THE WALL OF FACES

On the evening of February 10, 1965, the bachelor’s enlisted men’s quarters for the 140th Transportation Detachment (Cargo Helicopter Field Maintenance) at the Viet Cuong Hotel in Qui Nhon in Binh Dinh Province, RVN, was the target of a Viet Cong (VC) terrorist attack. At 8:05 PM, two VC killed the South Vietnamese guards posted outside the building enabling two more VC to place satchel charges at the main door. A 100-pound plastic charge destroyed the central staircase supporting the hotel. Lacking reinforced concrete or reinforcing bars, the four-story building immediately crumbled into a pile of rubble 30 feet high. Forty-three men were in their rooms or the bar on the ground floor when the blast occurred. Effective rescue operations were delayed until dawn after the VC took out the local power station causing a blackout. Without proper equipment, recovery of the trapped enlisted men moved slowly. Rescuers dug for eight straight hours while trapped men cried out for their mothers, putting some rescuers in tears while searching for them. One rescuer was awarded the Silver Star medal for risking his life crawling through the twisted wreckage as it shifted and settled. It took 35 hours before the last trapped American was taken out alive. A total of 23 GI’s were killed. All but one belonged to the 140th Transportation Detachment. The other was a Green Beret whose remains took six days to find. Special Forces Staff Sergeant Merle O. Van Alstine, on his third tour of Vietnam, was in the bar when the attack occurred. He reportedly engaged two VC on a motorbike with his sidearm seconds before the explosion. In addition, seven South Vietnamese women and children were killed by the explosion. The lost U.S. personnel included SP5 James B. Alexander Jr., SP5 Everett L. Anderson, PFC Paul E. Bays, SP4 Tommy J. Belcher, PFC Robert J. Betz, SP5 David N. Clayton, SP5 Clarence L Coleman, PFC Delmer L. Ferris, SP5 Glenn H. Kelley, PFC Dallas Lawson, PFC Larry B. McClanahan, SP5 Robert S Mosier, PFC Walter L. Rickard, SP5 Harry E. Rowley, SP5 Ernest M. Schultz, PFC Peter A. Semmer (died of injuries 02/11/1965), SP4 Robert L. Simon, SP4 Harry L. Summers, SSG Francis J. Valkos, SSG Merle O. Van Alstine, PVT Melvin L. Waters, SP4 Lavon S. Wilson, and PFC Floyd Wynn. All 21 of the surviving 140th members required evacuation stateside for their injuries. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and a VFW Magazine article by Richard Fournier (February 2015)]

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. We should be forever thankful for the sacrifices of you and so many others to ensure the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Dear PFC Walter Rickard, Thank you for your service as a Huey, UH -1 Helicopter Repairer. Your 76th birthday is soon, happy birthday. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. The 20th anniversary of 9/11 is soon, and still very sad. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for stepping up and answering your country's call. Rest easy knowing you will never be forgotten.

Dear PFC Walter L Rickard, 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