THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from family, friends , and fellow soldiers are poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

Specialist Five Michael Anthony Blondin, Served with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, United States Army Vietnam.

You gave everything you had
God Bless You

Fire Support Base Jay was located near the Cambodian border in an area known as the Dog’s Head. The encampment provided artillery fire support to the 1st Cavalry Division’s operations north of Saigon along the border. The fire support base was little more than a field blasted out of the jungle to welcome cargo helicopters, which hauled in the heavy equipment, artillery pieces, and supplies. FSB Jay had six 105 mm artillery guns in sandbagged fire pits which were surrounded by berms of dirt manned by a company of 1st Cavalry troopers to keep the North Vietnamese Army at bay. The artillerymen’s accommodations at Jay ranged from half-culvert pipes with blast walls to bunkers made of dirt-filled ammunition crates covered with timbers when Army engineers cut back the jungle around the fire support base for fields of fire. Because of the fire support base’s isolation, there was no way in or out except by air. On March 29, 1970, the NVA’s 95-C Regiment decided to eliminate the 1st Cavalry Division’s artillerymen at FSB Jay with heavy rocket, mortar, and ground attacks. At 0415 hours, a 200-round barrage rocked the base. The first rounds slammed into and around the TOC (tactical operations center), knocking down the antennas and cutting all communication between FSB Jay and other American units. At the same time, NVA ground troops poured out of the jungle and swarmed the base. Mortar fire continued to rain down, striking the ammo dump and causing a horrendous roar. Another round hit a supply of C-3 explosive, it also exploding in spectacular fashion. Sappers blew a hole in the southwest corner and entered the compound. The artillerymen put up a determined defense, and by dawn the attack began to break. As the NVA retreated, the three guns remaining blasted away at the enemy using canister rounds, their muzzles set to zero elevation. After 45 minutes of fighting, 14 Americans were dead and 53 wounded, spread across two batteries of the 12th and 19th Artillery and 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. The cost to the NVA was high, as 74 lifeless NVA bodies were counted after the battle. That same day, FSB Jay was ordered closed, and by mid-afternoon it was gone. The fourteen Americans lost at FSB Jay included SGT Dwight I. Ade, SP4 Bartolo A. Barela Jr., SP5 Michael A. Blondin, PFC James M. Furgerson, SGT William R. Hainley, CPL Jimmy I. Hicks, CPL James R. Holmes, SGT Staret J. Ingleston, CPL David M. King, CPL Donn M. Lorber, CPL Murl A. Moyers, CPL Warner Starks, CPL Paul R. Stepp Jr., and CPL Michael J. Wainwright. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, dailyrepublic.com, lrrp.com, and “Fire Base Illingworth: An Epic True Story” by Philip Keith]

DEAR SPEC 5 BLONDIN,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A FIELD ARTILLERY BASIC WITH THE 1ST CAVALRY. MIKE WAS 1ST CAV, SAY HI TO HIM. ARTILLERYMEN WILL ALWAYS BE SPECIAL TO ME. 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. IT IS HOLY WEEK, AND PASSOVER - GOD'S BLESSINGS ON YOU.