THE WALL OF FACES

Great sadness fills our hearts today
As pipes and drums, in slow march play.
A comrade’s fallen by the way,
And now we say goodbye.

This hero to the very end
Was more than just a casual friend,
Who would a stranger’s life defend,
And now we say goodbye

But we shall cherish, all our days,
The character this life portrayed
With sacrifice so freely made,
And now we say goodbye.

The hand salute, o’er Stars and Stripes,
And distant skirl of highland pipes,
Bid last farewell with hero’s rights,
And now we say goodbye.

While here on Earth, you gave your best.
Now in the Master’s arms you rest.
T’is by your memory we are blessed.
And now we say goodbye.

Dear PFC Marc Van Dalsem, Thank you for your service as a Quarrying Specialist. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is the end of summer. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

During the summer of 1968, the 19th Engineer Battalion was tasked with upgrading National Highway QL-1 between Bong Son and Mo Duc, RVN. The work included road-widening, bridge building, and placing a sand-asphalt seal coat on a forty-kilometer stretch of QL-1. North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces were active in the area, and frequent contact with the enemy occurred. On the afternoon of July 22, 1968, elements of the 137th Engineer Company were traveling on QL-1 near Dai Duong, three miles south of Tam Quan, when they were caught in an ambush. The 4:15 PM attack raked the convoy with intense fire from the east and west sides of the highway. The engineers fought back with unit weapons and radioed for assistance. Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) armored personnel carriers, gunships, aerial rocket ships, and artillery were called in on the area; however, due to the intense enemy contact, the ambush site could not be immediately reached. The 137th suffered devastating personnel losses with twelve killed. They were PVT George N. Davis, SSG Hugh M. Davis, 1LT David M. Drob, CPT Siegfried L. Graebner, SP4 David B. Kelley, PFC Gerald D. Kiesling, SP5 Roger D. Shafer, SP4 William L. Shrum, SP4 Jerry L. Shultz, SSG Valentine Tucker, PFC Marc G. Van Dalsem, and SGT Gary R. Willeke. A thirteenth engineer was wounded, and two ARVN’s were reportedly killed. The equipment losses included one lowboy trailer with a 5000-gallon tank, another lowboy trailer carrying a D7 dozer, two jeeps, and one three-quarter-ton truck. A reaction force consisting of one platoon from E Company, 17th Cavalry, and another platoon from A Company, 137th Engineer Company, finally reached the ambush site at 11:00 PM and retrieved the dead and wounded. They were unable to ascertain whether the casualties were wearing flak jackets or steel helmets during the attack as all the bodies had been stripped of their gear by the enemy. The twelve men killed during the ambush was one of the largest single engineer event losses during the Vietnam War. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “19th Engineer Battalion United States Army” at 19engrvn.org]

My father was killed in Vietnam when I was 6 months old. I've been told by many people that he was a great guy. I never got to know him but I'm very proud of the sacrifice he made for our country. It means so much to read the messages left by men who served with him.

Dear PFC Marc Gregory Van Dalsem, 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