losses were 137 killed and twenty-five captured. One A-37 light attack jet aircraft and one F-100 were destroyed while seventeen other aircraft were damaged. The bodies of the VC/NVA were buried in an unmarked mass grave on the edge of the base that was only uncovered in 2017. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and wikipedia.org]

DEAR STAFF SERGEANT BERRY,
I REALLY HOPE SOMEONE WILL PUT YOUR PICTURE HERE BECAUSE THIS IS A WALL FACES AND YOUR IS REQUIRED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. I DO NOT KNOW YOUR M.O.S., BUT YOUR SERVICE MATTERED.
WITH EACH YEAR THAT PASSES, IT MAKES IT FAR TOO LONG FOR YOU TO HAVE BEEN GONE. 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 ANGELS BE AT YOUR SIDE. REST IN PEACE.

Dear SSGT Ralph Thomas Berry, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter