THE WALL OF FACES

RIP my brother. You are still young in my mind and I'm about to turn the last page of a very long journey. We were together from day one until that horrible night on "The Hill".You will always be remembered.

Operation Paul Revere IV was a U.S. Army operation that took place in the Plei Trap Valley near the Vietnam-Cambodia border, lasting from October 20 to December 30, 1966. In early October 1966, U.S. intelligence reported a buildup of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) units near Plei Djereng and Duc Co Special Forces Camps southeast of the Plei Trap Valley. On October 22nd, the 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division was combat assaulted into Plei Djereng and began sweeping west towards the border. The 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry, one of four battalions conducting combat operations in the mountains west of Plei Djereng, placed B Company, 2/8 on a mountain top where they dug in. On the early morning of the 29th, five men in a listening post some 300 yards outside the company perimeter detected movement through the Starlight night-vision device they carried. They were instructed to toss grenades at the approaching enemy and return to friendly lines. At 2:30 AM, B Company began receiving accurate rocket and mortar fire on their position after flares placed in the trees above them at the behest of the company commander were illuminated. The company then received a sustained ground attack by an estimated NVA battalion. The Americans fought back with unit weapons supported by fixed-wing gunship and artillery fire. The enemy broke contact at 10:40 AM, leaving numerous dead behind. U.S. losses were six killed and twenty-three wounded. The lost personnel included SSG Raymond Pearl Jr., SP4 Carroll D. Abbott, PFC Robert D. Benton, SP4 Raymond Doss, PFC Richard F. Musto, and PFC Daniel B. Nolff. After the fighting subsided, a landing zone (LZ) was hastily cut so medivac aircraft could remove the seriously wounded and dead. Army engineers later arrived with chain saws and expanded the LZ for further medivac and resupply of the besieged company. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by William H. Whittley (July 2021)]

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

Specialist Four Carroll David Abbott, Served with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, United States Army Vietnam.

I visit The Wall this day each year to honor you and the other soldiers we lost on Oct. 28 1966. It was a very bad day. RIP my vietnam brother.You are not forgotten .