29 May 2006 This article was originally published June 1992 in THE PARAGRAPH, a monthly newsletter of the Mid-South Chapter (Memphis, TN) of the Paralyzed Veterans of America and respectfully submitted by the author, Jerry R. Hinson D.Ph. who has served veterans for 28 years at the Memphis VA Medical Center. He was raised in the same community as PFC David Seiber. I remember a solemn church service some 23 years ago. It was at my local community church. The church where as long as my memory serves me, I can remember my Grandpappy Hinson kneeling and praying for the orphans, the widows, the sick and the bereaved wherever they might be. This particular solemn Sunday church service was the day it was announced that J.C. and Eliza Seiber's youngest son David had been killed in the Vietnam War. That Sunday the bereaved in my world sat side by side right there within the four walls of a little country wood frame church which set on a rock foundation. That day I knew J.C. and Eliza Seiber's world had been shattered forever. It hurt me 23 years ago and it still hurts me today. The Seibers, like the rest of our community, were poor, honest, and hard working people who always did the best they could with what little they had. They were proud of their son and now they had lost him in a little war-torn country called Vietnam which was halfway around the world from us. It never seemed right nor fair to me. David Seiber was the only young man from my local community who was killed in Vietnam and I'll never forget the ultimate price he paid. This Memorial Day column is dedicated to him and the other Americans who have given their lives in war while fighting for the United States of America. Saturday May 23rd, 1992, my oldest son Andrew and I went to the Memphis VA National Cemetery. We went with our Boy Scout Troop 64. At the cemetery we met with other members of the Chickasaw Council of Boy Scouts of America and participated in a memorial service which was followed by the posting of 39,000 flags on the graves of veterans. During the Memorial Day Service I was reminded of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address which was given on November 19, 1863 at Gettysburg National Cemetery [sic]. "We cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate - we cannot hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced ... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." On Monday, May 25th,1992, Memorial Day, I called my mother on the phone to check on everybody back home.I asked her about J.C. and Eliza Seiber and how they were doing. She said they were getting on up in years and both had been rather sick lately. I told Momma about us putting flags on the graves for Memorial Day here in Memphis. She and others of my family had been to the local cemetery back home and she informed me that American Flags had been placed on all of the veterans' graves. I felt better knowing that young PFC David Seiber had been remembered. The next time me and my boys are back home we aim to visit J.C. and Eliza Seiber. I want them to rest assured that we have not forgotten the last full measure of devotion - which their son gave. From a friend of family, Jerry R Hinson 7364 Stout Road, Germantown, Tn 38138 jerry.hinson@med.va.gov

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall In February 1969 the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, was directed to block and destroy NVA transportation routes in the Plei Trap Valley. The operation began on 1 March 1969 with a combat assault by A Company, 3/12 Infantry, into Landing Zone Swinger. After securing LZ Swinger for artillery emplacement A/1/12 and other 1st Brigade rifle companies spread out into the valley looking for NVA troops. Late in the afternoon of 03 March, A Company, 3/8 Infantry, found them when they were engaged by enemy troops. The initial contact was heavy and the Artillery Forward Observer's RTO (PFC Santos) was killed in the first few minutes, reducing the effectiveness of artillery support. The contact rapidly degenerated into a violent up-close infantry fight. By the time the NVA were forced from their defensive positions Alpha 3/8th Infantry had lost twenty-one men: CPT Dennis R. Isom, Drexel Hill, PA (Company Commander) 1LT Robert E. Griffith, Big Spring, TX (Bronze Star "V") SGT George R. Robinson, New York, NY SP4 Melvin L. Applebury, Eugene, OR SP4 Philip L. Baker, Correctionville, IA (Medic from HHC/3/8) SP4 Fred D. Burton, Chase City, VA SP4 Dennis J. Coll, Springfield, NJ (Silver Star) SP4 Charlie Fields, Winter Garden, FL SP4 Rodger D. Force, Millport, NY SP4 Rupert W. Goebel, Gastonia, NC (Medic from HHC/3/8) SP4 Barry D. Horton, Airway Heights, WA (Silver Star) SP4 Willie J. Hudson, Lovingston, VA SP4 Vernon E. Lail, Conover, NC SP4 William J. Schaaf, Baltimore, MD SP4 Joseph Schmich, St Louis, MO PFC Paul J. Buczolich, River Rouge, MI PFC Michael England, Athens, GA PFC William T. Rector, Front Royal, VA PFC Layne M. Santos, Los Angeles, CA (Arty FO RTO from C Btry, 6/29th Arty) PFC David A. Seiber, Waynesboro, TN (Silver Star) PFC Willard A. Wimmer, Baltimore, MD The Melton Cemetery in Lewis County, Tennessee, is a small, rural cemetery located on land contributed by Cynthia Sieber Melton. Although many members of the Seiber family are buried here, the cemetery is named after its contributor, using her married surname. The headstones in the cemetery bear witness to the Seiber family's service to their country: Sgt Frederick O. Seiber, E Co 3rd Bn, East TN Volunteers CSA 1861-1865 Levi Seiber, Pvt Co A 131 Inf WWI Woodford S. Seiber, SFC US Army, Veteran of WWII, Korea, Vietnam Ira Seiber, PFC US Army World War II Charles W. Melton, US Navy, World War II Randall K. Seiber, PFC, US Army and David Andrew Seiber, PFC, Co A, 8 INF, 4 INF DIV, Vietnam SS-PH Two other graves lie beside David Seiber - those of his parents, J. C. Seiber (03 May 1914 ï¿ 1/2 10 Mar 2002) and Eliza Ann Clay Seiber (29 Jan 1920 ï¿ 1/2 18 May 1996).

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