THE WALL OF FACES

May those who served never be forgotten. We can never truly repay the great debt we owe our fallen heroes. Rest in peace CPL. Chase, I salute your brave soul. My heart goes out to you and your family. Semper Fidelis!

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

CPL James F. Chase was a squad leader assigned to 2nd Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. On the late afternoon of December 17, 1968, Chase was leading a twelve-man search and destroy patrol south of Da Nang in Quang Nam Province, RVN. The patrol consisted of eleven Marines and a Navy corpsman. Chase walked point with his radioman in the slack position behind him, followed by the M60 machine gunner and the corpsman. As the patrol moved through a rice paddy near the hamlet Le Son (5), four miles northeast of Dai Loc (Ai Nghia), Chase paused to consult a map. He then started up onto a dyke when a powerful explosion hit the front of the column. Evidently, Chase had triggered a booby-trapped M26 grenade rigged with a tripwire. The blast knocked down the point, his slack man, the M60 gunner, and wounded the corpsman in the leg. Despite his injury, the aidman was able to get up on the dyke to Chase. His squad leader was critically injured with multiple fragmentation wounds. A medivac was called, and while under fire, Chase, the gunner, and the wounded corpsman were put aboard. They were carried to Naval Support Activity Station Hospital in Da Nang where Chase was triaged and quickly moved into surgery. He expired shortly after. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and Command Chronology, 1st Marines, December 1968; also, information provided by Bill Sheehan (February 2021)]

Jimmy you are always on my heart, as we celebrated the memorial day and the 4th of July, I think about you...
What would it been like if you came home to us and became a Maine State Police Officer, what would that had been like, you could have seen your boys grow up, been there for us to protect us..
But now you are with, mama, Jimmy, Mike, Erlene, Michael, Gary, all that had gone on before us, as one day we will be with you....
I miss you and you will never be forgotten....
Love, Marilyn

Rest Easy Brother! You're not forgotten, nor will you ever! Semper Fi!