Update June 9, 2015

1/83rd Unit News	1. Request - Harry Vourgarakis (68-69) was in "A" Battery. He asks that if anyone remembers him please get in touch. See the Roster for his contact info. 2. Sick Call - a. Otto Aliffi (66-67) is still in the hospital recuperating from his recent kidney surgery. b. Walt Gilliam (67-68) is making some progress after his hospital stay. 3. Email Change - Alex Athans (66-67) has a new email address. See the Roster for details. 4. Mailing Address Change - Craig Castona (66-67) has a new mailing address. See the Roster for details. 5. 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	(Courtesy of Frank Sloan 1/83rd)
General News	1. Nothing this time.
Interesting Links and More	1. Walt Noechel (69-70) sent this link, showing how a Wind Turbine is built. Walt also sent this one about William Rankin, the Man who rode the Thunder. He had to eject from a fighter jet 9 miles above the earth. This video tells what happened next. 2. A friend sent this link, D-Day Landings in World War II. It shows some great details on The Longest Day. 3. A friend sent this link, the last combat mission of WW II. It is interesting. 4. Dennis Blalock (67-68) sent this new about Blue Star Museums which is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, from Memorial Day, May 25, 2015 through Labor Day, September 7, 2015. 5. Al Saltzman (66-67) sent this look at WW II Fatalities.
Did you Know	Although it looks rather enormous and deep from the shore, the San Francisco Bay has as average depth of around 12 - 15 feet, about as deep as some backyard swimming pools. (Courtesy of How-To Geek Newsletter)
Website Updates	1. I have caught up on all my website update backlog and have made several updates to the website in the last week. Some items of note: a. Info on the Combat Artillery Badge. b. Areas where Herbicide was sprayed in Vietnam (by Corps area) c. New Reminiscences d. ANZAC Day 2015 Some of those links take you to the page where you will find the actual link to the respective story. 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 Update	1. VVA Update for June 4, 2015 2. 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	If anyone would like an updated copy of the "Rules & Regs" document which has helpful information about the website, 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.