THE WALL OF FACES

War drew us from our homeland
In the sunlit springtime of our youth.
Those who did not come back alive remain
in perpetual springtime -- forever young --
And a part of them is with us always.

Dear Cpl Ronald, Thank you for your service as a Heavy Construction Equipment Operator. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Today is Independence Day. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Corporal Ronald Burton Taylor, Served with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 86th Engineer Battalion, 34th Engineer Group, 20th Engineer Brigade, United States Army Vietnam.

PFC John R. Schmude and PFC Ronald B. Taylor were heavy construction equipment operators serving with Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 86th Engineer Battalion. On August 4, 1968, they were traveling in a convoy near the village of Kien Tuong in Kien Tuong Province, RVN, driving a 10-ton truck pulling a low-boy trailer with a wrecked Rome Plow. They were headed back to base for major repairs to the plow when their truck suffered a flat front tire. The mechanized security for the convoy misjudged the situation by continuing down the road with the rest of the convoy, believing Schmude and Taylor would quickly change the tire and fall back in line. Although the security kept them in plain view, it was from quite a distance they realized their critical mistake. The driver and his “shotgun” partner were taken by surprise while changing the tire by a Viet Cong strike of AK-47 fire which caught them momentarily defenseless on the side of the road. Neither had a chance to escape the sudden assault and both were fatally wounded. A satchel (explosive) charge was also thrown in the truck’s cab which destroyed the vehicle. In the aftermath, the previously wrecked plow still sat solidly in place aboard the low bed trailer, now accompanied by destroyed equipment and men. Both Schmude and Taylor were posthumously promoted to corporal. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and the book “Grading Vietnam” by Terry T. Brown]

Dear CPL Ronald Burton Taylor, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter