THE WALL OF FACES

May God bless my brother.

Thank you for your service to our country. Rest in Peace Sky Soldier.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from family members attest to their love and respect for you. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

The war may be forgotten but the warrior will always be remembered. All gave Some-Some gave All. Rest in peace Sky Soldier.

Landing Zone Uplift was a 1st Cavalry Division base on Highway QL-1, approximately five miles north of Phu My in Binh Dịnh Province, RVN. In early 1971, LZ Uplift maintained a LRRP Platoon (Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol) employed by E Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. The “Lurp” platoon containing three well-armed, six-man teams which patrolled deep into enemy-held territory. The missions generally followed intelligence reports from the Battalion S-2 (Intelligence) and S-3 (Operations) officers. Teams were mostly inserted by helicopter into target areas; however, many times they would walk off the base if the mission was into an adjacent area. Frequently, they would be accompanied by a Kit Carson scout, former Viet Cong defectors who served as intelligence scouts for American infantry units. Vital communications were maintained with Forward Air Control fixed-wing aircraft with whom they coordinated close air support if a team was compromised or had completed their mission. In early January 1971, a six-man team with a Kit Carson scout walked off LZ Uplift for a three-day mission. On January 7, 1971, while returning to Uplift, the radioman, SP4 Richard E. Tabor, transmitted that the team was “in contact.” No other transmissions were heard. Helicopter gunships were scrambled and soon reported seeing five bodies on a road. When an American line unit reached the team, all were dead with bullet wounds to the head. Their Kit Carson scout was missing. The lost team members included Tabor, leader SSG Stephen E. Boots, SP4 Rick S. Brown, SP4 Gerald W. Hill, and PFC Russel C. Nelson. All the Americans’ weapons were missing, and their rucksacks had been rifled through. The other E Company teams were devastated by the loss and were suspicious that the missing Kit Carson may have somehow compromised the team. Several days later, he appeared on another U.S. firebase where he was interrogated and relocated for his own safety. E Company had little time to grieve as more missions were ordered, and the lost team was quickly replaced. There were two posthumous promotions in the wake of the loss: Brown was promoted to Sergeant and Nelson to Corporal. Several days after the incident, a memorial service was conducted at Uplift for the fallen team members by the Battalion chaplain. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, and information provided by Richard Coogan (July 2020)]