THE WALL OF FACES

Ky Hoa is a small island off the coast of Vietnam. On the early morning of July 9, 1965, the South Vietnamese Junk Fleet Garrison on Ky Hoa was attacked and overrun by a Viet Cong (VC) force estimated at two companies. The several hundred guerrillas had approached the island in a flotilla of junks, practically under the gunsights of a battalion of U.S. Marines based three miles away at Chu Lai on the nearby mainland. The retaliatory response to the VC initiative took four hours, held up by discussion through military channels about committing the Marines. Complicating the decision was the difficulty of knowing who on the island were VC and who were plain fishermen. The guerrillas, wearing peasant clothing, moved in among the 1500 villagers, making it difficult to distinguish combatant from civilian. At 9:00 AM, Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, were transported by amphibious tracked vehicles to the west side of Ky Hoa. The company moved north to the hamlet of Binh An (2) and to the east where they received heavy small arms and automatic weapons fire from Hill 12 and the hamlet of Xuan My. Artillery was called in on both positions, and two platoons laid down a base of fire while 3rd Platoon assaulted Hill 12. One squad was heavily hit by incoming 81mm mortar fire, and a second squad received machine gun fire while cutting barbed wire at the base of Hill 12. Three Marines were killed and fourteen were wounded. The lost personnel included SGT Clifford A. Roberts, LCPL Ignacio Almanzar Jr., and LCPL William E. Fowler. Marine UH-1E helicopter gunships came on station and silenced the enemy fire with M60 machine guns and rockets. The VC positions on Hill 12 and in the hamlet were quickly secured with six enemy dead counted. The company continued the attack east while Company B, 3/5 landed at 2:50 PM and swept north. The bodies of sixteen Vietnamese navy personnel and their two American naval advisors were found at the junk headquarters. The lost U.S. advisors were LT William L. Brown and BM1 Leon C. Stein. Only a handful of guerrillas were caught, most of the raiders escaping in broad daylight in the junks they came in. Company A departed the island by LVT’s after dark, and Company B established a defensive perimeter for the night. [Taken from Command Chronology, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, July 1965, and “Only Five Minutes to Darkness.” LIFE magazine, July 23, 1965]

Lance Corporal Ignacio Almanzar Jr., Served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Third Marine Amphibious Force.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from Sgt Garza is especially moving. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us.

It has been 55 years, your brothers of A /1/4, have not forgotten you.

I called my father today to wish him a happy 4th of July and our conversation lead me to look up the man my father called his best friend. He told me your 52nd ( if i remember correctly) anniversary of your passing is coming up. My father does not cry often or at all from what I know but he mentioned around this time every year he does. Thank you for paying the ultimate sacrifice on 7/9/1945. My dad misses and thinks of you.

May you rest in peace in Heaven.
Lori Garza - Daughter of Arnold Garza