THE WALL OF FACES

Specialist Four Gary Wilson York, Served with the 560th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Group, 18th Military Police Brigade, United States Army Vietnam.

I saw Gary in one of my history books, he was on an list of people who died in Vietnam.
He was one of many but he caught my eye.
Thanks for your service.

War drew us from our homeland
In the sunlit springtime of our youth.
Those who did not come back alive remain
in perpetual springtime -- forever young --
And a part of them is with us always.

SP4 Gary W. York was a Unit Supply Specialist attached to the 560th Military Police Company, 97th MP Battalion, 16th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade. On the early morning of January 31, 1972, York and another American serviceman were involved in a shootout with South Vietnamese Home Guards patrolling Pleiku City’s downtown bar strip in Pleiku Province, RVN. Reportedly, the two soldiers were in the bar area after midnight despite an 11:00 PM curfew. The home guard unit came into the area wearing black pajama-type uniforms and carrying M1 carbines while the Americans were dressed in civilian clothes armed with .45 pistols. It was unclear what triggered the gunfight. A U.S. military police patrol responding to the shooting found the two soldiers outside the Holiday Bar. York had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. He was dead on arrival at the 67th Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku. The other man was admitted in fair condition. York’s remains were later released to Graves Registration personnel, beginning the process of repatriation. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “S. Viet Guards Kill GI, Wound Another.” Pacific Stars & Stripes, February 2, 1972]

Dear Sp4 Gary York, Thank you for your service as an Unit Supply Specialist. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Lent has begun. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance, and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.