Update April 15, 2015

1/83rd Unit News	1. Remembrances - April is the Anniversary month of two of our 1/83rd Brothers who did not make it home from Vietnam. April 13th was the 45th Anniversary of the death of both Clifford Earnhardt, a Veteran of A Battery (1969-70) and Larry Francis, a Veteran of Service Battery (1969-70). More on Clifford and Larry can be found on our website. Lest we Forget. 2. Challenge Coins Update - This project is still being worked on. The response to my question about whether to attempt to include Firebase locations on the coin has been overwhelmingly in favor of not including them. There were 46 No votes and 14 Yes. Two main reasons for the No vote were that it might make the coin look too cluttered and the other was the fear of omitting one. We can still consider adding them if these issues can be adequately addressed. One way you can help is to review the list of Firebases, LZ's and Camps on the website to see if any are missing. I am still in the process of making the changes I received from some of you. 3. A different Challenge Coin - While working on the Challenge Coin project, I came across this unique coin which many of us can relate to. 4. Late Arriving April Birthday - Happy Belated Birthday to Joe Babb (68-69). 5. Health Advisory - After a recent visit to my local VA Medical Center I was set up to receive an Abdominal Aortic Ultrasound. I was told that this routine procedure which checks for Aortic Aneurisms is being offered to all Vets over age 65. This potentially life saving test is quick and painless. I had the test today and recommend you ask your VA health care provider about it. 6. Agent Orange and Parkinson's Disease - Don Aird (70-71) sent this VA Bulletin. 7. ANZAC Day - A reminder that April 25 commemorates ANZAC Day. This is a solemn occasion for our Aussie and Kiwi mates. I know that if you were to send your own individual messages of support to our Aussie and Kiwi mates that they would be welcomed and appreciated. Not all of you had the opportunity to serve with these fine men but those of us who did will always remember them and their support for us. Let's show them our support. Aussie and Kiwi email addresses can be found on our Roster and Email list on the website. 8. Request - Neal Schwartz (68-69) asked me to pass these 2 messages along... Regarding Together We Served... "Hi Bill, Two really nice articles here (and links to read all of it), one the “Turning Point in Vietnam War” and the other one, “ Vietnam Story: A Journey Back”. The later one made me cry. Actually all the articles were good. And the one about, “Military Fact and Legends: Rise and Fall of the SR-71 Blackbird”, my dad was a machinist that worked for Kelly Johnson at the Skunkworks in Burbank on the Blackbird and many other secret aircraft projects. Perhaps some of the others would like to read these articles. I only need 8 more new sign ups to get to 100 recruits. If any of our people decide to sign up, even the free sign up, I’d sure appreciate them using my profile as their recruiter to give me credit. These last 8 have been almost impossible to get. I can send anyone that would be interested in signing up a direct invite link if they’ll just drop me a line with their name and email address." Also from Neal... "I still haven't been able to sign up for eBenefits Sharing of Health Records. I called them again today and they made another "ticket" telling me they've had problems getting it to work properly. They promised me an email when the problem is connected. I called the VA Thursday the 19th to request an appointment with my primary care physician. They took my info and told me someone would call me back. Today is the 31st, still have not heard from them. You might want to pass the following along. I attempted to see if I could view my Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) an the eBenefits, eVetRec, site. Apparently Vietnam Vets are left out again. I've got hard copies of my records, I just thought it might be nice do have a digital version. At least I am able to view my medical records there." 9. DAV Message - John Zagami (69-70) sent this DAV bulletin. On March 24, 2015, Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina introduced H.R. 1594, a bill to repeal the requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan for military surviving spouses to offset the receipt of veterans Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. This bill is in accordance with a longstanding DAV resolution, passed each year by the delegates to our National Convention. H.R. 1594 was referred to the House Armed Services Committee on March 24, 2015. Please use the prepared email or draft your own to request that your Representative support this important bill and ask that it be brought to the floor for a vote and passed as soon as possible. Thank you for all you do for veterans and their families. Click the link below to log in and send your message: https://www.votervoice.net/link/target/dav/JBE839b45.aspx 10. Unit Merchandise - See section below. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Be sure to let me know what is going on in your life so we can share it with everyone in this section. See the latest 1/83rd News by clicking here.
Photo of the Week	FADAC (Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer) (Courtesy of Andy Gambill HQ Battery 1971)
General News	1. Dennis Donati (70-71) sent along this story of Edward Dvorchak, a true hero.
Interesting Links and More	1. Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent this very nice story of the Donut Dollies in Vietnam. I know you will enjoy it. 2. Mark Hommel (69-70) sent this story Retired Japanese Fighter Pilot Sees an Old Danger on the Horizon. 3. Walt Noechel (69-70) sent this Back to the Sixties. It's fun.
Did you Know	Baseball and cricket are the only major sports where the defensive team controls the ball. (Courtesy of How-To Geek Newsletter)
Website Updates	1. 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. 2. Check out all the latest updates by looking at the website Table of Contents.
Vietnam Veterans of America Update	1. VVA Update for March 27, 2015 2. VVA Update for April 3, 2015 3. VVA Update for April 11, 2015 4. VVA website
1/83rd Merchandise	Unit Merchandise - All the proceeds from Hat, Decal and Patch sales go to the Reunion fund. a. 1/83rd Unit Crest Patch (3.25"h x 2.75"w) - $6 each. Here is a photo. b. 1/83rd Unit Crest Decal (Decal is round 3.5" x 3.5") - $5 each. Here is a photo. c. 1/83rd Hat (Adjustable-Black only) - $20 each. Here is a photo. d. 1/83rd Unit Hat Patch (same patch as is on the 1/83rd hat, 3"h x 6"w - $6 each. Here is a photo. Shipping is included in the above prices. To order these items, contact Bill Taggart at artillery_83rd@yahoo.com or 856-228-5614 (my contact info is also on the Roster). Make sure you supply your mailing address when making your request. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you want an 83rd Artillery Unit Crest Pin, you need to buy directly from the vendor. I have a link on the website where you can order them from one of the 3 vendors listed. I have bought from all 3 of them and they are identical in quality, all are very good.
1/83rd Roster	Review your entry on the website Roster and let me know if any changes are necessary. If your email stops working, I cannot reach you if you have incomplete contact details on the roster.
Missing members of the 1/83rd	Help us find those former 83rd members who haven't found us yet!! 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.
Rules & Regs	I recently updated the "Rules & Regs" document, if anyone would like an updated copy, let me know. Go to Contact Us and submit your request or email me directly.
Advisory	If you get an email from and it has a website link included anywhere within the email, most times you should be able to just click on the link and you will be taken to the website. Sometimes however, the link will not work because, in sending you the email, the link is deactivated although it is still usable. If this should happen, another way to use the link is to copy and paste it into the address line on your browser. Please be sure to let me know if you have any questions on this. 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 Please note that there are no blank spaces in email addresses. What you see in mine between words/characters is the underscore (_) character.