THE WALL OF FACES

Dear Specialist 4 Tenorio ~ You Are Not Forgotten!
This is the 4th year, on the anniversary of your passing, that I ran a mile with you in my thoughts and prayers. Rest in Peace, Dear Brother.

Each year since September 2015, at the annual 5th Division Army reunion, members of the Society of the Fifth Division, U.S Army remember the 514 soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 5th Division, who were Killed in Action in Vietnam. You are among the soldiers remembered. You Are Not Forgotten!

Phil “LT Mike” Maniscalco
Society of the 5th Infantry Division, U.S. Army
Delta Company 1/11 Infantry Regiment
Vietnam Sept 1968- Sept 1969

SP4 Rafael Gabriel Tenorio is buried in the Tucumcari Memorial Park in Tucumcari, NM.

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Specialist Four Rafael Gabriel Tenorio, Served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, United States Army Vietnam. He was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, when he was killed in action.

Until Valhalla God speed

The 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division was dispatched to South Vietnam following the Tet Offensive in support of 3rd Marine Division forces deployed in Quang Tri Province. The brigade served from July 1968 until August 1971, contributing to the defense of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. Combat units included the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry; 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry (Mechanized); 1st Battalion, 77th Armor; A Troop, 4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry; 5th Battalion, 4th Artillery; and A Company, 7th Engineer Battalion. The 5th Infantry Division headquarters were at Camp Red Devil, located on a portion of Dong Ha Combat Base, 13 kilometers (8.0 miles) northwest of Quang Tri City. On June 26, 1969, elements of B Company, 1/77 Armor were patrolling National Route QL-9 west of Khe Sanh Combat Base. Around mid-morning, the reconnaissance force found enemy markings of various bars and inverted vees carved into a tree. A search of the immediate area had negative findings. That afternoon, a tank in the patrol struck a mine in the road. The large explosion crippled the tank, killing two and wounding five others. The lead element of the force saw and engaged a North Vietnamese Army soldier running away from the area. The lost U.S. personnel were SP4 Anthony J. Marinelli and SP4 Rafael G. Tenorio. The tank was a total loss. Image: A large cloud of grey smoke (arrow) rises in a photograph taken from inside the 5/4th Arty battery firing position at Fire Support Base Saigon moments after the tank detonated the mine. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org; image from one-six-one.com]