ITEMS LEFT AT THE WALL

United States Military Academy at West Point Class of 1963 Vietnam casualty poster dedicated to U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Vesa Juhani Alakulppi, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) James Lisman Blackwell, Jr., U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Lawrence Alan Britten, U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant (1stLt) Jack Orval Eitel, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) John Milton Harrington, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Michael Winston Kilroy, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Burton Kyle McCord, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) James Hunter Shotwell, U.S. Air Force Captain (Capt) William George Sipos, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Michael Joseph Soth, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) William Arthur Stacy Jr., U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Ralph Bamford Walker, II, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) William J. Whitehead, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) George Everett Perry III, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Terence Fairchild Sage, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Frederick Howar Henderson, U.S. Army Captain (CPT) Stephen Andrew Childers, U.S. Air Force Captain (Capt) James Vernon Dawson, & U.S. Army Major (MAJ) Peter Morgan Bentson. The artifact consists of a framed poster bearing the graduation photos, names, and casualty dates of these twenty (20) members of the West Point Class of 1963 who lost their lives during service in the Vietnam War. The artifact was left at The Wall by an anonymous donor in November 1992.

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT CLASS OF 1963 VIETNAM CASUALTY POSTER DEDICATED TO U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) VESA JUHANI ALAKULPPI, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) JAMES LISMAN BLACKWELL JR, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) LAWRENCE ALAN BRITTEN, U.S. MARINE CORPS FIRST LIEUTENANT (1STLT) JACK ORVAL EITEL, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) JOHN MILTON HARRINGTON, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) MICHAEL WINSTON KILROY, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) BURTON KYLE MCCORD, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) JAMES HUNTER SHOTWELL, U.S. AIR FORCE CAPTAIN (CAPT) WILLIAM GEORGE SIPOS, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) MICHAEL JOSEPH SOTH, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) WILLIAM ARTHUR STACY JR, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) RALPH BAMFORD WALKER II, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) WILLIAM J WHITEHEAD, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) GEORGE EVERETT PERRY III, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) TERENCE FAIRCHILD SAGE, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) FREDERICK HOWAR HENDERSON, U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN (CPT) STEPHEN ANDREW CHILDERS, U.S. AIR FORCE CAPTAIN (CAPT) JAMES VERNON DAWSON, & U.S. ARMY MAJOR (MAJ) PETER MORGAN BENTSON. THE OBJECT CONSISTS OF A RECTANGULARLY SHAPED POSTER, BROWN INK PRINTED ON YELLOW OR GOLD COLORED POSTER STOCK, WITH THE GRADUATION PORTRAITS OF TWENTY (20) MEMBERS OF THE WEST POINT CLASS OF 1963 ARRANGED IN FIVE (5) ROWS (2-4-4-4-6, TOP TO BOTTOM, RESPECTIVELY) AT THE PROPER LEFT- AND RIGHT-HAND SIDES AND BELOW TWO (2) WEST POINT COATS OF ARMS PRINTED AT THE CENTER, WITH A THICK BROWN, RECTANGULARLY SHAPED BORDER SURROUNDING ALL. AFFIXED DIRECTLY BENEATH EACH PORTRAIT (LIKELY VIA SOME FORM OF CHEMICAL ADHESIVE) IS A RECTANGULARLY SHAPED PIECE OF WHITE, UNLINED PAPER BEARING BLACK, TYPEWRITTEN TEXT IN BLOCK SCRIPT/ARABIC NUMERALS INDICATING THE NAME AND CASUALTY DATE OF THE SERVICE MEMBER PICTURED. THE COAT OF ARMS PRINTED AT THE UPPER, CENTER OBVERSE OBJECT SURFACE OF THE POSTER IS THE WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY COAT OF ARMS AND CONSISTS OF A SWORD (A UNIVERSAL SYMBOL OF WAR) AND THE HELMET OF PALLAS ATHENA (A FULLY ARMED MYTHOLOGICAL GODDESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARTS OF WAR, WHOSE HELMET SIGNIFIES WISDOM AND LEARNING) ATTACHED TO A SHIELD BEARING THE ARMS OF THE UNITED STATES AND ABOVE WHICH IS A BALD EAGLE WITH WINGS OUTSTRETCHED FACING PROPER RIGHT AND CLUTCHING THIRTEEN (13) ARROWS (REPRESENTING THE THIRTEEN (13) ORIGINAL COLONIES), AS WELL AS OAK AND OLIVE BRANCHES (TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS OF PEACE) IN ITS TALONS. THE EAGLE IS ALSO CLUTCHING A SCROLL BEARING THE ACADEMY MOTTO, "COUNTRY / HONOR / DUTY" AT THE PROPER RIGHT-HAND SIDE AND THE PHRASE, "WEST POINT / MDCCCII [1802 IN ROMAN NUMERALS, THE YEAR THE ACADEMY WAS FOUNDED] / U.S.M.A" IN BLOCK SCRIPT AT THE PROPER LEFT-HAND SIDE. THE COAT OF ARMS PRINTED AT THE LOWER, CENTER OBVERSE OBJECT SURFACE OF THE POSTER IS THE WEST POINT CLASS OF 1963 COAT OF ARMS AND CONSISTS OF AN AMERICAN EAGLE WITH WINGS OUTSTRETCHED AND THE ARABIC NUMERALS NUMBERS "6" AND "3" UPON THE RIGHT AND LEFT WINGS, RESPECTIVELY, FACING PROPER RIGHT AND CLUTCHING A SHIELD BEARING THE RAISED INSCRIPTION, "U.S.M.A." IN BLOCK SCRIPT. SURMOUNTING THE SHIELD IS A SWORD (POINT DOWN), AND BEHIND THE EAGLE/SHIELD IS A CAVALRY SABER (POINT UP) CROSSED WITH A VINTAGE MODEL 1795 SPRINGFIELD ARMORY INFANTRY MUSKET. THE POSTER IS FRAMED ON TOP OF A BROWN COLORED MAT INSIDE A POSTER FRAME CONSISTING OF FOUR (4) SILVER COLORED POLY-PLASTIC MOUNTING STRIPS AT THE FOUR (4) EDGES, A THIN SHEET OF CLEAR PLEXIGLAS AT THE OBVERSE OBJECT SURFACE, AND A THIN SHEET OF BROWN CARDBOARD WITH SEVEN (7) ROUND, VELCRO MOUNTING PADS AFFIXED TO IT AT THE REVERSE OBJECT SURFACE. ADDITIONALLY, THE NUMBER "811" IS STAMPED IN BLACK INK AND ARABIC NUMERALS UPON THE SURFACE OF THE CARDBOARD AT THE LOWER, PROPER LEFT-HAND CORNER OF THE REVERSE OBJECT SURFACE. (SOURCE: UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY WEST POINT- WWW.USMA.EDU)

Text of the printed, typewritten, and stamped inscriptions at the obverse and reverse object surfaces is transcribed in full, as follows: [Obverse object surface, printed inscriptions] "COUNTRY / HONOR / DUTY / WEST POINT / MDCCCII / U.S.M.A. / 63 / USMA" / [Obverse object surface, typewritten label inscriptions] "ALAKULPPI, VESA J. 5/14/68 / BENTSON, PETER MORGAN 7/9/72 / BLACKWELL, JAMES L. JR. 10/17/67 / BRITTEN, LAWRENCE A. 3/30/66 / CHILDERS, STEPHEN A. 1/19/67 / DAWSON, JAMES V. 7/16/69 / EITEL, JACKIE O. 7/6/65 / HARRINGTON, JOHN M. 9/19/66 / HENDERSON, FREDERICK H. 11/3/66 / HINGSTON, WILLIAM E. JR. 1/24/67 / KILROY, MICHAEL W. 5/19/66 / MCCORD, BURTON K. 4/14/66 / PERRY, GEORGE E., III 6/17/66 / SAGE, TERRENCE F. 1/31/68 / SHOTWELL, JAMES H. 5/25/68 / SIPOS, WILLIAM G. 4/6/67 / SOTH, MICHAEL J. 6/21/66 / STACY, WILLIAM A., JR. 3/21/66 / WALKER, RALPH B., II 5/29/67 / WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM J. 4/7/68" / [Reverse object surface, stamped inscription] "811"

Item Weight: 950.0g
Item Length: 56.5cm
Item Width: 71.5cm
Item Depth: 0.75cm (Frame depth)