THE WALL OF FACES

Remember to save for them a place inside of you, and save one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go...

ST1 Freddie L. Tapper was a Sonar Technician serving with Task Force 115, Inshore Undersea Warfare Group 1, (IUWG-1), U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam. IUWG-1 harbor defense and surveillance units protected ports from enemy sappers and swimmers which attempted clandestine attacks against riverine traffic and harbor anchorages. At 2:30 AM on September 29, 1970, Tapper was on harbor patrol duty at Cam Ranh Seaport in Khanh Hoa Province, RVN, when he placed a weapon under his chin and pulled the trigger. He was dead on arrival at the 3rd Surgical Hospital at Binh Thuy where a U.S. military medical examiner recorded Tapper’s death as intentionally self-inflicted. Inexplicably, the Navy decided not to document the incident as a suicide, and in final casualty report issued nine days later, the loss was obliquely referred to “as a result of (a) gunshot wound while on water front (sic) patrol duties.” Tapper was 29 years old. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

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

I never met my Uncle Freddie. He passed before I was born. I just found this website and welcome anyone who knew him and could share stories to reach out to me.

Dear PO1C Freddie Tapper, Thank you for your service as a Sonar Tech. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Independence Day is soon. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.