THE WALL OF FACES

Private First Class Richard David Borieo, Served with the 90th Replacement Battalion, United States Army Vietnam.

You should have been getting ready for Prom and graduation but were over in a far away land.

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

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 sun 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.

As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

On the remembrance of your 73rd birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Forever 18.

HOOAH

On April 13, 1966, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, located three miles from downtown Saigon, underwent a Viet Cong mortar attack. The bombardment began at 12:30 AM, carried out by an estimated 25-30 VC who lobbed approximately 234 mortar rounds in about 20 minutes. Seven Americans and one Vietnamese were killed in the barrage, and another 108 military men were wounded, including one American civilian and 19 Vietnamese. The lost U.S. servicemen comprised six soldiers: SP5 Fred A. Benner, PVT William E. Border, PFC Richard D. Borieo, SSG Donald D. Daugherty, SGT Ronald G. Soule, and SP4 Jimmy R. Wolfe; and one sailor, ADR2 Randolph P. Vedros. Border was only in his second day in Vietnam, Borieo his third, and Benner his fourth. The base, headquarters for the 7th Air Force and U.S. Army, Vietnam, as well as the Vietnamese Air Force, suffered moderate damage. Four aircraft were destroyed, and a 400,000-gallon fuel tank was set ablaze. The mortars wrecked two U.S. C-123 transport planes and two VNAF C-47 cargo planes, damaged several helicopters, a F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter, and one Lockheed Constellation four-engine converted airliner used as a relay station for the U.S. Vietnamese television system. Other planes were saved by concrete barriers. It was the first time during the Vietnam War that Tan Son Nhut had been attacked. The assault, however, failed to disrupt operation at the airport which was the nerve center of Allied air operations in Vietnam. The enemy mortar positions, located to the west and southwest of the installation, were quickly taken under fire by armed helicopters and attack planes launched from the base. There was no report of enemy casualties. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “B52s Smash Vietnam Pass, Viet Cong Shell Airport.” The Ada Evening News (Ada, OK), April 13, 1966; and “Viet Cong Shell Tan Son Nhut Air Base.” Air Force News, April 13, 1966]