THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from fellow soldier Ernie Dale Ratliff is especially poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us.....

On the remembrance of your 70th birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

SP4 Martin C. Carr was a Light-Wheel Vehicle Mechanic serving with Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry. His unit was located at Camp Enari, a U.S. Army base east of Pleiku in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam and served as the headquarters for the 4th Infantry Division. As a mechanic, SP4 Carr worked on everything from ¼-ton jeeps to M54 5-ton heavy cargo trucks. He rarely got off base and sought any opportunity to get outside of Enari. On April 18, 1970, the driver of a M35 series 2½-ton 6x6 cargo truck offered to let Carr do the driving while they did a test run on the vehicle. After returning from Highway QL-14 to the base, Carr lost control of the truck on a dirt road inside Enari. Evidently, rain had fallen and wet the roads which were treated with used motor oil to keep the dust down. Just a small amount of moisture slickened the oil-covered tracks. Carr reportedly overcorrected when the truck skidded and it overturned down a shallow embankment. The vehicle had no seat belts or roll bar and only a canvas top. Carr suffered a fatal head injury in the crash; the truck’s assigned driver had a minor hand injury. Both were pinned inside the upended vehicle. About a dozen persons nearby came running over and together were able to move the nearly 13,000 lb. truck enough to free the two men. They were taken to the aid station at Enari. Carr’s remains were later transferred to the 71st Evacuation Hospital at Pleiku where he was declared dead by medical staff. MP’s investigated the incident and afterwards determined the cause was accidental. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Ernie Ratliff (July 2020)]

Martin Carr and I were the same age and cousins. Our grandmothers on our Mom’s side were sisters. Our Moms were very close first cousins. I have great and loving memories of Marty. When he came home from Vietnam to his final resting place, is when I started to grow up.

Dear Sp4 Martin Carr,
Thank you for your service as a Light-Wheel Vehicle Mechanic. 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 strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.