THE WALL OF FACES

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

I was with the 5th SFG Green Berets and served 18 months in the "NAM" and I grew up in this beautiful place called Santa Barbara and I I knew 2 other locals here KIA "ed in Vietnam. I went to Wilson Elementary school the same as Terry!!! even though I was from Montecito. I've seen this posting for the last 10 years!!! but I could never write anything because here in town and the last time in Goleta I saw his family name which is a business here in this small town and I wanted to cruise in there and talk to his brother if he's still with us or they might have sold the business to someone else!! I talked to Terry 3 days before his deployment and at that time I had my 30 day leave period and I was so sorry to hear that he was KIA in short period of time in the "NAM". I was wounded 3 times while in country and spent pretty much all my 18 months in the bush as 5th SFG Basecamp "Ben Het". I still have nightmares about our 4 man LRRP teams operations that I was close to death many times and was lucky enough to have come home!! Terry you did not die in vain because we actually stopped communism from spreading by just going there and coming back!! To live and survive in a jungle for 18 months was a miracle and we had a saying in the bush!!! "It is what it is, what it is" my brother!!!!! I"m going to contact his family and let them know about how I felt about Terry.................

IN-COUNTRY FOR 12 DAYS WHEN A AMERICAN SHORT ROUND HIT HIM DURING OP CHINOOK

Dear Lcpl Terry Shalhoob, Thank you for your service as a Rifleman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is another 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.

My sister and I attended Wilson Elementary School with Terry and his brother Steve. Santa Barbara was a beautiful place to live in the ‘50s. It was like being in world of our own. Nothing to fear. Doors left unlocked. I remember playing ball with Terry and his brother during recess. Walking barefoot or in flip-flops to the beach in the summertime. The smell of the ocean. The cool breeze that was always there. We never thought about a world outside of our little beach town. But there was such a world.
My first experience of a place outside of the USA was Vietnam as I’m sure was Terry’s. I found my way back home with only a couple of scars. Terry paid the ultimate price. Thank you for your service my friend. Sometimes as I’m driving in the insane traffic of Atlanta, Georgia my mind goes back to those innocent days in Santa Barbara, California. I see faces of the kids on the playground. I wish life could be that simple everywhere. That innocent. Terry was a good kid who grew up to be a nice young man. He volunteered to fight for his country. Tragically we all lost him. He would have been a wonderful father and made a great contribution to our community.
Jacky Hamilton