THE WALL OF FACES

SP4 Walter L. Starling was a Materiel Storage and Handling Specialist serving with the 624th Support & Service Company, 266th Support & Service Battalion, 29th General Service Group, Army Support Command Saigon, 1st Logistical Command, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam. In December 1968, Starling was on his second tour of Vietnam, returning the previous August after recuperating from shrapnel wounds sustained from a mine explosion during his first tour. For his second tour, he was assigned to the sprawling Long Binh Post complex near Saigon where he managed inventory and material in support of combat operations in Military Regions III & IV. At 6:30 AM on December 12th, Starling was found without life signs on his bunk in his sleeping quarters at Long Binh. He was taken to the nearby 93rd Evacuation Hospital where medical staff declared him dead at 7:05 AM. Army postmortem studies determined he died after aspirating the contents of his stomach. Aspiration occurs when foreign material is inhaled into the airway causing asphyxiation due to a blocked respiratory tract. In healthy young men, it may occur during sleep when the sedating effects of drugs or alcohol impair cough and gag reflexes. Starling was 22 years old. An Army volunteer, during enlistment he designated as his death beneficiary the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

Image courtesy of Redbird Research LLC, Saint Charles, MO.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever….

Dear Sp4 Walter Starling, Thank you for your service as a Material Storage & Handling Specialist. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. The 47th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon just passed. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I was married to your brother Carl and so I feel I know you. He shared with me that you re-upped in Viet Nam to stay near a wife and son. He told me about the day the officers came to the house to tell your dad you had died. We visited your gravesite in Miami each Memorial Day. It was the only time I ever saw him shed a tear. Carl got sick with cancer and fought a brave fight. During treatment and under the influence of medications, he rose from sleep one night and walked into the living room where he saw you, sitting on the couch. I held his hand as he took his last breath but I know that you were waiting for him. Thank you for your service, Walter Leo Starling.