THE WALL OF FACES

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

My dear cousin Martin (aka Mambo) We miss you, love you, and dwell in our hearts for eternity. Thank You for your Service.
Love,
~The Diaz Family~

Dear Sp4 Martin Vasquez, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman with the 1st Cavalry. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart . Autumn has begun. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

SP4 Martin M. Vasquez was an infantryman serving with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. At approximately 5:05 PM on November 4, 1971, SP4 Vasquez was involved in an altercation with an unknown African American individual at a Vung Tau (RVN) establishment named “Tokyo Steambath.” During the fight, the Black man allegedly shot Vasquez in the neck with a .25 caliber pistol and fled the scene. Vasquez was taken to the 1st Australian Field Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the neck with the bullet lodged in the left side of his head behind the left eye. He was later transferred to the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Vasquez’ remains were taken to Tan Son Nhut where an autopsy was conducted. The shooter was eventually identified as SFC Andre J. St. Laurent, a U.S. Army Green Beret and Canadian national who had recently acquired American citizenship. St. Laurent admitted to shooting Vasquez during a scuffle in the steam room. He said the fracas occurred after he heard screams and ran into a massage cubicle where Vasquez was brawling with a Vietnamese masseuse. When St. Laurent intervened, Vasquez attacked him, and during the struggle the gun went off. At a court martial hearing, St. Laurent said he feared being accused of murder and left Vasquez on the floor of the steam room and drove back to his base north of Vung Tau. An Army pathologist testified that the gun could have been in Vasquez’ hand when it went off, based on autopsy results. St. Laurent was ultimately acquitted of murder. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Green Beret Acquitted.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, February 23, 1972]

SP4 Martin M. Vasquez was an infantryman serving with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 4, 1971, SP4 Vazquez was on R&R in Phuoc Tuy Province, RVN, when he was allegedly murdered, the victim of small arms violence. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]