THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Dear SFC Woodrow Wilson, Thank you for your service as an Armor Reconnaissance Specialist. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Today is Groundhog Day. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance, and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

The 1st Battalion, 69th Armor was alerted to begin preparations for deployment to the Republic of Vietnam in December 1965. Deployment began in January 1966 with the Battalion deploying fifty-two new M48A3 tanks with the new series AN-GRC 12 radios. Contrasting with the old battalion M48A2 vehicles, the new A3 models still featured the 90mm cannon, a M2HB cupola mounted .50 caliber machine gun, and a 7.62mm M72 coaxial machinegun. However, it now boasted a V12 Continental Diesel engine which more than doubled the tank's combat range and significantly reduced the hazard of fire. 1/69 Armor played a critical role in the defense of Pleiku, Kontum, Dak To, and National Highway QL-19 during the first month of the 1968 Tet Offensive. The following month, the battalion moved its forward headquarters to Camp Radcliff in An Khe. Under the operational control of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, it participated in Operation Walker, a security operation along the coastal plain near Bong Son in Binh Dinh Province. On March 19, 1968, the second day of Walker, SSG Woodrow Wilson, an Armor Reconnaissance Specialist serving with Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 1/69, died from injuries he received when the tank he was commanding lost a track and went out of control. He was thrown from the vehicle and suffered fatal chest injuries after the vehicle passed over him. Wilson was posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and wikipedia.org]

The little boy look on your face inspired me to read your remembrances, and the first thing I noticed was that you were born on Pearl Harbor day, even if it was actually bombed after you were born. Then I noticed your rank and thought about how special you must have been to so many, yet they have not stopped by to tell us more about you. Thank you for serving and paying the ultimate price for your country and for those who served with you. I pray that they come across this site and pay tribute to the man you were, to open a window into what I’m sure was a well-lived life. RIP with the warriors. You are not forgotten.

Dear SFC Woodrow Wilson, 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, for those who love you, and for the Sgt's son.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter (son of Sgt. Ardon William Carter, 101st Airborne, February 4, 1966, South Vietnam)