THE WALL OF FACES

Say not in grief he is no more, but live in thankfulness that he was.

SSgt John Wilkens is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York in Kings County.

Dear SSgt John Wilkens, Thank you for your service as a Military Policeman. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is the Epiphany. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance, and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

SSGT John H. Wilkens, SP4 Dennis R. Mason, and PFC Roy W. Neal were military policemen assigned to A Company, 720th MP Battalion. On Tuesday, May 28, 1968, SP4 Mason was driving an escort gun jeep involved in Operation Overtake on Highway 1-A. PFC Neal was the M-60 machine gunner, and his passenger was SSGT Wilkens, the escort NCOIC. The escort was proceeding towards Saigon on Highway 1-A when at 2250 hours (10:50 PM) it was ambushed in an area nicknamed “Rocket Alley”, located between the Thu Duc Water Plant and the Newport Bridge. The Viet Cong fired two rocket-propelled grenades (RPG’s) and small arms fire at the MP gun jeep. One RPG round struck PFC Neal, the other the jeep, causing it to flip over and burst into flame. All three men died in the attack. It was later determined that SSGT Wilkens had managed to empty one magazine from his M-16 rifle at the attackers before succumbing to his wounds. On Memorial Day, May 30, 1968, at 0800 hours, memorial services were held at the 89th MP Group Chapel for SSGT Wilkens, SP4 Mason, PFC Neal, and PFC Daniel J. Flynn, C Company, who was killed in action on May 25th. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and honoredmps.org]

SSGT John H. Wilkens, SP4 Dennis R. Mason, and PFC Roy W. Neal were military policemen assigned to A Company, 720th MP Battalion. On May 28, 1968, all three were killed in action when their gun jeep was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while on routine patrol approximately one half-mile north of the Newport Bridge. [458thseatigers.org ]