THE WALL OF FACES

Even though I did not know you, you came from my home town of Royal Oak, Michigan. I thank you sincerely for your service to this country.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

Dear cousin Thomas Eddy, I'm so grateful to find this info on you & your photo. My mother was your first cousin. Your mother and my grandmother were sister-in-laws. I've heard stories through the years about you and I'm so grateful to see you being honored this way. There are no words strong enough to thank you for your service & sacrifice. I cherish any stories and details I can hear about your way too short life. You will always be remembered.

You were my fathers best friend and I am your namesake. You are thought of often and I wish I could have met you. Rest In Peace Marine.

On November 12, 1966, a reinforced platoon of Marines from I Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, were settled into night positions around the hamlet of An Trach (1), two miles north of Hill 55 in Quang Nam Province, RVN. Fourteen bunkers ringed the small village, each one with a Marine on alert while the others slept. An Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) platoon assisted the Marines in defending An Trach (1). Around midnight, an ambush patrol of 10-12 Marines returned in the pouring rain, bringing the total number of Marines and ARVN in the village to around 80. An Trach (1) was considered to be in a passive area where a measure of loyalty had been gained from the peasants through security, economic, and social programs provided by the Americans. However, at approximately 1:30 AM, some 35-50 Viet Cong were able to infiltrate the hamlet through the northeast portion of the perimeter. They wore only shorts and many had baskets tied to their sides to hold explosive charges. They used these to attack the Marine positions, lobbing grenades, satchel charges, and C4 charges into the bunkers. Fourteen Marines and one Navy corpsman were killed in the attack. Another twenty-eight U.S. personnel were wounded. The Marines were able to kill three of their attackers (confirmed by body count) and reported another seven probable killed. The lost Marines were PFC Daniel Acosta, PFC Roy G. Alvis, CPL Eduardo Ayala, LCPL Thomas E. Birdsall, PFC Ted D. Broomfield, LCPL James P. Brown, PFC Roger J. Bryant, LCPL Larry D. DeFilippis, LCPL John A. McGrath, LCPL Charles E. Meek, PFC David H. Paulsen, CPL Raymond L. Powell, LCPL Alan H. Shields, and CPL Daniel D. Yarnell; the lost Navyman was HM3 Manuel Avila Jr. The dead were collected and carried in ponchos on wooden stretchers and placed on the porch of the church in the center of the hamlet. The wounded were carried by truck to NSA Hospital in Da Nang. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Jerry E. Brown (September 2019); also from “Marine Platoon Hit Hard.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, November 15, 1966, and the book “The Huts” by William E. Dowell]