THE WALL OF FACES

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

I never got to meet you but my dad Maurice rutherford (little hog) told me all about you

Dear Sgt Melvin Rutherford, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Your 72nd birthday was 2 days ago, happy birthday. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Veterans’ Day is soon.. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance, and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

The 4th Infantry Division (“Ivymen”) deployed to Vietnam in 1966 and served more than four years, conducting combat operations ranging from the western Central Highlands along the border between Cambodia and Vietnam to Qui Nhon on the South China Sea. On June 19, 1970, Company B, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry was engaged in search and destroy operations along the Dak Krong Bung River, twenty miles north of Camp Radcliff when 2nd Platoon bumped into a group of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers. The initial contact killed eight NVA and trapped the rest, estimated to be company-sized, on the face of a rugged mountain. A triangle-shaped encirclement was formed, blocking escape routes while the enemy was pounded by artillery and gunships. Second Platoon became heavily engaged in the huge rock formations, and by the next day was low on ammunition. First Platoon was sent to resupply them and later took up a position on an adjacent ridge. Around noon, one of its members, SGT Melvin N. Rutherford, eager to join the fight, attempted to cross the ridge and join 2nd Platoon. He was hit by small arms fire as he moved down a narrow gap in the rock formations that the enemy had covered. Two or three 2nd Platoon troopers moved to help him. One was seriously wounded and the other found himself trapped in a small depression where he remained until 2nd Platoon was able to extract him later that afternoon. They were unable to get to Rutherford as the NVA had him in their sights. With Rutherford so close to the NVA position, 2nd Platoon was forced to alter its tactics and stop using their artillery and air assets. A flame thrower was brought up to soften up the enemy position, and Rutherford was finally extracted around dusk when the B Company commanding officer, under heavy cover fire from the members of 2nd Platoon, crawled down and pulled him out. A short timer with less than a month to go on his tour, Rutherford’s death was particularly poignant. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Ivymen Trap NVA, Kill 29 In Two-day Action.” The Ivy Leaf (4th Infantry Division publication), July 5, 1970; also, information provided by Richard Buenzle (January 2021)]