THE WALL OF FACES

I never knew you John but, as you & I grew up in Pine Hill I knew I had to leave a few words. Thank you, John for your service. You & so many others have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we are able to live free. Welcome home. God Bless & RIP

Taken from the website:

http://www.bobcat.ws/cartwright.htm

Photo courtesy of Joan Lockwood (sister)

John Stanborough Cartwright was born June 19, 1947 in Pine Hill, New Jersey. He was the youngest of six children and was raised by his mother. They were very close. His mother was devastated the day he left for the Army.
John had a love for cars, motorcycles, racing cars and working on all kinds of cars. He shared this love with his older brothers, which created a great bond between them. He had a girlfriend for many years that he would have married had he not died in Vietnam. A fellow soldier recalled that PFC Cartwright’s girlfriend sent him the record “I Am the Happiest Girl in the Whole USA” by Donna Fargo.
PFC Cartwright was a member of the 1st Battalion (Mechanized) 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, “Bobcats”. He was a track driver, also known as an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). He was killed when his track ran over a land mine in the Ho Bo Woods in the Tay Ninh Province on May 4, 1967. PFC Cartwright began his tour only four months earlier on January 13, 1967. He was 19 years old. PFC Cartwright was buried on May 15, 1967 in the Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey, Burlington County.
PFC Cartwright was honored after his death. The Rotary Club of Pine Hill gave him a citizen’s award. He was awarded two Bronze Stars: one for valor and heroism the other for meritorious service and for his efforts and professional ability. He was given a Purple Heart for his mortal wounds. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, John’s name is on panel 19E, row 035.

FOREVER REMEMBERED

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you....and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.....Be not ashamed to say you loved them....
Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own....And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind...."

Quote from a letter home by Maj. Michael Davis O'Donnell
KIA 24 March 1970. Distinguished Flying Cross: Shot down and Killed while attempting to rescue 8 fellow soldiers surrounded by attacking enemy forces.

We Nam Brothers pause to give a backward glance, and post this remembrance to you, one of the gentle heroes lost to the War in Vietnam:

Slip off that pack. Set it down by the crooked trail. Drop your steel pot alongside. Shed those magazine-ladened bandoliers away from your sweat-soaked shirt. Lay that silent weapon down and step out of the heat. Feel the soothing cool breeze right down to your soul ... and rest forever in the shade of our love, brother.

From your Nam-Band-Of-Brothers

John, Although we never met, I just want you to know you are not forgotten. You gave the ultimate sacrifice, your life for what you believed in. Sleep well and thank you.

I may only be a 17 year old senior from Central Illinois, but I can still appreciate the sacrifice you gave for our country in Vietnam. I can not put into to words my full appreciation and gratitude, but I just wanted you to know that their are still people that remember your actions.