THE WALL OF FACES

Some may think you are forgotten
Though on earth you are no more
But in our memory you are with us
As you always were before….

Dear Tsgt Donald Seaman, Thank you for your service with the 34th Consol. Maintenance Squadron. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Happy New Year. Time moves quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I never had the privilege of meeting your daughter Mary shared the stories her Mam-mam told her about you. Mary was a lot like you she always put others before herself. I did have the privilege of knowing and loving your daughter Mary. Neither of us had a sister and we became not sisters by blood but by love. She was truly my best friend. She lived her life as she knew you would want her to. She used her beautiful gift from God of music to help others whether it was healing by playing someones funeral or by teaching children. One of her students told me she wasn't just the best music teacher he ever had but the best teacher because she taught him how to be a better person. Please know you died to help others and you were not physically present in Mary's life but you were by her side through it all and she knew that. Thank you for your gift of life and your gift of your daughter Mary.

Dear TSGT Donald Joseph Seaman, 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, Sir

Curt Carter

On November 1, 1964, Viet Cong squads shelled the airfield at Bien Hoa with mortars. The attack was effective as 27 aircraft were hit, and four U.S. and two Vietnamese were killed. Further Viet Cong mortar attacks led General William Westmoreland on February 19, 1965 to release B-57Bs for combat operations, including raids into North Vietnam. As the B-57 mission continued to increase it became an around-the-clock commitment. This forced the weapons storage facility at Bien Hoa to deliver ordnance well ahead of the frag orders. This resulted in bombs being stored underneath the wings of the B-57s sitting on the tarmac. The ordnance consisted of 250, 500, and 750-pound general purpose bombs, many armed with time-delay. There were also 750 lb. of napalm stored on the ramp. The pre-positioning of this ordnance was the basis for one of the "worst disasters in Air Force history". On May 16, 1965, while waiting to takeoff on a mission, a B-57B exploded on the ground. The B-57 was started with a black powder cartridge that fired when the pilot hit the starter switch, causing a small starter turbine to spin. These turbines sometimes spun loose and flew out of the starter housing. On this day, a loose turbine hit the fuse of an armed 500 lb. bomb, setting off a whole chain of secondary explosions. Five 50,000 gallon bladders of JP-4 jet fuel went up in smoke. When the explosions finally ceased, ten B-57s, one Navy F-8 Crusader and fifteen A-1Es were destroyed plus several ground support units. Twenty-seven men killed, including the following: SSGT Jesse R. Acosta, SSGT Jose R. Aragon, TSGT Secundino Baldonado, MAJ Robert G. Bell, SSGT Brian D. Brown, TSGT Claude M. Bunch, SSGT James M. Cale, SSGT Robert L. Clark, A1C William T. Crawford, SSGT Edgar S. Donaghy, A1C Terence D. Engel, TSGT Aaron G. Fidiam Jr., CAPT Charles N. Fox, CAPT Vernon L. Haynes, SMS William D. Hicks, SSGT David L. Hubbard Jr., CAPT Arthur C. Jepson Jr., CAPT Andrew M. Kea, CAPT Ernest McFeron, TSGT Charles W. Rachal, A1C Clifford H. "Hal" Raulerson Jr., TSGT Donald J. Seaman, CAPT Billy E. Shannon, TSGT Gerald A. Snyder, MAJ James E. Underwood, 1LT Lee C. Wagner Jr., and A1C Hayden E. Weaver. Over 100 were wounded. The most severely wounded were evacuated to Clark AB. After the explosions, a great number of generals and their staffs came to Bien Hoa to see for themselves what had happened. General Westmoreland along with retired General Maxwell D. Taylor, Ambassador to Vietnam, came to see the extent of damage so they could brief their superiors. General Westmoreland said that Bien Hoa looked worse than Hickam Field after the Pearl Harbor Attack. The Bien Hoa Air Base Conflagration/Fire Accident Investigation Board concluded the accidental explosion of a bomb on a parked B-57 at Bien Hoa triggered a series of blasts. The aircraft and the ammunition were stored too close together which allowed the fires and explosions to propagate. The accident investigation board recommended improvements. In the face of such experience, engineers initiated a major program to construct revetments and aircraft shelters to protect the valuable assets. [Taken from wikipedia.com]