THE WALL OF FACES

On the remembrance of your 69th birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

He was a good guy who never had the chance to grow all the way up.

Corporal Richard Vincent Blackburn, Served with A Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade.

DEAR CORPORAL BLACKBURN,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A FLIGHT QUALIFIED AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE APPRENTICE. IT HAS BEEN FAR TOO LONG FOR ALL OF 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. MANY OF US HAVE BEGUN OUR JOURNEY TO EASTER. AND YOU ARE ALL IN OUR PRAYERS.

On January 11, 1971, a U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A (tail number 66-07923) from A Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry, was attempting to drop a homemade bomb over an enemy bunker when it exploded prematurely, killing both crewmen and causing the aircraft to crash. The two lost crewmen included pilot WO1 William F. Johnson and observer CPL Richard V. Blackburn. The crudely made bomb consisted of a mini-gun ammo can filled with dynamite and hydraulic fluid, banded tight with a white phosphorous grenade strapped to it. When CPL Blackburn got ready to drop it on the enemy bunker and pulled the pin, it blew immediately killing them both. Speculation was that one of the Ruff-Puff guards (RFPF's, or Regional Forces and Popular Forces) at City Field in Ban Me Thout changed the detonator with one from a smoke grenade. [Taken from vhpa.org]