THE WALL OF FACES

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.

Quiet and respected by all.

I still think of Roger after all these years.
Looking back, I was about 13 when I knew Roger. He helped my dad out on our farm, but, more importantly, he encouraged me with my hobbies, such as a "go cart" that had no "go" unless you pushed it.
That didn't matter to me as long as it had a padlock that would attach to a tree branch, fence, etc..
He was so special and always will be.!
My parents loved him and so did I.
Audrey Haverdink/Palmitier

Roger Root was the epitome of a "nice guy." He was very kind and empathetic, and I do not remember him ever saying anything disparaging of another person. Everyone considered him to be his friend. On 21 August 1967, "A" Co., 1/8 Cavalry, First Air Cav. Div., started to enter a hamlet that represented an isolated section of the rather sprawling village of Lieu An (1) in the Bon Song Plain. That something was amiss was made evident by the fact that the whole hamlet left their homes and passed us going the other way on the same trail. We entered the empty hamlet and the machinegun to which I was attached was posted at the rear. Root and his squad advanced to the opposite end, which was visible from where I was posted. Root entered a large hooch situated there. As he went in to check it out, a trap door suddenly flipped up, and an NVA soldier fired a burst of three shots, hitting him in the chest. In spite of this, he was able to run some distance before collapsing. Gunsaulas attempted to engage the enemy through the open doorway, and as the trap door opened in order to roll out a grenade, Gunsaulas shot the enemy soldier through the heart. The grenade exploded, wounding Gunsaulas in the knee. Despite his injuries, Root lived long enough to expressed the thought that he was about to die. With a great measure of self possession, he devoted his last words to his wife. He then died in Wayne Westenberger's arms. The sense of real tragedy gripped everyone, and even to this day, it is hard for anyone who knew Roger Root to recall this incident without reliving the feeling of profound sadness at his loss, and of course, our realization of the terrible impact that it will have had on his family.

The first photo shows myself (Richard Dieterle), Roger Root, Wayne Westenberger, and "Truck" Schmidt (himself KIA 25 March '68) standing on the shoreline of the South China Sea. It was taken by our Platoon Leader, Lt. Jerome Church. The second photo, which I shot from the opposite side of the hamlet, shows the hooch where Root was shot being fired upon by a tank (barely discernable in the distance), which succeeded in blowing the body of the NVA soldier out from beneath the floor boards onto the yard.

Dear SP4 Roger Dale Root, 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