1/83 Artillery

News & Events

2021

•  Tom Bailey (67-68) sent these photos from a Veterans Day Ceremony at his Granddaughter's school.

Here is what Tom had to say...

"Our second-grade granddaughter's (Age 7) school had a Veterans Appreciation Day.  Flag Raising Ceremony, National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, God Bless America, and a guest speaker explaining Veteran's Day to the kids followed by breakfast and question and answer period where the kids got to ask the Veterans about their time in service, the kids were allowed to ask anything they wanted.  It was divided by classrooms, with about 30 kids per 2 Veterans. Quite interesting.  Still happens in small communities."

Tom, his wife Bonnie and their Grandaughter.

•  Don Eikenberry (66-67) recently was selected for an Honor Flight from Kansas to Washington D.C. Making the trip even better for Don was that his brother Jerry was also on the trip. here are a few photos from that trip.

Don and Jerry (L-R) at the Vietnam Memorial

Jerry was 61-64 with the 2/31st Artillery at Ft. Sill

Don and Jerry (L-R) at the Iwo Jima Memorial

Don presented Lavona (his Honor Flight flight leader) one of our 1/83rd Challenge Coins.

Honor Flight Banquet at the Hilton at BWI Airport

(Done said that  "it was a very nice banquet . Mail call was after dinner. If a Vet wasn't a little teary eyed, he wasn't normal.")

Ed. Note. On some, and perhaps all Honor Flights, the family and friends of the honored Veterans are asked to send a letter to their Vet and they are distributed at the Mail Call that Don mentioned.

•  Warwick Brooker (67-68) one of our Aussie members from the Artillery Survey Section, Detachment 131 Divisional Locating Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, Nui Dat  sent this follow-up to his 9/7/21 entry below.

"The ‘beach’ photo you posted is of a swimming hole and artificial beach at the Murrumbidgee River, about 10 minutes’ walk from our home through bushland. The pond (‘Stranger Pond’ below pic) that is about 40 metres from our back fence is the one I’ve attached."

•  Warwick Brooker (67-68) one of our Aussie members from the Artillery Survey Section, Detachment 131 Divisional Locating Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, Nui Dat  sent this story and photo.

"The end of the pond in this photo is about 40 metres from our back fence. I took the photo about 100 metres along the pond. It’s a water quality pond, only a couple of metres deep. These ponds and several artificial lakes were part of Canberra’s original design. The lakes are fed by rivers, and both the lakes and ponds finally overflow into the Murrumbidgee River. I can walk down to the river in ten minutes, where there’s parkland named ‘Pine Island Reserve’. It includes a couple of artificial beaches – riverbanks that have been shaped and filled with white sand (picture below). I don’t swim in the river, but many people do in the warmer months. It’s the kind of thing I loved to do in my childhood in rural towns in New South Wales and Queensland."

•  Ken Mitchell (70-71) sent this story and photo.

The arms sale announcement from the White House on Wednesday has been met with widespread support from Congress, all but guaranteeing its completion. It marks the first such sale for President Joe Biden, whose administration, like its predecessor, has made countering China its defining foreign policy challenge. The Pentagon's top officer on Monday said China is contributing a "fundamental change to the character of war" amid an escalation in traditional threats and the rise of new ones, like cyberwarfare.

The sale includes 40 self-propelled artillery units, which the Chinese foreign ministry considers a serious infringement on its security interests, saying earlier this week the U.S. is "causing serious damage to China-U.S. relations" and "sending a wrong signal to Taiwanese independence forces."
 

PINGTUNG, TAIWAN - MAY 30: Taiwan artillery battery of 8" SP (M110A2) howitzers during a anti-invasion drill on beach on May 30, 2019 in Pingtung, Taiwan. The live firing was part of annual exercises designed to prove the military's capabilities to repel any Chinese attack.

•  Gary (Doc) Hill (70-71) sent this note and story.

"Here is a Stars and Stripes article that I cut out while I was in VN sometime in 1971. It's about XXIV Corps Artillery, Big Guns of the A Shau Valley on FSB Barbara. I never served on Barbara and it doesn't say what unit the battery was with but does mention artillery units on the DMZ. I thought it was an interesting read and thought others may enjoy it too."

Click here to read.

• Paul Picciuto (69-70) sent this photo of him and his Dad Tony, a WWII Veteran of the Pacific Theater, who just celebrated his 99th Birthday.

Check out this New Item that I posted last year on Paul's Dad. Look for the 8/1/20 News Item on this page.

• Allen Morley, one of our Aussie members, sent this photo of a recent visit to the School of Military Engineering Museum in Sydney by he and some of his 131 DLB mates.

The key to the photo is L to R:

Gordon Malcolm, Radar, (67-68), Kevin Browning , Survey, (68-69), Ian Amos, Radar, (67-68), Allen Morley, Q-store (67-68), Grahame Dignam, Orderly Room (67-68), Bob Billiards LPs (67-68), Jim Fitzgerald Radar (66-67), Ernie Newbold LPs (67-68) and Ged Carroll, Radar (66--67).

• Warwick Brooker, one of our Aussie members, standing watch on ANZAC Day 2021.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".

• Pat Duggan, one of our New Zealand members, and his wife Ella relaxing after an ANZAC Day 2021 Parade.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".

• Dennis Blalock (67-68) sent this look back at his Thanksgiving Meal in 1967.

• Denny Donati (70-71) has been volunteering at a local Veterans facility for a long time and does some very fine work helping the Vets at that facility. Well now he can add "Train Engineer" to his duties. Here is a note that Denny sent along with some photos:

"So I am back volunteering at the VA. We are kind of open. The outpatient clinic is open. That is where the train layout is. So twice a day the two days that I am there I run the trains for awhile. The pictures I sent show the Spirit of Seventy Six train, the Super Chief, and the Army train. The Army train includes a car with a cannon (175?), a submarine car (Army?), and a Minuteman Missile box car. It actually shoots nerf rockets. A lot of guys stop to talk about when they had their trains or still do.

The trains are Lionel and MPG. All of it is donations. The VA carpenters built the layout, the electricians wired it, the patients painted the ceramic houses, and volunteers run it and maintain it. We were currently featuring a St. Paddy's Day parade on Main Street. That will be replaced by the Easter parade. There are a few Plasticville buildings and some that were made from scratch. The airplane hangars are juice cans cut in half. Yep, that is a Santa Fe complete with a lighted Vista car and lighted baggage car.

Denny "

Chief Engineer Donati (What a Vest!)

• Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent the photo below and this note...

"This is a photo of the two 105 (also called 106) howitzers in the VTNG during a pining of MSG Seth Wilkinson to first sergeant. I was elected as an honorary member of B Btry to pin his 1sgt stripes on his collar. The year was 2016. Just a view for you of what the battery fires. Towed by truck howitzer. Unlike our split trails 105 howitzer, this unit has a wheel at the end to turn the whole rig 360 degrees. I may have the opportunity to pull a lanyard in warmer weather."

• Dan O'Brien (69-70 sent the 3 photos below and this note...

"1st Sgt Seth Wilkinson came to the house Sunday with a 155 hollow round that still weighed 70 pounds empty. One third the weight of the 8 inch round. I brought out my 312 field phone from the garage and got a pic of him using it. He said in Afghanistan the 312 and hot loop wires were used when the howitzers set up camp overnight. The current radios broke down a lot do they relied on 50 years old radios to do the job. I have one in the garage and one in the house."

Ed. I think I may have been on the receiving end of a call like this back with the 1/83rd!!

• Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent this "Before and After" photo of him still humping Joe's along with this note...

"1st Sgt Seth Wilkinson brought me a 155 round to load up in case of attack/ only 70 pounds, a training round"

• Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent this photo of him and his son Dan along with this note...

"This is a picture of an M-110A2 howitzer at a local airshow. I and my son Dan are mounted on the steed for a picture. He later did his Army time in the 82nd at Fort Bragg and 2 more years in Korea. The Vermont NG battery is part of two more batteries in Massachusetts. This track may be one of those batteries that are or were on the Brocton Mass NG area. I will see if I can find out if the Brocton unit was part of this 8 inch battery.

Judging from Dan's height I might say this photo was from 1986 which would make him about 12 years old. I was told at that airshow that the track came from a Mass NG unit."

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