Update June 17, 2016

1/83rd Unit News	1. Remembrances - May and June were the Anniversary month's of two of our 1/83rd Brothers who did not make it home from Vietnam. May 18th was the 47th 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. June 25th was the 45th Anniversary of the death of our Wayne Murphy, a Veteran of HQ Battery (1970-71). More on Wayne can be found on our website. Lest we Forget. (Rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial) (Rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial 2. Support - please keep Andy Cruze (66-67) in your thoughts and prayers, he is having a very difficult time right now with serious health problems. His address is on the Roster for those who wish to send him a card and the phone numbers are for his wife Libby. I have spoken with Libby several times lately and I know she would love to her from you with messages of support for Andy (or Jack as she calls him). Also keep in your prayers all the members of our group who have various health issues, they all could use our continued support. 3. Request for Information - Does anyone know an officer named Gordon DeWitt who was a Captain and then Major at Ft Sill and later in Vietnam? I received a query from his son who is trying to find out which Artillery unit his father served with. He stated" "My dad was a Captain ('65-'67) at Sill, Capt. Gordon DeWitt, Battalion Officer and eventually Commander in Vietnam. He died in 1970 as a Major (Ed. not with the 1/83rd). We were at Sill and his 1st tour in 66-67. My Dad served as an S1 advisor for his 2nd tour 69-70 and was killed on a US Hwy near Fort McCoy in Sep. 1970." Let me know if you knew him. 4. Change of Contact Information - I recently received a new email address for Stephan Early (67-68) and a new mailing address for Bill Lott (67-68). Check the Roster for current details. 5. New Zealand Royal Regiment of Artillery - May 26th was the 300th Anniversary of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Congratulations to all our New Zealand Allies on such a momentous occasion. The 161 Battery of the Royal New Zealand Artillery was a 105 Howitzer unit based at Nui Dat when the 1/83rd was there in 66-68. 6. McNamara's Morons - This story appeared in the latest issue of the Vietnam Veterans of America magazine. I was not aware of this and it made me so angry when I read it. Rex Hon (66-67) sent me the link so I could share it with all of you. 7. Reunion News - Remember that all Reunion attendance fees (along with your Reunion Reply form) are due back to me by August 1. Please get them to me by that date as a lot has to be done for the Reunion. a. The current list of those planning to attend can be found here. b. For more details on the 2016 Reunion, see this section on the 1/83rd website. Optional Post-Reunion Tour to Gettysburg on October 17 - Please contact Mike Reetz directly with any questions on this excursion. His contact info is on the Roster. 8. 1/83rd Unit Merchandise - See this section on the 1/83rd website. 9. Challenge Coin Display Cases - Greg Sachnewycz (70-71) sent this link to a company that sells display cases for Challenge Coins.
Photo of the Week	2016 1/83rd Reunion Hotel - The Westin Washington Dulles Airport
General News	1. Please remember that all contact info that we have for our group can be found on the Roster. This is the best spot to start if you need to contact one of the group.
Interesting Links and More	1. Ashley Eyles (66-67), one of our Aussie mates, sent this video, The Last Post. April 25 was ANZAC Day down under, perhaps the most significant day of all for Australian and New Zealand Military and Veterans and their families. Seems like "The Last Post" is their equivalent of our Taps. "In military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of the day's activities. It is also sounded at military funerals to indicate that the soldier has gone to his final rest and at commemorative services such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day." This 1 and a 1/2 minute version is done on a violin and is very moving. 2. I got this story from a few of you. It tells of a Veteran who does the right thing when others did not, Money Stolen From My Car. 3. I received this from Rex Hon (66-67). Another "Charity" to take off your list. When you click on the link it will take a few seconds and there will be a photo/video of Jake Tapper. Click on that to see the CNN Video. 4. Rex Hon (66-67) also sent this story, Indiana student’s toy soldier American flag. You have to give it a few seconds to get past the commercial before the video starts. 5. Jim Harris (69) sent this, a French Soldier's View of US Soldiers in Afghanistan. 6. Dennis Blalock (67-68) sent this Vietnam Video, Vietnam: Service, Sacrifice, and Courage. This video is of interviews with several Vietnam vets who served in various combat roles interspersed with commentary and footage from the time, similar to an American History Channel presentation. It is 28 minutes long, so be sure you have time to watch it all the way through. There are thousands of similar accounts of those who served in Vietnam , but this video does a great job of accurately expressing many of those experiences. 7. The Fall of Saigon. During his second tour in Vietnam, Colonel Anthony Wood was tasked with planning and executing the evacuation of Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam. When the city fell to the NVA on April 30, 1975, Col. Wood worked with about 100 American civilian volunteers who assumed great risk in helping Vietnamese citizens flee from the collapsing city. 8. Bob Hope Christmas. This has been around before but always worthy of another look. 9. Duane Johnson (66-67) sent this, The Dark Shadow of Agent Orange. 10. Rich Webekind (66-67) sent this, The Battle of Long Tan. This documentary is over 1 and a half hours.
Did you Know	The T-shirt was originally underwear, but became an outerwear garment after many U.S. soldiers during World War II popularized them as an article of clothing worn by itself. (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 April 30, 2016 2. VVA Update for May 6, 2016 3. VVA Update for May 12, 2016 4. VVA Update for May 24, 2016 5. VVA Update for May 27, 2016 6. VVA Update for June 5, 2016 7. VVA Update for June 9, 2016 8. VVA Update for June 17, 2016 9. VVA website
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.