Eric Williams

Specialist Four
511TH ENG CO, 70TH ENG BN, 937TH ENG GRP, USARV
Army of the United States
07 March 1946 - 11 April 1966
New Orleans, Louisiana
Panel 06E Line 105

USARV

937TH ENG GRP
Army Engineers

National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

The database page for Eric Williams

26 Feb 1967

Williams Bridge

The sign in the above photograph stood adjacent the Bailey Bridge over the Song Ba River near An Khe. The bridge was named Williams Bridge, and the sign reads:

IN MEMORY OF
Specialist Fourth Class Eric Williams
511th Engineer Company (PB)
Killed during the initial
reconnaisance of the site

That is all I knew of Eric Williams for 30 years. I have since found out that Eric was 20 years old when he died on April 4, 1966. I took the above photograph 1 year later as I was doing routine maintenance on the bridge. Hanging out over the edge of the bridge with the monsoon-swollen river racing beneath me, I thought about how miserable a fate it would be to die by drowning in murky waters in a foreign land. Only recently did I learn that is how Eric met his fate. He was a young black man whose home of record was New Orleans. He was Roman Catholic, and he was married.

I dedicate this page to the memory of Eric Williams, and to his family and friends. I want them to know that this bridge stood for many years as a monument to Eric's service and sacrifice. If anyone discovering this page knew Eric or his family, please contact me by e-mailing me at dmouer@vcu.org

To learn more about the unit in which Eric and I both served, though a year apart, please visit the Reunion web for the 70th Combat Engineer Battalion.

If you visit the non-virtual Wall in Washington, D.C., look up Eric at Panel 06E Line 105. This memory was left at the "The Virtual Wall" by

Dan Mouer
511th Engr. Co. and 70th Combat Engineer Battalion, 1966-67
dmouer@vcu.org

27 Feb 2007

ROSES ARE RED
VIOLETS ARE BLUE
THOUGH I NEVER MET YOU, PAPA
I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU

From his grandson,
Eric B. Williams Jr
liloneeric@yahoo.com





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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 26 Feb 1997
Last updated 08/10/2009