THE WALL OF FACES

Never forgotten.

HOOAH

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

Firebase Tomahawk (Hill 132) was a U.S. Army firebase located in the Phu Loc District southeast of Hue in central Vietnam. Tomahawk was constructed in 1969 by units of the 101st Airborne Division beside Highway 1, north of the strategic Hai Van Pass. The base was occupied by the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 138th Artillery when it was assaulted by the North Vietnamese Army’s 4th Regiment during the early morning hours of June 19, 1969. A company barbecue/party with a movie (The Odd Couple) took place on Tomahawk the previous afternoon beginning around 5:00PM. After the BBQ, and during the movie, which was in a tent, it started to rain hard and loud. It was later thought that the enemy used the storm to cover their last infiltrations before the attack. An estimated130 enemy were part of the initial assault and another 150-180 ready to overrun the firebase once the signal was given. The enemy spent the waiting time in a railroad tunnel across the road near Highway 1. After the rain broke up the party, most went to their bunkers while those who had guard duty went to their positions. At about 1:00 AM, the attack started. It went off quickly and was well executed. Unknown to the Americans on Tomahawk, the NVA had worked their way up to the wire on previous nights and cut and taped the wire, making an easy entry through the perimeter. Their initial focus was the infantry platoon on the high ground, the FDC (Fire Direction Center), which took a satchel charge which killed most of the command staff, and the six 155mm self-propelled artillery pieces positioned in a lazy-W pattern on the hill, three of which were destroyed and a fourth rendered unusable. Also destroyed were an ammunition storage area, nine bunkers, the mess hall, the dining tent, the maintenance area, four self-propelled ammo carriers, three two-and-a-half ton trucks, two three-quarter ton trucks, and three jeeps. Due to the darkness and the concentration of friendlies and enemies, only one helicopter gun ship made an attack an hour and a half after the battle begun. The enemy force waiting outside the perimeter to overrun the firebase mistakenly got the wrong colored green flare that signaled retreat rather than attack, and the main force pulled back. Otherwise, Tomahawk would have been totally overrun. At first light, the enemy pulled out. The assault accounted for the loss of fourteen U.S. (including nine National Guardsmen from the 138th Artillery). The lost Americans included SP4 Troy Bethea, FSG Luther M. Chappel, SGT Harold R. Christensen II, SP4 David B. Collins, CPL Donald L. Curtin, SP4 Richard V. Daly, SSG Edward M. Hardwick, SGT Larry W. Kinder, SP4 William J. Kuhns, SP4 Joseph R. McIlvoy, SSG James T. Moore, PFC Luis J. Simancas, SP4 Ronald E. Simpson, and SSG Albert C. Wall. Another 37 artillerymen were wounded. A reported 23 NVA were killed. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, 327infantry.org, and the book “Sons of Bardstown” by Jim Wilson]

Dear Sp4 David Collins,
Thank you for your service as a Field Artillery Basic. Today is the last day of 2017, Happy New Year, and it is the 7th Day of Christmas. It is so 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.

Specialist Four David Burr Collins, Served with Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 138th Artillery Regiment, XXIV Corps, United States Army Vietnam.