1/83 Artillery Update
October 16, 2017

1/83rd Unit News

and

General News

2. Safety of our group - I have not heard of any of our group who have experienced problems from all the recent weather related problems that have effected many parts of our country. Please keep all people who have been effected in your prayers.

I received the following note from Ross Wood one of our Aussie mates.

"I hope all is well. We have seen, nearly nightly now for a while, on the TV News the wildfires in California. I hope all of your members in California are safe and well, and are away from these wildfires. If any are near the fires I hope they are safe and well

3. 2018 Reunion - Mike Reetz (66-67) has advised that the next Reunion is planned to be in San Antonio, Texas from September 23, 2018 to September 26, 2018 at the Wyndham San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel. More details will follow at a later date. Mike's contact info can be found on the Full Roster

4. The Mysterious Case of the "Missing" 5-ton Wrecker - I recently was contacted by retired Army Brigadier General Richard F. Allen who served with the 2/83rd Artillery in Germany in 1963-1964. I had a very nice conversation with him and he shared a great story with me. After his time in Germany he was later to sent to Vung Tau Vietnam to be CO of the 148th Ordnance Company (Ammo) in late 1967 and 1968. I am attaching a story he wrote of his time with the 148th but of particular interest is the part on pages 39-41 where he tells of the time some industrious members of the 1/83rd tried to steal their 5-ton wrecker when the 1/83rd was being sent to I Corps in 1968. We had a good laugh about all this and if any of you were part of this attempted heist he would love to hear from you. Here is the story.

I'm also attaching a story he wrote for the Army Magazine of his time with the 2/83rd in Germany, an 8-inch SP Artillery Battalion.

Brigadier Allen would enjoy hearing from any of you. He can be reached here.

5. New Email Address - Howard Sanger (68-69) has a new email address. Check the Full Roster for his and all current email addresses.

6. Return to Vietnam - Got this from Greg Sachnewycz (70-71)

7. Confusion at Sea - This story of the time the 1/83rd "invaded" North Vietnam in 1968 appeared in VietNow Magazine.

8. 100th Anniversary of the 83rd Field Artillery - Dan O'Brien (69-70) sent me a reminder that this year is the 100th Anniversary of the 83rd Field Artillery.

Click here for more. And look on this page on our website for more on the history of our unit.

9. VA Unveils Claims Submission Option That Promises to Complete Claims within 30 Days - Click here for details.

10. Do you know all of the VA benefits that you may eligible for based on your service connected disability rating, receipt of a non-service connected benefit, or special circumstance? To help you find them, we created charts to show you what benefits you may be eligible for based on your current situation.

Have a service connected disability rating from 0-100%? Use the Service Connected Matrix to find more benefits that you may be eligible to receive.

11. 5 Common Misconceptions About Filing VA Claims Debunked

12. 1/83rd Website - Please let me know if you come across any links in my website that are broken. With so much content, it is inevitable that links go out of date so let me know if you find one that does not work.

13. Full Roster on Website - Check your entry on the Full Roster to make sure all your information is up to date. Notify me if any changes are necessary. If your email stops working, I cannot reach you if you have incomplete or incorrect contact details on the roster.

14. Support - Please let me know if anyone of you or your family have health situations so we can let everyone know of the need for our support.

15. Please remember that all contact info that we have for our group can be found on the Full Roster. This is the best spot to start if you need to contact one of the group.

Photo of the Week

I recently had the opportunity to once again sail under the Golden Gate and into the Pacific Ocean. I am happy to report that the experience was much more pleasant then the last time I did this on October 13, 1966 aboard the General Edwin D. Patrick.

Interesting Links and More

Did you Know

If you’ve ever dreamed about hiking to the end of the rainbow (in search of treasure or otherwise), we’ve got some bad news for you: you’d never get there. Rainbows are actually circular and have no end—they only appear as arches in our field of view due to the curvature of the Earth. If you ever have the good fortune to see a rainbow from an airplane or other very high location, you’ll see the whole circle.

(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

1/83rd Roster

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.

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

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