THE WALL OF FACES

Though I never met John, his parents and mine were good friends. I remember going over to their house the summer of 1967 and seeing the framed picture of John in uniform. So handsome. I was 13 and felt so sad that John had died in Vietnam so young at age 21. I really have never forgotten you. I visited your wall remembrance at the Vietnam memorial many years ago. I just finished reading The Women about the military nurses who served in Viet Nam. I thought of you so many times reading the combat scenes. It was a terrible senseless war but I believe in 1967 that you believed in it! I’ve always felt so badly for your parents and your sister Elise. You are a hero to me.

On May 8, 1967, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) tried to overrun the Marine position at Con Thien. The outpost, two miles from the DMZ, was on a hill 158 meters high in the middle of a red mud plain. At 2:55 AM, a green flare signaled the beginning of a punishing 300-round mortar and artillery attack. Enemy units breached a defensive wire, and small elements moved inside. At 4:00 AM, a reinforced NVA battalion attacked through the breach in the wire. Engineers supporting the Marines engaged in bitter hand-to-hand fighting. With reinforcements, the Marines halted the enemy penetration and sealed off the break in the wire just before daylight. Forty-four Marines were killed and one hundred ten wounded; three Navy corpsmen and two Army personnel were also killed. The lost 3rd Division Marines included: (A Co, 1/4) SGT Floyd L. Amos, PFC William M. Cain, PFC Charles W. Daut, LCPL Michael P. Finley (Navy Cross), CPL Robert J. Green, SSGT Donald L. Gustafson, CPL James E. Harmon, PFC James R. Huckleberry, LCPL Charles Jackson, CPL Gary H. Kreh (Silver Star), CPL Mariano Leija Jr., PFC Victor H. Montoya Jr., LCPL William E. Perry, LCPL Emmett J. Peters, PFC Ronald W. Sanders, LCPL James R. Valentine, and LCPL Henry R. Wicker; (D Co, 1/4) GYSGT Leroy Elliott, CPL John H. Boudreau, CPL Abel D. Garcia Jr., LCPL Denny L. Johnson (Bronze Star), LCPL Gary F. McCue, LCPL Calvin A. Parks, LCPL Leo J. Sullivan Jr., CPL Ralph H. Watington Jr. (Silver Star), PFC Edward V. Asip, PFC Kenneth V. Avery, PFC Leon L. Cornwell Jr., PFC Cecil R. Jenkins, PFC Robert L. Margolis, PFC Thomas V. Ruff Jr., PFC Donald Williams, PFC Vomer O. Wilson Jr., PVT Larry F. Jankowski, and PVT Jesus M. Limones (Silver Star); (H&S Co, 1/4) LCPL William C. Blades III, PFC Joseph J. Dodd, and PFC Richard A. Snyder; (1st AMTRAC) CPL David L. Cleveland and PFC Larry M. Langan; (3rd Shore Party Bn) PFC Thomas A. Johnson; (3rd Tank Bn) PFC James L. Lester Jr. and LCPL John E. Young; (12th Marines Arty) LCPL John C. Kopacska and LCPL Jimmy E. Page; the lost Navy corpsmen were HM3 John E. Laning (Silver Star), HM1 Arthur C. Perez, and HM3 John C. Tate; the U.S. Army personnel were SP4 James W. Cribbs and PFC Gerard J. Schneider (44th Arty). Enemy losses were one hundred ninety-seven killed and eight captured. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese 1967” by Telfer, Rogers, and Fleming]

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.

Corporal John Henry Boudreau, Served with Company D, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.

John...Honoring you on your birthday...God bless