THE WALL OF FACES

PFC Cecil E. Callender was a Medical Corpsman serving with the 61st Medical Detachment, 68th Medical Group, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam Medical Command. During the time Callender served in Vietnam, the 68th Medical Group operated field, evacuation, and surgical hospitals plus an Air Ambulance Company in three Military Regions of the country (southern MR II, MR III & MR IV). Callendar’s unit, the 61st Medical Detachment, was dispersed throughout the Group’s area of responsibility, and in early 1971, he was in Binh Dinh Province at the 67th Evacuation Hospital at Qui Nhon. On January 10, 1971, a Sunday, he and a group of friends were off duty and went swimming in the waters of the South China Sea at Qui Hoa Beach located five kilometers (3.0 miles) south of Qui Nhon Air Base. The beach was not an authorized recreational area for enlisted personnel, and no certified lifeguards were supervising the swimmers. At approximately 1:45 PM, one of the swimmers was in trouble and Callender attempted to help. He was pulled under by a current and not seen again. Three others rushed to his aid but were unsuccessful. The incident was reported, and a search was conducted with negative results. Five days later, Callendar’s body was recovered and positively identified. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org; NOTE: A native of Barbados, West Indies, Callendar’s last name is incorrectly spelled on all Army documents, including his gravestone at Long Island National Cemetery in Suffolk County, NY, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Apparently, only his military ID card carried the correct spelling. IMAGE: The unauthorized unit insignia for the United States Army Medical Command.]

PFC Cecil E. Callender was laid to rest at Long Island National Cemetery in Suffolk County, NY. A native of Barbados, West Indies, Callendar’s last name is incorrectly spelled on all Army documents, including his gravestone and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Apparently, only his military ID card carried the correct spelling.

Image courtesy of Redbird Research LLC, Saint Charles, MO.

Never forgotten.

HOOAH

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.