THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from Susan Gove is touching and reflects her admiration and respect for you. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Dear Sp4 Waldon Swart, Thank you for your service as a Construction & Utilities Worker. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Flag Day is tomorrow. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Cu Chi Base Camp was a U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base in the Cu Chi District northwest of Saigon, RVN. Around noon on January 3, 1969, plumbers, carpenters, masons, electricians, and concrete and asphalt workers from D Company, 554th Engineer Battalion, were lining up at the serving counter when a blast ripped through a wall of their wood-framed mess hall. The explosion killed fifteen Americans and injured twenty-six. Two Vietnamese kitchen staff were also killed. The lost personnel included SP4 Paul W. Barnett, SP5 Ronald K. Bloom, SP5 Donald W. Brown, SP4 Glenn E. Case, SP4 Joseph P. Colasurdo, SP4 Eldridge M. Daniels, SP4 Jerry Dunlap, SP4 Patrick C. Golliher, SP5 Moises A. Reyes Jr., SP4 Dennis J. Stanley, SP4 Waldon J. Swart, SP5 Michael J. Unsinn, SP4 Gerhard W. Vanderford, SP5 Ted A. White, and SP4 Freddy T. Williams. The bomb was planted approximately four feet from the floor by Viet Cong (VC) saboteurs employed at Cu Chi. It contained several pounds of explosive and was packed with steel balls from a U.S. Air Force bomblet and a U.S. Claymore mine. A survivor said the blast erupted when the first soldier in line withdrew a tray from the rack, indicating the booby-trap may have been wired to the tray stand. Investigators said the charge was planted between a tray rack and an adjacent wall, and many of the trays splintered into thousands of razor-sharp fragments. Five and a half months later, on May 21st, elements of the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, and the ARVN 132nd Regional Force Company conducted a cordon and search operation of Giong Viec hamlet located between Phuoc My and Cu Chi. ARVN soldiers promptly captured a VC squad leader who confessed there were twenty other VC in the hamlet. The RF Company and two platoons from Company B/1/5 made a sweep of the area, capturing six VC along with weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Among the prisoners was a nurse who had previously worked for the 554th Engineer Battalion. The nurse was instrumental in the apprehension of three females employed at Cu Chi Base Camp who worked for the VC and were involved in the mining of the 554th Engineer Battalion mess hall. [Taken from the virtualwall.org and “U.S. Military Assistance Command History, 1969, Volume III” at apps.dtic.mil; also, “Bomb at GI Mess Kills 13, Hurts 15.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, January 7, 1969]

He Who Serves
Edgar Guest


He has not served who gathers gold,
Nor has he served whose life is told
In selfish battles he has won,
Or deeds of skill that he has done;
But he has served who now and then
Has helped along his fellow men.
The world needs many men today;
Red-blooded men along life's way,
With cheerful smiles and helping hands,
And with the faith that understands
The beauty of the simple deed
Which serves another's hour of need.
Strong men to stand beside the weak,
Kind men to hear what others speak;
True men to keep our country's laws
And guard its honor and its cause;
Men who will bravely play life's game
Nor ask rewards of gold or fame.
Teach me to do the best I can
To help and cheer our fellow man;
Teach me to lose my selfish need
And glory in the larger deed
Which smoothes the road, and lights the day
For all who chance to come my way.

When I was stationed near D.C., we visited The Wall. First thing I did was find your name, as mom had told me about you...