Update September 16, 2014

1/83rd Unit News	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. We just picked up another Attendee today. Contact me for details. 2. Support Requested - Elmer Wykle (66-67) is battling some very some serious health issues and could use your prayers and support. Messages of encouragement can be sent to Elmer by getting his contact info from the Roster. 3. Support Requested - Ron Sims (70-71) is battling some Agent Orange health issues and could use your prayers and support. Messages of encouragement can be sent to Ron by getting his contact info from the Roster. 4. Query - Dave Sides (69-70) asked for help in answering this question. "Does anyone remember what Battery was positioned up in back of the 101st Airborne Division Dust Off Medivac unit at Camp Eagle in the first half of 1969? A friend of mine from CT was at the Dust Off headquarters at Camp Eagle and remembers his communications center and hooch shaking from the outgoing "On the Way" ordinance. I didn't get there until October of 1969 so I'm not sure." Malcolm Decker (69-70) replied... "I don't know the battery, but they would have fired from Gia Le. It was just down the road from Battalion HQ." Contact Dave or I if you can help. 5. Query - I received another query. "Victor Brown Zur Wolfer Mühle 10a Büdingen Hessen 63654 Germany 01149-6042-9786669 vbrown9939@gmail.com Dear Mr. Taggart, I am helping a friend to find her biological father. We only have his name and know that he was stationed in Büdingen in 1959/60. His name is either Jose or Juan Morais. The reason why we are not 100% on the first name is because everyone just called him Johnny. But we know, he is/was Puerto Rican. At that time he was married to Alice Morais Rodriguez. What, if anything, can you tell us about is PCS, what unit did he go to next? Do you have an idea, how we can locate him? Do you know the proper channels, to locate the information? Thank you for your time. Victor Brown" Contact Mr. Brown or I if you can help. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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	American Cemetery - Normandy, France August 2014 Lest we Forget
General News	1. Dave Sides (69-70) sent this review... "Have been listening to the audio version of a book written by Andrew West called "The Boys of '67". It's a story about the re-activation of the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam, in particular Charlie Company that was drafted/recruited and trained together in 1966, then deployed together at the beginning of 1967 in the Mekong Delta. If you are prone to flashbacks, some of the book can be pretty disturbing. I found the book both fascinating and cathartic." I know that some of our group came from and went to the 9th ID so it may be of interest. 2. Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent this bit of health news... "I found a website that emits a 7500 HZ sound that is at the high end of the spectrum. My audiogram taken at the 101st TAC hospital at Camp Eagle in June 1969 revealed hearing loss at the 6000 to 8000 HZ area. I played the 7500 HZ sound with about 6 of my family here. The younger ones, 40 and below said the noise was terribly loud and annoying and the 3 of us in our sixties could not hear the noise If you don't hear the noise, it is because it is always in your ears already. The 4000 HZ was annoying to me and others. Click here."
Interesting Links and More	1. Danny Sandoval (66-67) sent this story, Last Chopper Out from Vietnam. 2. Dennis Mack (66-67) sent this inspiring patriotic story, one life, one flag, one mile. 3. Jay Schweer (66-67) sent this tribute to our Flag, Robin Williams as the American Flag. 4. Neal Schwartz (68-69) sent this story. Neal mentions... "C-Span3 – American History TV – Presented Causes of the Vietnam War. The link to the video program is on the right side under “Video Playlist” at this site: Causes of the Vietnam War. 5. Neal Schwartz (68-69) sent this story about his VFW Post. Neal mentions... "We’ve achieved a new milestone: 15,000th Troop Support package sent to Afghanistan by VFW Post 2995 of Redmond Washington. 6. Rex Hon (66-67) sent this distressing news story on Suicide among Veterans.
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 August 15 2. VVA Update for August 22 3. VVA Update for August 27 4. VVA Update for September 5 5. VVA Update for September 11 6. 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.