1/83 Artillery Update
May 30, 2015

1/83rd Unit News

1. Remembrances - May was the Anniversary month of one of our 1/83rd Brothers who did not make it home from Vietnam.

May 18th was the 46th 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.

Lest we Forget.

2. Request for Support - I have a couple of updates on a some of our guys who have had health issues.

a. Otto Aliffi (66-67) - Otto had surgery this week to remove a cancerous kidney and is still in the hospital in Savannah. I spoke with Otto yesterday and he is in good spirits and hopes to be home soon.

As I previously notified you, Otto's wife Margaret passed away recently so this has been a particularly difficult time for Otto and his family.

b. Walt Gilliam (67-68) is now home after some serious heart and kidney issues and still has a battle ahead of him.

Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.

3. Email Change - Rick Harvey (66-67) has a new email address. See the Roster for details.

4. Battalion/Battery Command Roster - Greg Sachnewycz  (70-71) recently raised a good question about some entries in the Command Roster.
Greg asked why in some cases (he cited 1970 but there may be others) where in HQ Battery I sometimes show a Captain as CO and a Major as XO. I cannot imagine this ever really happened and there are probably 2 reasons it is showing this way:

a. I messed up.

b. It is possible that the rank shown (which is from what you guys have told me) may have been a later rank than when they actually were HQ Battery XO.

 Any of you who can help me with this please let me know and thanks to Greg for pointing this out. It takes all your eyes to make sure things like this get fixed.

5. Challenge Coins Update - I have sent approval to the Mfr to create the coin. I hope to soon be able to send you a sample picture of the front and back of the coin. When I do, I will be asking you how many you think you will want to order. My minimum order will be 50 coins for all orders so if there is a lot of interest I will order more than 50 on my first order. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE SAMPLE BEFORE TELLING ME HOW MANY YOU WANT. Just to reach this point in the development, I have already had to commit to at least a setup charge plus committing to a minimum order of 50.

Since I will be the one mailing the coins to you, that process will present more of a challenge to me than I faced sending you hats, patches or decals. The weight of each order will be heavier and will vary along with how far away you are from me. I will advise you of the cost which will include shipping, I am just not able to do that yet. When I had previously asked if anyone was interested in a coin I suggested that the price could be around $20-$25 each. I think that will more than likely be a minimum $25 per coin or at least enough to cover the cost of the coin, shipping material and postage and allow some profit for the Reunion Fund which was the driving force in doing this.

For those who question the cost, as a point of reference, I recently checked the Medals of America website for the cost of a Field Artillery Challenge Coin. The price was $13.95 for one coin plus $4.95 shipping for a total of $18.90 (they make no mention of sales tax).  You also need to be aware that a Mfr such as that has ways of reducing their materials and shipping costs that I do not have available as an individual.

6. 1/83rd Locations in Vietnam Update - This website list continues to be developed. You can help by reviewing the list of Firebases, LZ's and Camps on the website to see if there are any are errors.

7. Hepatitis C - Barney Downey (70-71) sent this, Dept of VA Affairs Report on Hepatitis C.

8. PTSD - Frank Sloan (70-71) sent this, The Long Shadow of PTSD.

9. 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

Lest we Forget.

Vietnam Memorial Wall

General News

"News flash!! From August 1st to December 1st of this year, lifetime VVA memberships will be offered for a low price of $100.00!! This will be brought up at the national convention but I wanted to get this out now. Do NOT do this before August 1st."

Interesting Links and More

2. Danny Sandoval (66-67) sent this link, Photos of Vietnam.

3. A friend sent this link, Auschwitz.

4. Ed Kloiber (68-69) shares some interesting Sunday afternoon entertainment options in Schnecksville PA.

5. Don Aird (70-71) sent this link, The Spy in the Hanoi Hilton.

6. Les Spohr (68-69) sent this, The Star Spangled Banner. Very interesting.

7. Walt Noechel (69-70) sent this in case you have been wondering what to do with those old beer bottles, the Beer Bottle Boys.

8. Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent this video link, The Hanoi Taxi.

9. Don Aird (70-71) sent this link, Tribute to those who served in Vietnam.

10. Jim Braun (70-71) sent this link, The Vietnam War Era.

11. John Turner (Honorary Member) sent this link, Vietnam War veteran returns home -- 47 years later.

Did you Know

Koalas water needs are met almost entirely by the moisture found in the vast quantities of eucalyptus leaves they eat; smaller females rarely drink water directly and only the largest and most active males seek out water in tree hollows and the like.

(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

2. VVA Update for May 7, 2015

3. VVA Update for May 15, 2015

4. VVA Update for May 22, 2015

5. VVA Update for May 29, 2015

6. 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

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

Please note that there are no blank spaces in email addresses. What you see in mine between words/characters is the underscore (_) character.

Home | Table of Contents | Contact Us | Site Map