| May 2010 Newsletter |
Greetings 15th Med Members,
The 2010 Reunion in Boise, ID was a very successful event for all those who attended. I wish I
could have been there. Our Reunion Coordinator Mike "Smitty" Smith and his wife Velma did
an excellent job putting it together. Currently I was only sent a few Reunion pictures by Larry
Norris. I hope to get more with a little description in the near future so I can post them up on our
Website. During the annual meeting new Association Officers we elected and appointed. Some
Officers continue to serve. Here are the Officers for the 2010-2011 year.
President --------------------------------- James Belair
Vice President --------------------------- David Huser
Treasurer --------------------------------- Robert McKinley
Alt Replacement ------------------------ Art Jacobs
Secretary -------------------------------- James Calibro
Database Operator / Webmaster -- Murray Gibbs
Reunion Coordinator ------------------ John Crespi
Search Coordiator --------------------- Paul Troop
Historian / Chaplin --------------------- Paul Troop
Historian ---------------------------------- William Downey
Snail Mail Sender ---------------------- Norm Roberge
Saber Writer ----------------------------- Mike Bodnar
Ladies Aux Group ---------------------- Velma Smith
The 2010 Reunion in Boise, ID was a very successful event for all those who attended. I wish I
could have been there. Our Reunion Coordinator Mike "Smitty" Smith and his wife Velma did
an excellent job putting it together. Currently I was only sent a few Reunion pictures by Larry
Norris. I hope to get more with a little description in the near future so I can post them up on our
Website. During the annual meeting new Association Officers we elected and appointed. Some
Officers continue to serve. Here are the Officers for the 2010-2011 year.
President --------------------------------- James Belair
Vice President --------------------------- David Huser
Treasurer --------------------------------- Robert McKinley
Alt Replacement ------------------------ Art Jacobs
Secretary -------------------------------- James Calibro
Database Operator / Webmaster -- Murray Gibbs
Reunion Coordinator ------------------ John Crespi
Search Coordiator --------------------- Paul Troop
Historian / Chaplin --------------------- Paul Troop
Historian ---------------------------------- William Downey
Snail Mail Sender ---------------------- Norm Roberge
Saber Writer ----------------------------- Mike Bodnar
Ladies Aux Group ---------------------- Velma Smith
I have gotten some feedback from the 2010 Reunion. Next Reunion will be in Branson,
Missouri. John Crespi told me that it will be in the 1st week of April and that maybe subject to
change. When I get all the details of the 2011 Reunion I will post them ASAP. I also heard we
will not be sending Paul Troop to College Park to retrieve any more documents. I have already
posted about 1300 to 1400 of what he has retrieved. I have just received approximately another
250 to 300 documents from Paul Troop. We have a lot of members on Facebook who joined
either before or after the Reunion. It appears to be a way of communicating to other members.
If any person related to the 15th Med Assn. sends you a message, an email is sent to you. I
know I have gotten my share. We must all remember Facebook is more like a open book on
each and everyone one of us. It would be wise to be more confidential on what we post on
Facebook.
Missouri. John Crespi told me that it will be in the 1st week of April and that maybe subject to
change. When I get all the details of the 2011 Reunion I will post them ASAP. I also heard we
will not be sending Paul Troop to College Park to retrieve any more documents. I have already
posted about 1300 to 1400 of what he has retrieved. I have just received approximately another
250 to 300 documents from Paul Troop. We have a lot of members on Facebook who joined
either before or after the Reunion. It appears to be a way of communicating to other members.
If any person related to the 15th Med Assn. sends you a message, an email is sent to you. I
know I have gotten my share. We must all remember Facebook is more like a open book on
each and everyone one of us. It would be wise to be more confidential on what we post on
Facebook.
Mission Statement - I like to review our direction as an Association by posting our Mission
Statement with a little explaination. The Mission Statement was put together at the 2000
Reunion in San Antonio.
---->> Our Mission Statement is Four Fold.
---->> 1.) To Establish contact with former members of the 15th Medical Battalion, Vietnam.
---->> 2.) To Establish and maintain a data-bank of know members of the 15th Med
Association.
---->> 3.) To provide, each year, information as to time and place of the Annual Reunion.
This is to include discounted hotel rooms, meetings rooms, banquet dinners,
luncheons, interest for the family members and any additional information
pertinent to the promotion of attendance of the annual reunion.
---->> 4.) To promote goodwill and brotherhood among the membership, their families and
all veterans and their associations and organizations.
1.) Looking from members can be time consuming and difficult. Several methods must be used
of which I have used. One of the best methods I have used is where I had a list of names and the
list had the SSN. I used the SSN to located City & State which narrows the search down to an
easy find. Where do we get these lists. Anyone who has a 201 file has awards or promotion lists
in it with names and sometimes SSNs. If we could get our hands on the Roster Lists at St Louis
we would have a gold mine of information to do these searches. I know that SSNs must be held
with the upmost confidentiality. I deleted all found SSNs on all the documents I posted. This is
one item we don't post.
2.) We have a data-bank or database on Excel spreadsheet that I maintain. It has gone thru
many changes to include both Found & Find Members, a pending action list showing dates when
changes were made to any member. The pending actions could be Found, Find, address
change, phone change etc. There is also the KIA list and those known Deceased listed since
Vietnam.
3.) Each year we have an Annual Reunion. We have a Reunion Coordinator who sets it up for
the Association. He coordinates all he can in part 3 of the Mission Statement for all who attend
the Reunion.
4.) We promote our Association with friendship to all we come in contact with. These are our
members, family members, veterans and others who are interested in us. Our goodwill and
brotherhood attracts their interest. Thus many of our members are in contact with current
members, other veterans, assocations and organizations. We have an open door policy inviting
other veterans to attend our Reunions which we have done in the past.
Statement with a little explaination. The Mission Statement was put together at the 2000
Reunion in San Antonio.
---->> Our Mission Statement is Four Fold.
---->> 1.) To Establish contact with former members of the 15th Medical Battalion, Vietnam.
---->> 2.) To Establish and maintain a data-bank of know members of the 15th Med
Association.
---->> 3.) To provide, each year, information as to time and place of the Annual Reunion.
This is to include discounted hotel rooms, meetings rooms, banquet dinners,
luncheons, interest for the family members and any additional information
pertinent to the promotion of attendance of the annual reunion.
---->> 4.) To promote goodwill and brotherhood among the membership, their families and
all veterans and their associations and organizations.
1.) Looking from members can be time consuming and difficult. Several methods must be used
of which I have used. One of the best methods I have used is where I had a list of names and the
list had the SSN. I used the SSN to located City & State which narrows the search down to an
easy find. Where do we get these lists. Anyone who has a 201 file has awards or promotion lists
in it with names and sometimes SSNs. If we could get our hands on the Roster Lists at St Louis
we would have a gold mine of information to do these searches. I know that SSNs must be held
with the upmost confidentiality. I deleted all found SSNs on all the documents I posted. This is
one item we don't post.
2.) We have a data-bank or database on Excel spreadsheet that I maintain. It has gone thru
many changes to include both Found & Find Members, a pending action list showing dates when
changes were made to any member. The pending actions could be Found, Find, address
change, phone change etc. There is also the KIA list and those known Deceased listed since
Vietnam.
3.) Each year we have an Annual Reunion. We have a Reunion Coordinator who sets it up for
the Association. He coordinates all he can in part 3 of the Mission Statement for all who attend
the Reunion.
4.) We promote our Association with friendship to all we come in contact with. These are our
members, family members, veterans and others who are interested in us. Our goodwill and
brotherhood attracts their interest. Thus many of our members are in contact with current
members, other veterans, assocations and organizations. We have an open door policy inviting
other veterans to attend our Reunions which we have done in the past.
The first Reunion we had was in Franklin, VA in April of 1998. Those who attend were mostly
Medevac guys. Thus it was Medevac guys who started the Association. It was called the
Medevac Association. At the 1999 Reunion in Las Vegas the name was changed to the 15th
Medical Battalion Associaton. The intent of the Association is not to have just Medevac, but to be
inclusive of all members of the 15th Medical Battalion regardless of MOS (military occupation
standard). There are many members who believe that we focus just on Medevac, which is so
FAR from the truth. At the 2003 Reunion outgoing President Maurice "Corky" Walsh made the
statement at the Meeting that we should include all 15th Med Bn guys from Korea to Vietnam. I
Murray Gibbs became President then and continued with that statement. COL William Downey in
his speach about Hospital Pods made a statement that the Association is not just about Medevac
and we should get other 15th Med Bn guys to attend. Apparently we still have the same thought
about the Association being just Medevac today. That needs to be turned around. Thus the true
name of our Associaton is 15th Medical Battalion Associaiton which is the HOME of Medevac.
I personally invite all members of 15th Medical Battalion guys to be a part of our Association.
Listed below are patches that I have found of the 15th Med Battalion and yes most of the them
are of the Air Ambulance Platoon (medevac).
Medevac guys. Thus it was Medevac guys who started the Association. It was called the
Medevac Association. At the 1999 Reunion in Las Vegas the name was changed to the 15th
Medical Battalion Associaton. The intent of the Association is not to have just Medevac, but to be
inclusive of all members of the 15th Medical Battalion regardless of MOS (military occupation
standard). There are many members who believe that we focus just on Medevac, which is so
FAR from the truth. At the 2003 Reunion outgoing President Maurice "Corky" Walsh made the
statement at the Meeting that we should include all 15th Med Bn guys from Korea to Vietnam. I
Murray Gibbs became President then and continued with that statement. COL William Downey in
his speach about Hospital Pods made a statement that the Association is not just about Medevac
and we should get other 15th Med Bn guys to attend. Apparently we still have the same thought
about the Association being just Medevac today. That needs to be turned around. Thus the true
name of our Associaton is 15th Medical Battalion Associaiton which is the HOME of Medevac.
I personally invite all members of 15th Medical Battalion guys to be a part of our Association.
Listed below are patches that I have found of the 15th Med Battalion and yes most of the them
are of the Air Ambulance Platoon (medevac).
| 15th Medical Battalion & 15th Support Battalion Crest |
| The first patch for Medavac called "ANGELS OF MERCY |
| During the summer of 1968 these patches evolved with the Motto at the bottom saying "SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE" No doubt this saying is used also for the 15th Medical Battalion and not just Medevac |
| Current Patch |
| The 15th Medical Battalion Assocaiton Decal (patch) |
Website Updates - I have done a lot of additions and updates to the our Website. I continue
to work on the documents because all of them have not been added yet. The Saber issues are
updated to Jan/Feb 2010. I have added or updated most of the Reunion Pictures I have on file.
Lately I made changes to the Main Index Page. I want the main index page to remain the same as
when Larry Ash had it with only a few exceptions. They are the 2nd Index Page button, Donation
button and VOIP Banner. I moved buttons for USNS Upshur II, Forums & Webmaster's Page to
the 2nd Index Page. I change the Icons on the 2nd Index Page not to be like the Main Index
Page. I added the 15th Medical Battalion Crest and our Association Patch is below it.
I added a link to the Virtual Vietnam Wall
I added a link to the 2/8th Cav, Eager Arms. Art Jacobs & Jerry Dick were made Honoray
members of the 2/8th Cav, 1st Air Cav Div. The link goes to an incident that happend on 24 July,
1968.
I added a page showing our Challenge Coin, any hats we have to offer or any other items. This
page is still under construction.
I added a Misc Page for any items of interest that will be posted from this page. I have added one
item that I got off of our old temp sister website before it went down in Feb, 2009. It started out
about Medevac Crosses. A nice piece of Historical information was made known from an eye
witness concerning an event that happened in Sept of 1966.
to work on the documents because all of them have not been added yet. The Saber issues are
updated to Jan/Feb 2010. I have added or updated most of the Reunion Pictures I have on file.
Lately I made changes to the Main Index Page. I want the main index page to remain the same as
when Larry Ash had it with only a few exceptions. They are the 2nd Index Page button, Donation
button and VOIP Banner. I moved buttons for USNS Upshur II, Forums & Webmaster's Page to
the 2nd Index Page. I change the Icons on the 2nd Index Page not to be like the Main Index
Page. I added the 15th Medical Battalion Crest and our Association Patch is below it.
I added a link to the Virtual Vietnam Wall
I added a link to the 2/8th Cav, Eager Arms. Art Jacobs & Jerry Dick were made Honoray
members of the 2/8th Cav, 1st Air Cav Div. The link goes to an incident that happend on 24 July,
1968.
I added a page showing our Challenge Coin, any hats we have to offer or any other items. This
page is still under construction.
I added a Misc Page for any items of interest that will be posted from this page. I have added one
item that I got off of our old temp sister website before it went down in Feb, 2009. It started out
about Medevac Crosses. A nice piece of Historical information was made known from an eye
witness concerning an event that happened in Sept of 1966.
The Forums - When I first re-establish this website I added a discussion board type of
environment called The Forums. I did this so from this website one could make topic posts like
the discussion board on our old sister website. The old sister website no longer exists. The
Forums are there as a method to communicate with the Association. One must have a screen
name with password to be able to respond, add or create a topic (post). Only 15th Med Assn.
members are able to view topics strickly in certain boards. There are several permission levels
created at different levels in the Forums.
The important level for the membership is the 15th Med Assn. member level. Members can
make posts in all the boards. There is one board that only 15th Med Assn. members can view
and other levels can not view. These are the levels that can not view that one board, 15th Med
Member wives, Honorary members, Visiting Veterans & Researchers. Currently we don't use this
tool (forums) very much. Why! I don't know. I find it very useful.
The Forums vs Facebook. Forums can be very private with only 15th Med Members able to use
the designate board that the public can not view. Facebook on the other hand is open to the
public unless there is a way to keep those 15th Med Members on it on a private use level. I
signed up for Facebook last month and already I have had outsiders requesting me to be their
friends. I only accept those associated with the 15th Medical Battalion Association. We must be
careful on the information we post on Facebook. Anyone can view it and use it to any intent they
wish whether it be good or bad.
environment called The Forums. I did this so from this website one could make topic posts like
the discussion board on our old sister website. The old sister website no longer exists. The
Forums are there as a method to communicate with the Association. One must have a screen
name with password to be able to respond, add or create a topic (post). Only 15th Med Assn.
members are able to view topics strickly in certain boards. There are several permission levels
created at different levels in the Forums.
The important level for the membership is the 15th Med Assn. member level. Members can
make posts in all the boards. There is one board that only 15th Med Assn. members can view
and other levels can not view. These are the levels that can not view that one board, 15th Med
Member wives, Honorary members, Visiting Veterans & Researchers. Currently we don't use this
tool (forums) very much. Why! I don't know. I find it very useful.
The Forums vs Facebook. Forums can be very private with only 15th Med Members able to use
the designate board that the public can not view. Facebook on the other hand is open to the
public unless there is a way to keep those 15th Med Members on it on a private use level. I
signed up for Facebook last month and already I have had outsiders requesting me to be their
friends. I only accept those associated with the 15th Medical Battalion Association. We must be
careful on the information we post on Facebook. Anyone can view it and use it to any intent they
wish whether it be good or bad.
Ways of Communication - There are several ways to communicate or stay in touch with
others like our members. Each method is okay and is used either on a private or open way to
communicate. These are the methods.
1.) Telephone or cell phone. 2.) Email, either person to person or group. 3.) Written letters or
invites sent by snail mail. 4.) Website postings. 5.) Discussion Boards like the Forums we use
on our website. 6.) Voice over Internet Provider (VOIP). 7.) Facebook, My Space, Twitter and
others which are open to the public and are setup for immediate contact with other members by
sending one an email from another making contact.
The method one uses should be based on the content of the intended message to be delivered
from private to public. Anything that might be personal should not be posted in the Forums
boards or Facebook. However, there is in the Forums a private message section that only the
intended person can read.
others like our members. Each method is okay and is used either on a private or open way to
communicate. These are the methods.
1.) Telephone or cell phone. 2.) Email, either person to person or group. 3.) Written letters or
invites sent by snail mail. 4.) Website postings. 5.) Discussion Boards like the Forums we use
on our website. 6.) Voice over Internet Provider (VOIP). 7.) Facebook, My Space, Twitter and
others which are open to the public and are setup for immediate contact with other members by
sending one an email from another making contact.
The method one uses should be based on the content of the intended message to be delivered
from private to public. Anything that might be personal should not be posted in the Forums
boards or Facebook. However, there is in the Forums a private message section that only the
intended person can read.
I like to thank all of you who were
thinking of me during the 2010 Reunion.
This card was sent to me shortly after
the Reunion. It is a good feeling to
know that one is missed. This card
Promotes & Fosters GOODWILL and
BROTHERHOOD among the members
of the 15th Med Bn Associaton. I really
appreciate all the comments made in
this Card.
Webmaster Murray Gibbs
thinking of me during the 2010 Reunion.
This card was sent to me shortly after
the Reunion. It is a good feeling to
know that one is missed. This card
Promotes & Fosters GOODWILL and
BROTHERHOOD among the members
of the 15th Med Bn Associaton. I really
appreciate all the comments made in
this Card.
Webmaster Murray Gibbs
I hope this Newsletter has been informational and clarifies any concerns or doubts. I would
like to get as many pictures from those who attended the 2010 Reunion so I can add them to our
website. If any members has pictures of previous Reunions please send them to me. If any of you
have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact any officer of the Association or
myself.
Past President 2003-2006 / Webmaster Database Operator
15th Med Bn Association
Murray Gibbs
Medevac 67-68
gunnermadmur@neo.rr.com
SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE
like to get as many pictures from those who attended the 2010 Reunion so I can add them to our
website. If any members has pictures of previous Reunions please send them to me. If any of you
have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact any officer of the Association or
myself.
Past President 2003-2006 / Webmaster Database Operator
15th Med Bn Association
Murray Gibbs
Medevac 67-68
gunnermadmur@neo.rr.com
SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE
