THE WALL OF FACES

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions and spends himself in a great worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end triumph of high achievement and, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while caring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold, timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt

Dear Sp4 Douglas Smith, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Your 75th birthday is in 2 days, happy birthday. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Winter will end soon, and it is Lent. Time moves quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Uou are not forgotten. We will pay our respects to you the the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Doug and I were seeing each other when he left for Vietnam. He was a good man and loved his country. Hes in heaven with his Mom, Dad, his 2 brothers Joe and Mike. Miss you still ,love you.

SP4 Bernard R. Mazursky, PFC Thomas A. McCormick Jr., PFC Kim R. Grice, and SP4 Douglas B. Smith were infantrymen serving with A Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. On May 4, 1968, they comprised an observation post on the side of a Chu Ya Krei Mountain in Kontum Province, RVN, during the Battle of Chu Moor. They were tasked with warning the rest of their company if the enemy approached. At approximately 2:00 PM, noises were detected in the bushes behind them. Before they could react, NVA soldiers opened fire with small arms fire, wounding all four of the Americans. None had a chance to return fire. The enemy quickly moved in and fired more rounds, finishing off the wounded. They picked over their victims and removed some equipment. As they left, more bullets were fired on them. Miraculously, one of the soldiers, PFC Grice, survived the ambush. Wounded twice, he escaped death when a bullet was deflected by the pocket-sized New Testament he was carrying in his breast pocket. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and 1-22infantry.org]