THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. May you rest in eternal peace.

The Battle of An Ninh took place September 18–19, 1965, between the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Rangers. It occurred during an operation code named Operation Gibraltar, developed to clear the area around the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division base at An Khe, RVN. Around 7:00 AM on the 18th, after preliminary airstrikes, the first wave of helicopters dropped 224 men of the 2/502nd Infantry and a company of ARVN Rangers in a landing zone near the village of An Ninh, 18 miles east of An Khe. Unknown to the U.S./ARVN forces, they had landed in the middle of an NVA training base. When the second wave of helicopters arrived at the landing zone, the NVA unleashed intense fire, forcing back the second wave without dropping the soldiers. The lack of artillery support posed dire difficulties for the Americans on the ground. Air support was initially unavailable due to a contaminated fuel supply at Bien Hoa Air Base, and it was only shortly after 9:00 AM that the first F-100 fighter-bombers arrived. Fifty close-air support missions were flown by dusk, hitting targets as close as 100 yards from the U.S. lines, causing two casualties from friendly fire. The continuous effort to reinforce the besieged troops and evacuate the wounded under enemy fire involved 26 helicopters. In the afternoon, a U.S./ARVN relief force was transported to a landing zone not far from the battle, but before they could regroup and advance, night fell, and they had to stop. By the time the relief force arrived, the NVA had already retreated. U.S. casualties were seventeen dead and twenty-four wounded. The lost Americans included SP4 Frank Boynton, SSG George E. Burchett, 1LT Patrick A. Deck Jr., MAJ Herbert J. Dexter, SSG Johnnie W. Faircloth, 2LT Edward H. Fox, PFC Ernest K. Gerhardt, PFC Leroy Hicks, SP4 Joe L. Meek, SP4 Ernest L. Miller, CPT Robert E. Rawls, PFC Paul E. Rytter, SSG Duane C. Schell, SSG Roynald E. Taylor, SSG Larry L. Truesdale, PFC Jerry D. Underwood, and PFC Johnnie P. Winfrey. A body count conducted after the battle claimed between 226 and 257 NVA dead, most of them killed by air bombardment. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and wikipedia.org]

Dear SSGT George Burchett,
Thank you for your service as an Aircraft Qualified Food Service Specialist. It is important for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

George is buried at Park Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, McLean County, IL.

Dear SSGT George Elmer Burchett, 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, and for those who love you.

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

Curt Carter