05 Dec 2005 Dear Mr. Siebenaller, My family and I visited "The Wall" in October of 1992. I wanted to see the famous Wall I had heard so much about. My father was very hesitant to go. I begged him until he gave in to my whining. We passed a registry book and dad stopped ... flipped a few pages and with mom's help, he soon had a piece of paper in his hand and we were on a mission ... to find you. I never knew my dad lost his buddy in Vietnam (dad was private in his feelings) but my dad has never forgotten you. Panel after panel after panel we walked and then we stopped at panel 40W. I could tell this was very hard for my dad. He took a deep breath and started counting the rows one by one until he got to row 47. He slowly looked at each name and then he whispered "There you are", as if he were looking in your eyes. All I could do was put my hand on his back, and look the other way. I could see the tears in his eyes and his hand was shaking as he touched "you". Daddies aren't supposed to cry ... but sometimes they need to. We took pictures and did a pencil rubbing of your name that I'm sure dad has tucked away in a safe place. All-in-all,it was a very emotional day. It was hard to get dad to go and it was even harder to get him to leave. Once we left, he never spoke of the visit. It was too much for him. I never knew you but I am sure if you were anything like my dad, I would have really liked you. I am honored that I got the chance to find out about you through this web site. I wanted to make sure you got a memorial and that you weren't forgotten. Thank you sir, for serving our country and for the sacrifices you made. May you rest in peace. May you always remain a hero in the hearts of those who loved you, and those who were blessed by your friendship. Sincerely, Jenny (Bender) Kapelka daughter of Tom Bender jkapelka@toast.net

 

25 May 2007 I did not get the privilege of meeting you. I wish we could have crossed our paths. I enterd the Army to honor your name. Grandpa tells stories of you all the time. You're in a better place now. Until we meet... From his great-nephew, Jeremy jerm44@excite.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall The 4th Infantry Division's Operations Report for August-October 1967 contains the following entry: The first two sentences address the sighting of North Vietnamese troops at coordinates YB849210, about 5 kilometers south-southwest of Ben Het. The remainder of the paragraph addresses a series of actions that took place 9 kilometers southwest of the "Oasis" airfield - at the northeastern end of the Ia Drang River Valley, about 25 kilometers northeast of where the fights made famous in "We Were Soldiers Once - and Young" took place. Helicopters from C Troop, 2/17 Cavalry received fire from the location and responded with fire and a reaction force from their aero-rifle platoon. A light observation helo, OH-6A serial 66-07909, was shot down, leaving three injured flyers on the ground several hundred meters from the NVA force. The 2nd Plt, A/2/8 Infantry moved to the area, engaged the NVA, and recovered the three men from the downed helo. The two American soldiers killed in the engagements were SGT Edward J. Maslyn, Lakeland, FL, Aero-Rifle Plt, C/2/17 Cav, and SP4 Robert C. Siebenaller, Tiffin, OH, 2nd Plt, A/2/8 Infantry.

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