THE WALL OF FACES

The date, August 7th, has been declared Purple Heart Day in recognition of General George Washington's establishment of the award for his troops during the Revolutionary War. Specialist Four Alfred Frank Pospisil paid the ultimate price for the award. He a served as an Infantryman and was assigned to the 2ND PLT, B CO, 4TH BN, 3RD INFANTRY, 11TH INFANTRY BDE, AMERICAL DIV.
See http://www.virtualwall.org/dp/PospisilAF01a.htm

Dear Sp4 Alfred Pospisil, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Yesterday was the 77th anniversary of D-Day, Operation Overlord. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

On the remembrance of your 70th birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

Specialist Four Alfred frank Pospisil, Served with the 2nd Platoon, Company B, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division.

SP4 Alfred F. Pospisil was an infantryman serving with 2nd Platoon, B Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry. On August 7, 1971, SP4 Pospisil was on a combat patrol with his unit in the jungle and mountainous terrain of Quang Tin Province, RVN. On this particular morning, his platoon was sent out on a patrol to locate a suitable landing zone for extraction and resupply helicopters. SP4 Pospisil fell in as the drag position behind the point man, platoon leader LT Joe Petro, with the radioman in third place behind him. All of the platoon was especially tired from the exhaustive searching and patrolling they had been doing during the previous days. Moving along, they spaced themselves as was dictated by standard operating procedure. As they came near to what looked like a workable landing zone, an explosion occurred. The point man was immediately tossed in the air, his body turned toward the rear. Right behind him, SP4 Pospisil went down, mortally wounded in the head and chest. The radioman was also hit in the leg. The platoon members hurriedly moved up, checking the radioman first, then SP4 Pospisil, then LT Petro. Their quick response and the timely arrival of the medivac helicopter saved the life of Petro who was injured in the back, chest, hip, buttocks and wrist. Fortunately, none of his vital organs were hit. Although SP4 Pospisil had died from his wounds almost instantly, the medical team still attempted to revive him. The two wounded soldiers and SP4 Pospisil were loaded on a medivac aircraft and sent to a secure medical site in Chu Lai. It was later determined that the booby trap was most likely a hand grenade or mortar round with a pressure device for detonation. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Joe Petro]