Update July 3, 2014

1/83rd Unit News	Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July!! 1. Thank You - Andy Cruze (66-67) sent this thank you... *"Just wanted to say thanks for the prayers and condolences after my moms passing. I certainly appreciate it."* 2. New Email Address - Don Aird (70-71) has a new email address... airdsie@gmail.com 3. Addition in the family - Rich Webekind (66-67) just welcomed his 6th Grandchild on July 1. Peter Webekind weighed in at 7 lbs. Mom, Dad, Baby Peter, siblings Elizabeth, Gregory, and Mary, and grandparents are all doing well. See Rich's contact info on the Roster to send along your congratulations. 4. 1/83rd Website - For those of you who forgot (or never knew) there are 2 specific sections of the website that I want to mention: a. Unit History - this is an in-progress attempt to create a history of the 1/83rd. To do this requires input from all of you. There are several links on this page so if there are any in which you can provide more details, send them to me. This is an important piece of our history and a worthwhile project we can all help with. b. Reminiscences - this section is one that I enjoy very much. These are stories from you, in your own words, about your experiences in Vietnam. They are often a dialog among a few of the guys. They are often touching, always interesting and many times hair raising. They are not all "war stories", some are just about everyday existence in a place that few, if any, of us wanted to be in. They also make for an interesting history from the everyday soldier's perspective. Please send me your stories! Write them up and I will do any required editing. In addition to your own stories, I would really like to get write-ups on the following: - Detail's on the Advance Party trip from Ft Sill to Vietnam (all Batteries) - Detail's on the Train Ride from Ft Sill to Oakland to board the Edwin D. Patrick (all Batteries) - Detail's on the Flight from Ft Sill to Oakland to board the Edwin D. Patrick (all Batteries) - Detail's on the Advance Party trip, and rest of the troops, from Long Binh to Nui Dat (HQ, SVC and A Batteries) - Detail's on the Advance Party trip, and rest of the troops, from Long Binh to Bear Cat (B Battery) - Detail's on the Advance Party trip, and rest of the troops, from Long Binh to Xuan Loc (C Battery) - Detail's on the Battalion migration from III Corps to I Corps (all Batteries) 5. Battalion/Battery Command Roster - I never thought that this would be so tough but it has been very difficult to get consistent and non-conflicting answers from the group. With the cross section of guys on the active email list, we should be able to get this done. Take a look and let me know if you can provide any answers. 6. Widows/Widowers that need help with the VA - Dan O'Brien (69-70) has sent me the name of a woman who has been very helpful in assisting widows with fighting the VA when claims are denied, she will aid in filling out the 21-534. Her name is Karen Gogol and she has offered her help to any widow/widower who needs help with the VA. Karen's husband is a deceased Vietnam Veteran and Karen has much experience fighting the VA. Karen can be reached by email at kg92950@aol.com. If you need to call her instead, email me or Dan O'Brien for Karen's phone number. 7. Veterans that need help with the VA - If the Veteran is the one who needs assistance with VA claims, he should see a local Veteran Service Officer [VSO] of the DAV, VVA or other Veterans Organization. Our fight is totally different than spouses. Dan O'Brien (69-70) has also offered to help any of our Veterans with questions on VA claims. Dan's contact info can be found on the Roster. Use email for your initial contact but you can call if necessary. 8. Reunion Reminder - Attendance fee is due August 1. See the section below for more information on the 2014 Reunion. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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	Click here for a 4th of July greeting.
General News	1. In the most recent edition of the Eyes & Ears Newsletter (June 2014), are some interesting photos of the Nui Dat area in current day along with a picture of the current day highway from the Task Force area to Vung Tau on page 3. No rickety or bombed out bridges anymore! There is also a photo of our Craig Castona (66-67) with a 175mm on page 7. As before, I encourage you read this monthly publication. Paul Dickson does a great job putting it together and it should be of particular interest to all of us who were at Nui Dat.
Interesting Links and More	1. Bill Morris (66-67) sent this about the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. This is interesting and a bit reminiscent of the Banana harvesting some of us did in Vietnam. HARVESTING BANANAS IN COSTA RICA 3. Roger Hatcher (66-67) sent this look at Japanese submarines in World War II.
Website Updates	1. Several Updates were made this week including the Full Roster and Email List. 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 July 2 2. VVA website
2014 Reunion News	1. Reunion Reminder - If you haven't made your hotel reservation yet, don't delay. Also, remember that attendance fees are due to me by August 1. Contact me if you need a Reunion Flyer. All necessary details for the Reunion and Dinner Show can be found in the flyer. 2. Reunion Fund Raising - If you haven't read my recent email regarding our fund raising efforts for the Reunion, please do and let me know if you are interested in helping. Contact me if you need that email resent. 3. Reunion Dinner Show - As you know, Roger and Kathy Hatcher volunteered to organize an optional dinner show excursion during the reunion in Branson. Roger sent me a couple of links to the Hughes Bros show which is reported to be one of Branson's best. If you are on the fence about attending the dinner show, maybe this will help convince you. Show promo. Hughes Bros website Please be sure to contact Roger Hatcher if you are interested in attending this optional event while at the Reunion. Details on the dinner show and Roger's contact information are contained in the reply form that was included with the Reunion Flyer. You need to get the form and payment to Roger by September 1 but sooner would be better. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Please check the list on the website of those who have said they will attend the 2014 Reunion and make sure you are listed and that you are listed correctly. 5. Unless you are extending your stay longer, please make sure your hotel reservation covers at least 3 nights (October 12, 13 and 14). You will need to stay through Tuesday night Oct 14 (Check out on Oct 15) if you plan on going to the Farewell Dinner on Tuesday evening. Please double check the confirmation you receive from the hotel to make sure the dates are correct. 6. If you have any questions on the reunion, please let me know.
1/83rd Unit Crest Patches and Pins	If anyone is interested in buying an 83rd Artillery Unit Crest Patch let me know. Price is based on how many you order. If you are interested, send me an email with your mailing address and how many you want. Don't send any money until you receive the patches. When you receive them, you will see the cost for the number you ordered plus my mailing address for payment. If you want an 83rd Artillery Unit Crest Pin, 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. Please note that Uniform Accessories will ship 2 for one price where the other 2 only ship 1 for almost the same price.
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	For a current copy of Rules and Regs, go to Contact Us and submit your request.
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.