1/83 Artillery Update

2nd Quarter 2021

1/83rd Unit News

and

General News

May 18th will be the 52nd Anniversary of the death of our Fred (Doc) Paddleford, a Veteran of HQ, A and C Batteries (1968-69). More on Doc can be found on our website.

(Rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial)

June 25th will be the 50th Anniversary of the death of our Wayne Murphy, a Veteran of HQ Battery (1970-71). More on Wayne can be found on our website.

(Rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial)

Lest we Forget.

2. Our Emails - Unfortunately many of the emails I send out these days have sad and difficult news about one of our group or their family. In these emails I have asked you to reach out with your prayers and messages of support.  The way in which you respond to those requests is very gratifying and deeply appreciated by those who have received that support. I know this because in addition to being a recipient of such support, I have heard from many of you who have told me how overwhelmed and appreciative they were to receive that support. As I have said many times, you guys are the best.

I did want to pass along one instance where we just had one of the group ask to be totally removed from our roster and email. His comments were upsetting. This person told me "the last thing I want to read about is other sick/dying/dead members of an organization I never quite identified with." I did honor his request to remove him and all I can say is how grateful I am to the rest of you who don't feel the same as this person does. If we cannot support each other then why do we stay in touch. Isn't that what our brotherhood is all about?!

To continue, there often are other times where I have sent out a request for some help in tracking down some information. This may be help in finding someone, help to connect old  and lost friends, help in answering different types of questions. You again have responded in tremendous fashion and helped solve a lot of questions and brought some measure of closure to someone in our group.  This type of effort is one of my most personally gratifying aspects of what I do. Thanks again for all that you do!

3. Photos on the website - I have now re-created all the photo slideshows that are on the website. You may find that they may take a bit longer to load but I believe I have completed that project. Let me know if you think any are missing.

As I had told you in my last "Update" many of the photoshows that are on the website were created with software called Roxio Photoshow. Unfortunately this software was discontinued by Roxio as of December 31, 2020. There were 116 of these shows so it was a long, drawn out process to get them converted.

4. Future Reunions - I have received a few (but not many) inquiries about possible future 1/83rd Reunions. First of all, there are quite a few factors to consider, most of which, while pretty obvious, still need to be considered before going forward.

a. The Virus situation.

1. News on the spread and/or control of this virus is the first and foremost consideration. It would not be wise to go into this topic without understanding the uncertainty of this issue and how well under control it is.
2. Wearing a mask is not particularly appealing but may be necessary. I know that depending upon where you live you may have vastly different feelings on this but in many places masks are required. We need to be considerate of everyone who would attend and it does not seem like masks will be going away anytime soon. Our health is paramount as we should all agree.
3. Different states have varying requirements regarding the need for visitors to quarantine. Obviously a state that would require all visitors to quarantine would not work.
4. We could inadvertently expose others to the virus.

b. How comfortable are you with traveling.

1. Flying vs. driving is always a consideration. While driving allows you more freedom, it is not possible nor desirable for many of us.
2. Flying is particularly challenging right now. Even though apparently air travel is on the rise, airline schedules have been changed in many places which could lead to challenges in finding flights.

c. What is your level of interest in another Reunion.

1. Do you want to go to a Reunion?
2. What would be a desired location? Keep in mind travel considerations.
3. Would you want a Reunion similar to what we have had in the past or a more bare-bones get together?
4. Would you like to organize a Reunion?

d. The collective age of our group.

1. As our group ages, traveling in general presents more of a challenge. That along with the virus situation are probably the 2 things that make it so difficult to plan.

e. The Financial Risks involved.

1. When we had to cancel the 2020 Reunion we were very fortunate (thanks to Don Eikenberry) that we were able to cancel our contract without financial penalty. Had we incurred a penalty, it would have been extreme.
2. A more bare-bones get together without signing any hotel contracts would not put us in a similar situation if we needed to cancel.

I know that there are other considerations but these are just some of them. It would be helpful to get your feedback on this subject. If you could send me your thoughts along with answers to the questions in items C1-C4 above it would be helpful. Please also let me know if you have any questions.

5. Updates - As I mentioned last time, I am now planning on doing these News Updates quarterly. If I get enough to warrant it, I may also update the quarterly updates I have already posted with new material. I am not overly confident that will happen but if I do, I will let you know.

6. Support - Please let me know if anyone of you or your family have health situations so we can let everyone know of the need for our support.

7. News - if you have any good news that you want to share send it along. Having good news to share would be a real pleasure, as it seems like we are constantly only talking about sad news. Here is the latest 1/83rd News.

Interesting Links and More

1. Al Saltzman (66-67)  sent this version of God Bless the USA, it is a great video. Click here.

2. Bob Billiards, one of our Aussie members sent this message and link...

"The VVMF In Memory program looks really special. You blokes do the veteran remembrance really well. Basically we only have ANZAC day and also the last post ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra where they remember one person from all of our wars every day at 4:45PM. There are 102,000 members of the armed forces so the ceremony will go on for about 280 years. Click here"

Did you Know

If you like your steaks rare you might say “I like them bloody”, but the red liquid that comes out of a rare steak isn’t actually blood (the majority of which is removed during slaughter), but water retained in the muscle tissue mixed with a protein called myoglobin.

(Courtesy of How-To Geek Newsletter)

1/83rd Website

1. Please let me know if you come across any links in my website that are broken. With so much content, it is inevitable that links go out of date so let me know if you find one that does not work.

2. If you come across anything that you think may be a good addition to our website let me know. Also, if you have any questions or suggestions regarding the website, let me know.

3. Check out all the latest updates by looking at the website Table of Contents.

Vietnam Veterans of America

1/83rd Roster

Full Roster on Website - Check your entry on the Full Roster to make sure all your information is up to date. Notify me if any changes are necessary. If your email stops working, I cannot reach you if you have incomplete or incorrect contact details on the roster.

Please remember that all contact info that we have for our group can be found on the Full Roster. This is the best spot to start if you need to contact one of the group.

Your Personal Contact Information - Once again I am asking you to please be sure to let me know if your contact information has changed.  I have had quite a few lately where either your email address or postal address is outdated and I was not notified. If your email address changes and you haven't provided a current postal address and phone number it makes it difficult or impossible for me to find you. Nothing is worse than losing someone just because of "paperwork" so keep me updated so I can keep the Full Roster up to date.

There is a long-standing page on our website where I list men that are either missing, inactive or trying to be located by someone in our group. I am asking everyone to review that page and let me know if you have updates you would like me to make.

I am sure that each of us has someone they would really like to reconnect with. If we all pitch in, we may find many more of our old buddies. Here are some ways to do that:

1. If you are in contact or have contact info for any 1/83rd guys please contact them and tell them about our group or at least tell me and I will contact them.

2. Look through the roster on the website and if you know of others who are not listed, let me know who they are. Also, if you see any incorrect or missing info (including your own entry) let me know.

3. If you have copies of old orders tucked away someplace, send me a copy so I can make sure those names are on the roster.

4. Sometimes all it takes is a name and location and we can find someone but the more details we know the better our chances.

Please make sure that your email system allows emails to be received from both of my email addresses, bill_t_08012@yahoo.com and artillery_83rd@yahoo.com

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