THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from fellow soldier Fred Clarke is especially moving. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us...

Jim was in Hq.Btry 12th Marines for awhile. I remember that he spent a lot of time with the Vietnamese who sold little things at the edge of Dong Ha Combat Base. When we would call them “gooks” he would say, “they’re not gooks, they’re Vietnamese people”. That says it all. He was too sensitive and kind and loving and perhaps just too young to be in such a cruel environment. My “rack” was right next to his. One day he disappeared. They said he’d shot himself. I never knew why but I’ll never forget “ they’re not gooks, they’re Vietnamese people. The world is a cruel and unfair place. God Bless his soul:

James......Honoring you on your birthday.....You are loved.....God Bless

Private First Class James Cleveland Bink Jr., Served with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.

PFC James C. Bink Jr. was an administrative man assigned to A Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. On August 6, 1969, PFC Bink died at FSB Fuller (Hill 544) in Quang Tri Province, RVN. At that time, military investigators designated his death “Accidental self-destruction.” However, a March 22, 2003, article in the Midland Daily News (Midland, MI) stated that PFC Bink took his own life, reportedly after not hearing from his girlfriend back in the States for three weeks. Marines had heard two shots and ran outside their tents with their rifles, thinking it was enemy fire. They found Bink in a pool of blood. He had placed the end of his M16 rifle in his mouth and pulled the trigger. His fellow Marines had no idea their friend was so depressed. It was later learned that Bink had even left his insurance benefits to his girl. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Judge lost many friends in Vietnam” at ourmidland.com]