THE WALL OF FACES

Dear A2C Charles Ward, Thank you for your service service with the 366th Combat Engineer Squadron. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart . Happy Halloween. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

After many, many years I still think of Dwight. He was a dear friend. From time to time I still visit his gravesite. I'm 75 now and don't know how many years I have left to visit him. It's been a long journey for me but I long to see him again.

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for stepping up and answering your country's call. Rest easy knowing you will never be forgotten.

I rode the trucks and fought the fires with these eight hero's. The year i was there (may 1967 thru may 1968) our shift (20 Air Force and 8 Marines)pulled 137 people from crashed burning aircraft. I still have dreams about some of those situations. I was closest to Ward who had gotten married 3 days before departing for DaNang. Great guys.

Shortly after midnight on July 15, 1967, Da Nang Air Base in Quang Nam Province, RVN, came under a heavy rocket attack. The attack started at 12:25 AM and an estimated 50 rounds of 122mm rockets were fired at the installation. Nine USAF personnel were killed during the barrage and 128 others were wounded, 40 of them requiring hospitalization. Another 35 U.S. Army personnel on the base were also wounded. Counter-battery fire was initiated immediately, supported by AC-47 “Spooky” gunships. By 2:00 AM, artillery and air strikes were hitting possible enemy escape routes. The bombardment, which lasted approximately 30 minutes, started numerous fires and resulted in extensive structural damage to U.S. Navy, Marine and Air Force facilities. There was heavy damage to the bomb storage area and moderate damage to the airfield. In addition, eight aircraft were destroyed and 45 aircraft were damaged during the attack. The lost USAF personnel included A1C John S. Berg, A2C Charles F. Boss, A1C James F. Brooks, SSGT David A. Fasnacht, A2C Charles R. Humble, A1C Ronald F. Poole, A2C James H. Price, A2C Jerald K. Sumida, and A2C Charles D. Ward. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly Historical Summary, July 1967]