THE WALL OF FACES

Private First Class Richard Lee Borgman, Served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, United States Army Vietnam.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

On March 1, 1968, 1st Battalion, 502nd Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, began combat operations in Quang Tri district near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), initiating patrols from Fire Support Base (FSB) Nora and An Lo Bridge while remaining elements of the battalion continued construction of FSB Sally. Alpha Company moved to the village of Ap Lai Xa where they had made heavy contact the day before. They found no enemy, but villagers stated that there had been approximately two hundred North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) fighters in the village and that they had been up most of the night dragging off their dead. Delta Company made light contact and the battalion commander’s Command & Control (C&C) ship orbiting overhead used its guns to kill sixteen NVA. On March 2nd, the battalion continued search and destroy operations, making light contact throughout the day with booby-traps wounding three troopers. Search and destroy operations continued on March 3rd from An Lo Bridge to the village of Ap Duc Trong. Bravo and Charlie Companies made heavy contact from the village and called for all available fire support as they pulled back. After heavy fighting for over four hours, both companies were withdrawn by air. B Company lost one man, PFC Richard L. Borgman, and C Company suffered three killed: SP4 Ernest E. Fawks, PFC Henry Norfleet Jr., and PFC James E. Williams (both Norfleet and Williams were posthumously promoted to Corporal). During extraction, the Battalion commander’s C&C aircraft received heavy fire, wounding the battalion commander, his radioman, the battalion S-2 intelligence officer, and aircraft commander. The battalion S-2, CPT Frank R. Dimmitt, from Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), was dead on arrival at Camp Evans. [101namveteran.com]

Thanking you for serving this great country even though I never met you. I am now a proud United States Marine infantrymen proud to serve like those before me

DEAR PFC BORGMAN,
THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE AS AN AIRBORNE QUALIFIED INFANTRYMAN. SUNDAY WAS THE 42ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF SAIGON. I AM SO SORRY. IT HAS BEEN FAR TOO LONG FOR ALL OF YOU TO HAVE BEEN GONE. WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU HAVE DONE, AND YOUR SACRIFICE. WATCH OVER THE U.S.A., IT STILL NEEDS YOUR COURAGE. GOD BLESS YOU. MAY THE ANGELS BE AT YOUR SIDE. REST IN PEACE. YOU ARE ALL IN OUR PRAYERS.