THE WALL OF FACES

Duncan was the son of William B. Sleigh and Elizabeth K. Sleigh of Marblehead MA, the brother of Mrs. Burt Whitemore of Concord NH. He attended Marblehead High
School, and at Dartmouth he majored in Latin. He spent two summers of his college career working for a Catholic social center in Mexico City as a director of Dartmouth Project Mexico.

After graduaton, Duncan worked in Marblehead and travelled in Spain before entering the Marine Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Va., where he recieved a commission in the US Marine Corps Reserve on February 2, 1968.

2dLt Sleigh arrived in Vietnam on April 3, 1968 and was assigned for duty to Company M, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st MARDIV (Rein) FMF.

At the break of dawn, Company M left Hill 55 in a column of two's to their line of departure and began their sweep south, Company K remained as a reserve force. Within two hours the Marines were in heavy contact with the enemy as they approached the northern edge of Thuy Bo. The Marines emerged from a tree line into an open field of burial mounds, the NVA hidden behind heavy foliage in front of a small stream raked the approaching men in the open with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades. Taking casualties immediately, the men attempted to assault the enemy positions but were unable to advance against the accurate and deadly enemy fire. Being in the open and totally exposed the Marines sought the only affordable cover, the burial mounds in the graveyard.

Having made contact with a large enemy force, reinforcements were dispatched towards the battlefield. Company K moved south to join the fight as well as several other units to surround, and destroy the enemy. The battle heated up between the opposing forces, with the Marines digging in and the NVA pouring machine gun, rocket propelled grenade and mortar fire from fortified positions. The fighting continued into the evening with the arrival of morning, all seemed quiet and it appeared the enemy had slipped away during the night.

A helicopter arrived to pick up wounded and the dead, the rest of the men slowly returned to the CP on Hill 55. It had been a costly battle in Marine lives, eight Marines had been killed during the battle, including two who had been reported missing and were recovered in the morning by Marines of Company K. A USN Corpsman from a supporting unit who was killed by friendly supporting H&S I fire during the night, and many were wounded, one of whom would die three days later.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. Your Navy Cross citation attests to your courage and devotion to your fellow marines. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever….

Duncan was a TBS classmate and I considered him a good friend. We had some great times in TBS. I remember his great sense of humor and think of him often. Forever young.
Semper Fi

Thank you for your sacrifice. My Grandmother loved your family, and I always loved seeing your Mom. I still have my copy of ‘Letters from Duncan’. Semper Fi Marine.

Kenneth Maitland
Marblehead H S
US Army Vietnam Vet.