Update August 12, 2014

1/83rd Unit News	This will be the last update until mid-September. 1. Reunion News If you want to attend the Reunion but have not yet told me, you still can but I need to know immediately. Contact me for details. 2. Support Requested - The wife and son of Jim Thomas (66-67) are battling very serious health problems and could use your prayers and support. Messages of encouragement can be sent to Jim by getting his contact info from the Roster. 3. Support Requested - Ed (Bear) Waldschmidt (66-67) is battling some very some serious health issues and could use your prayers and support. Messages of encouragement can be sent to Ed by getting his contact info from the Roster. 4. New Email Address - Tom Gardner (68-69) has a new email address. It can be found on the Roster. 5. Wall Rubbing from the Vietnam Vetrans Memorial - I received the first rubbing that I requested (Wayne Murphy) from the VVMF. This is what I will be doing with all that I receive. Take a look. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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	Sgt Roy Laudette who was HQ Battery 1st Sgt in 1966-67. "Top" now lives in Oklahoma.
General News	1. August 18 is the 48th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. This battle, fought by the ANZAC forces (Australia and New Zealand) in Phouc Tuy Province 1966, resulted in 18 KIA for the ANZAC forces, the most of any action during the Vietnam War. Vietnam Veterans' Day, celebrated in Australia on 18 August each year, commemorates the Battle of Long Tan and those Australians who served during the Vietnam War and is an opportunity to remember those who did not come home. Remember these brave men in your thoughts and prayers. More can be found on this subject at these links. Click here and here. *Lest we Forget!*
Interesting Links and More	1. Dennis Donati (70-71) sent this look at a new Navy gun, pretty amazing. 2. Jim Simchera (Honorary Member) sent this video of an Excavator guaranteed to solve all your landscaping problems.
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 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.