THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. It remains my fervent hope you will be returned home after the passage of so many years.

I have had your bracelet and wore it proudly. Never forgotten. Always grateful for your sacrifice.

The U.S. Army outpost at Khe Gio Bridge on National Route QL-9 near the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Quang Tri Province, RVN, was overrun by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops on March 12, 1970. Of the fourteen Americans who fought in the battle, two were killed, SP4 Terry L. Moser and SGT Mitchell W. Stout, and five were wounded with one captured, 2LT Gary B. Scull. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) garrison at the site had six killed and nine wounded. The NVA lost about 40 men. The fighting began at 1:30 AM on March 12, 1970, when NVA columns reportedly walked into the camp, reached occupied structures, and were climbing through windows and doors when American GI’s awoke and began shooting from their bunks. The NVA set up rocket pads and mortar tubes in the surrounding hills, and when the shooting began inside the camp, they laid a barrage which killed many of their own men but also pinned the defenders inside their bunkers. One survivor stated, “the rain of shells was so heavy no one could go outside without being killed instantly.” Stout, in a bunker by the road, picked up a grenade tossed inside by the enemy and carried it out where it exploded at the same time a mortar round landed nearby. He died instantly; his action spared four other men. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Moser was killed by a mortar burst during the bombardment as he sprinted across open ground to a defensive position. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for bravery. When the camp could no longer be defended from the rampaging NVA, the Americans shot their way out and fled to nearby Camp Carroll. Some escaped on a deuce-and-a-half truck; someone else drove a M42 light tank through the camp under fire picking up wounded, then crashed the perimeter at Camp Carroll. The battle had lasted three hours, the enemy hurrying off the battlefield to get away before daylight brought jets and gunships. The missing American, Scull, a Military Assist Command Vietnam advisor to the ARVN garrison, had arrived at the bridge only a few hours before the attack. Survivors of the battle believed Scull was killed in the fighting, but an ARVN officer reported seeing his bunker on fire and watched him being led away by NVA soldiers. On October 16, 1978, the U.S. changed Scull’s status from “missing” to “died while missing” and upgraded his rank to Major. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Don Wittenberger (1999) at angelfire.com]

Never forget.

HOOAH

I wore Lt. Skulls bracelet in the 70's. I would like to return it to the family. I wore it proudly.

James Kelly