black


	Lieutenant Charles "Duffy" Black

	Executive Officer - C Company, 4th/47th, 2nd Brigade

	Gia Dinh Province - April 13, 1967


		Charlie Company

	Memorial by Bill Reynolds

Lieutenant Black was one of the fine officers in Charlie Company when all of us came together in May of 1966, as the 9th Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas. He and the other experienced officers and non-commissioned officers worked very hard training us for months before our January, 1967 departure to Viet Nam.

Recently, a friend of mine at work and a former member of Charlie Company, Bill Reed, and I were discussing the Virtual Wall and the fellas that didn't make it back. Bill reminded me that Lieutenant Black had lost his life on April 13, 1967, while attempting to disarm a land mine. Bill and I reminisced how much we had admired Lieutenant Black at Fort Riley and how gung-ho he was in Viet Nam.

Occasionally, I take a look at my old photos, which include our officers and their wives at a celebration dinner prior to our departure to Viet Nam. The photos have Lieutenant Black, Lieutenant Jack Benedick (my platoon leader), Captain Larson, and Lieutenant Colonel Tutweiler - along with their wives. I continue, after all these many years, to have fond memories of that time at Fort Riley and of those officers. Those men truly tried their best to prepare all of us for a very ugly business that lay ahead.

Lieutenant Black was a fine man and a professional soldier who really cared about his fellow soldiers. I can only suppose that quality led him to heroically try to disarm that land mine.

P.S. If other 4th/47th soldiers read this and can provide additional details, it would be very much appreciated.

Letter From Larry and Liz Ernst - September 10, 2001

Dear Bill, this past Sunday I went to Peoria, Illinois to see the "Traveling Wall" for the first time. My objective was to look for the name of a very good friend of mine, Duffy Black. It brought back so many memories that I knew I had to find out more. I decided tonight that I would check out the Internet as it has so much information and I found your Web Site. When I saw Duffy's name and picture, it brought tears to my eyes. I had not him seen since 1963. We were both stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi going to tech school. I was in the Airforce and he was in the Army. Our barracks were next to one another and both of us being from Illinois it didn't take long to get to know each other. He was going to forward air traffic controller school and had just enlisted in the Army. At the time, he was an enlisted man, not an officer. We had many good times. I remember the Christmas that we had a 3 Day Pass and drove my car to Illinois for Christmas dinner. We drove straight through and he dropped me off at my house in Canton and he went on to Peoria to his parent's house. He picked me up later that afternoon and back we went. I can remember so many of the places we went on weekends and some of the funny things that happened. I went back to Mississippi years later and went to those places and talked to some of the people we had made friends with in Mississippi and Alabama. I knew he had been killed in Viet Nam and that he was a Lieutenant, but nothing more. My wife and I have thought many times of trying to locate his family in Peoria but didn't know where to start. I didn't even know that he had gotten married. I just wanted you to know that he had a friend in Canton, Illinois that still remembers him and will never forget. Thanks a lot. Larry and Liz Ernst, Bob 37, Canton, Illinois

P.S. Does anyone know if any of his family is still around. Thanks again, Larry.