THE WALL OF FACES

We love you and wish you could be here. I'm glad you are with the family now though. Hug gram for me please ❣️

Cu Chi Base Camp was a U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base in the Cu Chi District northwest of Saigon, RVN. Around noon on January 3, 1969, plumbers, carpenters, masons, electricians, and concrete and asphalt workers from D Company, 554th Engineer Battalion, were lining up at the serving counter when a blast ripped through a wall of their wood-framed mess hall. The explosion killed fifteen Americans and injured twenty-six. Two Vietnamese kitchen staff were also killed. The lost personnel included SP4 Paul W. Barnett, SP5 Ronald K. Bloom, SP5 Donald W. Brown, SP4 Glenn E. Case, SP4 Joseph P. Colasurdo, SP4 Eldridge M. Daniels, SP4 Jerry Dunlap, SP4 Patrick C. Golliher, SP5 Moises A. Reyes Jr., SP4 Dennis J. Stanley, SP4 Waldon J. Swart, SP5 Michael J. Unsinn, SP4 Gerhard W. Vanderford, SP5 Ted A. White, and SP4 Freddy T. Williams. The bomb was planted approximately four feet from the floor by Viet Cong (VC) saboteurs employed at Cu Chi. It contained several pounds of explosive and was packed with steel balls from a U.S. Air Force bomblet and a U.S. Claymore mine. A survivor said the blast erupted when the first soldier in line withdrew a tray from the rack, indicating the booby-trap may have been wired to the tray stand. Investigators said the charge was planted between a tray rack and an adjacent wall, and many of the trays splintered into thousands of razor-sharp fragments. Five and a half months later, on May 21st, elements of the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, and the ARVN 132nd Regional Force Company conducted a cordon and search operation of Giong Viec hamlet located between Phuoc My and Cu Chi. ARVN soldiers promptly captured a VC squad leader who confessed there were twenty other VC in the hamlet. The RF Company and two platoons from Company B/1/5 made a sweep of the area, capturing six VC along with weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Among the prisoners was a nurse who had previously worked for the 554th Engineer Battalion. The nurse was instrumental in the apprehension of three females employed at Cu Chi Base Camp who worked for the VC and were involved in the mining of the 554th Engineer Battalion mess hall. [Taken from the virtualwall.org and “U.S. Military Assistance Command History, 1969, Volume III” at apps.dtic.mil; also, “Bomb at GI Mess Kills 13, Hurts 15.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, January 7, 1969]

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. May you rest in eternal peace.

On the remembrance of your 71st birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Forever 18.

HOOAH

DEAR SPEC 5 BLOOM,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT REPAIRER. 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.