| 2009 Nov-Dec |
MEDEVAC
15th MED\15th FSB
Mike Bodnar
13010 N Lakeforest Drive
Sun City, AZ 85351-3250
(623)972-4395
e-mail: mbodnar27@juno.com
Web site: http://15thmedassociation.com
MEDEVAC gunner Dave PARKS said that he has received a lot of
phone calls about his broken hip. Thanks to everyone who was
concerned.
I tried to find 15th MED information on recently passed
Richard "Tiny" MELLON, but no one seems to remember him in
'69. Murray GIBBS said he was a flight Medic on MEDEVAC. Dave
PARKS didn't remember him, nor '69 PSG Gordon RUSSELL. I had
even e-mailed his family address given, but no reply. If
anyone knew him and what he did in 15th MED in '69, please
contact me.
Jim BRODIE <jbr8519738@aol.com> in Columbus, GA, says, "Last
year John BUBELA sent me a roster of the 15th that shipped
over in '65. I sent it to someone that was compiling a
roster. Never heard or seen the final roster. Is there one?"
Henry "Capt. Hook" LAND <Capthook1stcav@netscape.com>
at Tangerine, FL, posts, "I tried to get into forum and it
wouldn't let me. Saw article in VHPA Magazine on MEDEVAC bird
#63-08803 being restored to H model status, it left MEDEVAC
in '65, anybody serve on it or know who did? Contact:
<www.AmericanHuey369.com> with info. Henry"
James PERRY <pakratjim@sbcglobal.net> South Bend, IN,
comments: Served with 15th MED originally at 'Red Beach' with
Capt. JONES, Sgt. DUNCAN, COOPER. MCKINLEY, PAVONE, CASWELL,
HORN, GOODMAN, and others would like to hear from. Moved on
to Evans, and finally Phouc Vinh."
Keith RIGGS <eriggs2@sc.rr.com> from Myrtle Beach, SC signs,
"C Co., 15th MED Bn."
Patrick BIENEMAN <pcbnamin@earthlink.net> of Winchester,
KY, writes, "On July 7, 1968, myself and one other man were
sent down ropes to aid in the extraction of a six man LRRP
team. We had one KIA and five severely wounded WIAs. The 15th
MED team hovered above our position for approximately fifteen
minutes or longer as we loaded each one of the WIAs onto a
Jungle Penetrator. They left with them and then returned to
get the KIA and us. Once again they had to hover about
fifteen minutes as we not only loaded the KIA but also all of
the equipment before we were extracted by them. I do not know
who was on that team but I applaud them. The pilot held that
chopper still as all of this was being done. We were seventy
feet down in triple canopy."
'70-'71 PSG James MACDONALD <csmret@iinet.com> contacted me
on the telephone to find out more about '69-'70 PSG L. Don
BARTON. There was really nothing that I could add that wasn't
in the last column. James did get an e-mail from Don,
<mudmedic70@hotmail.com>, so they can take it from there.
James took the opportunity while he had me on the horn to
reminisce about his years serving in Vietnam. It sounded like
for tax purposes, those were most of the years of his younger
life. James also sang a song for me in Vietnamese, which
interprets to: "As I carry my pack and I travel to the
mountain, it is not heavy, because I wrote your name on it we
are never separate...never apart."
I'm sure those words could originate from many U.S. G.I.s who
felt the same way, and had to carry a pack; or just be there
away from someone at home they would rather be beside, You
know you were in Nam too long when you can sing in
Vietnamese.
James also e-mailed over, "Funny, small world...10/19/2009
10:30-While shopping at Fred MEYER's in Longview, WA,
I met a C 2-7 1st Cav VN Vet who said you were in his unit;
knew you by name. His name was ROACH. He said he was
MEDEVAC'd out by the 15th MEDs in '69 WIA X3 in the stomach
and chest. Thanked MEDEVAC."
That was Robert F. ROCHE, who was one of my platoon leaders
in C 2-7 Cav. He was WIA in May '69 when we were in contact
along the Song Saigon, or Saigon River, in War Zone C, out of
LZ Jamie. Like many infantry lieutenants, he was not our
platoon leader very long. On that occasion I think he went
looking for trouble, and he found it. I don't remember moving
up with the platoon, just being in the company N.D.P. with my
platoon, and they had brought him back. I can only remember
looking him over; he seemed stable in the supine position,
and just like that, the MEDEVAC was there and we loaded him.
It all happened so fast. Only he knew what hit him. B-40
frags.
I just found an old e-mail from Mark SMITH, whom I had
mentioned in the last column. He said that when our CO, Cpt.
MEAGER, had to go into the rear to get new glasses, Lt. ROCHE
filled in for him. Apparently our third platoon was moving
up, and Lt. ROCHE was with them. I was in 1st Plt. That
sounds plausible.
15th Med Association Past President\Webmaster Murray GIBBS
MEDEVAC '67-'68 <gunnermadmur@neo.rr.com> notifies, "I
received an e-mail concerning our member Tom GROVE whose
wife, Elaine, has passed away." Tom is at <epark8@yahoo.com>
if you want to contact him.
12th Cav Ken HOWSER <AceHigh6India@ComCast.Net> first
contacted me and others, trying to find out which unit of the
1st Cav was involved with the 11th ACR on March 26, 1970, for
which Alpha Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment was awarded
the Presidential Unit Citation by President OBAMA on October
20, 2009, in the Rose Garden at the White House.
Later in the day I saw the various television network news
programs make mention of it. Charles GIBSON on ABC informed
properly, and displayed a black and white photo of the 11th
ACR in battle line out in the boonies. When I next watched
Katie COURIC, I started to fume, because she pronounced it,
11th Armored CALVARY!
Brian WILLIAMS then on NBC got around any faux pas that I
could cite. He mentioned them as the 11th Armored Combat
Regiment.
When I was living in Copperas Cove, TX, in the late 90's,
I used to watch the local news from Waco, TX. Their reporters
often went to Fort Hood to cover events. They would always
mispronounce the 1st Cav as 1st CALVARY! I quickly got tired
of hearing that, and e-mailed the station with the definition
of "cavalry," including etymology: "cavalry (kav' l re) n.
pl: ries [Fr. cavalarie <It. cavalleria <It. cavaliere
<LateLatin caballarius <Latin caballus-a horse] combat troops
mounted originally on horses but now often on motorized
armored vehicles, for greater mobility."
"CALVARY" is derived from "Calvarium" which is derived from
the Latin, Calvaria, "skulls," used to translate the Greek
"kranion," meaning "skull," whence "cranium." The associated
Aramaic word is, "Gulgulta," derived from the Hebrew
"gulgolet" meaning "skull," becoming the oft familiar,
Golgatha. All of these said from the hill that looked like a
skull, or was a "hill of skulls" where the Romans crucified
their outlaws.
The TV station in Waco, TX, e-mailed me, way back then, and
thanked me. After that I always heard them pronounce it
correctly. When they then got it right in comparison, it was
like a bell ringing; First CAVALRY!
I had contacted 1st Cav Div. Assn. Executive Director Dennis
WEBSTER trying to find out which unit in the 1st Cav was
involved. He got back to me quickly with a forward from
apparently C 227 AHB, Daniel E. TYLER <dan@tylerdigital.com>.
Dennis confirmed C 2-8 Cav.
I also mentioned to Dennis all of the mispronounciations-
which irks my gall, One article from <army.mil> which came up
on Google, by Nate D. HERRING, had it as the 11th Armored
Cavalry which came to aid of Charlie Company 1st CALVARY[!],
etc. I had to e-mail them, and they corrected it with:
Charlie Company, 2-8 Cavalry, 1st CAVALRY Division. We should
think that <army.mil> could understand a need for the
correction, and impliment it.
I had also e-mailed CBS News, but I got no reply. There was
no mention of it by Katie COURIC on her later broadcast.
I found the presentation ceremony on YouTube, and President
OBAMA says right at the start, "Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron,
11th Armored CALVARY Regiment!" The commander-in-chief of the
United States armed forces! A Harvard Law School graduate! A
Harvard Law School Professor!
I tried to e-mail the White House about this, but their
Website was down. I just got it through as I write this. I'll
write about it if I hear from them.
There is a book about this incident by the individual who
campaigned for the Presidential Unit Citation, Capt. John
POINDEXTER (ret.), which is entitled: The Anonymous Battle.
I could only find it available at the 11th ACR Quartermaster
Store online. I just started to read it.
I also got from them an in-their-own-words book on the 11th
ACR in Vietmam, and a DVD. On the DVD the narrator at the
start refers to the "CALVARY!" Some being interviewed who
were Desert Training Center OPFOR say, "CALVARY!" I have some
more work to do!
So, if you hear anyone say "CALVARY" when they mean
"CAVALRY" please, wake them up! That is also a form of stolen
valor.
Always remembering our 1st Cav troops on duty around the
world; over and out.
FIRST TEAM!
Garryowen,
Mike Bodnar C 2\7 Cav 1969
MEDEVAC 1-7\1970
SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE
15th MED\15th FSB
Mike Bodnar
13010 N Lakeforest Drive
Sun City, AZ 85351-3250
(623)972-4395
e-mail: mbodnar27@juno.com
Web site: http://15thmedassociation.com
MEDEVAC gunner Dave PARKS said that he has received a lot of
phone calls about his broken hip. Thanks to everyone who was
concerned.
I tried to find 15th MED information on recently passed
Richard "Tiny" MELLON, but no one seems to remember him in
'69. Murray GIBBS said he was a flight Medic on MEDEVAC. Dave
PARKS didn't remember him, nor '69 PSG Gordon RUSSELL. I had
even e-mailed his family address given, but no reply. If
anyone knew him and what he did in 15th MED in '69, please
contact me.
Jim BRODIE <jbr8519738@aol.com> in Columbus, GA, says, "Last
year John BUBELA sent me a roster of the 15th that shipped
over in '65. I sent it to someone that was compiling a
roster. Never heard or seen the final roster. Is there one?"
Henry "Capt. Hook" LAND <Capthook1stcav@netscape.com>
at Tangerine, FL, posts, "I tried to get into forum and it
wouldn't let me. Saw article in VHPA Magazine on MEDEVAC bird
#63-08803 being restored to H model status, it left MEDEVAC
in '65, anybody serve on it or know who did? Contact:
<www.AmericanHuey369.com> with info. Henry"
James PERRY <pakratjim@sbcglobal.net> South Bend, IN,
comments: Served with 15th MED originally at 'Red Beach' with
Capt. JONES, Sgt. DUNCAN, COOPER. MCKINLEY, PAVONE, CASWELL,
HORN, GOODMAN, and others would like to hear from. Moved on
to Evans, and finally Phouc Vinh."
Keith RIGGS <eriggs2@sc.rr.com> from Myrtle Beach, SC signs,
"C Co., 15th MED Bn."
Patrick BIENEMAN <pcbnamin@earthlink.net> of Winchester,
KY, writes, "On July 7, 1968, myself and one other man were
sent down ropes to aid in the extraction of a six man LRRP
team. We had one KIA and five severely wounded WIAs. The 15th
MED team hovered above our position for approximately fifteen
minutes or longer as we loaded each one of the WIAs onto a
Jungle Penetrator. They left with them and then returned to
get the KIA and us. Once again they had to hover about
fifteen minutes as we not only loaded the KIA but also all of
the equipment before we were extracted by them. I do not know
who was on that team but I applaud them. The pilot held that
chopper still as all of this was being done. We were seventy
feet down in triple canopy."
'70-'71 PSG James MACDONALD <csmret@iinet.com> contacted me
on the telephone to find out more about '69-'70 PSG L. Don
BARTON. There was really nothing that I could add that wasn't
in the last column. James did get an e-mail from Don,
<mudmedic70@hotmail.com>, so they can take it from there.
James took the opportunity while he had me on the horn to
reminisce about his years serving in Vietnam. It sounded like
for tax purposes, those were most of the years of his younger
life. James also sang a song for me in Vietnamese, which
interprets to: "As I carry my pack and I travel to the
mountain, it is not heavy, because I wrote your name on it we
are never separate...never apart."
I'm sure those words could originate from many U.S. G.I.s who
felt the same way, and had to carry a pack; or just be there
away from someone at home they would rather be beside, You
know you were in Nam too long when you can sing in
Vietnamese.
James also e-mailed over, "Funny, small world...10/19/2009
10:30-While shopping at Fred MEYER's in Longview, WA,
I met a C 2-7 1st Cav VN Vet who said you were in his unit;
knew you by name. His name was ROACH. He said he was
MEDEVAC'd out by the 15th MEDs in '69 WIA X3 in the stomach
and chest. Thanked MEDEVAC."
That was Robert F. ROCHE, who was one of my platoon leaders
in C 2-7 Cav. He was WIA in May '69 when we were in contact
along the Song Saigon, or Saigon River, in War Zone C, out of
LZ Jamie. Like many infantry lieutenants, he was not our
platoon leader very long. On that occasion I think he went
looking for trouble, and he found it. I don't remember moving
up with the platoon, just being in the company N.D.P. with my
platoon, and they had brought him back. I can only remember
looking him over; he seemed stable in the supine position,
and just like that, the MEDEVAC was there and we loaded him.
It all happened so fast. Only he knew what hit him. B-40
frags.
I just found an old e-mail from Mark SMITH, whom I had
mentioned in the last column. He said that when our CO, Cpt.
MEAGER, had to go into the rear to get new glasses, Lt. ROCHE
filled in for him. Apparently our third platoon was moving
up, and Lt. ROCHE was with them. I was in 1st Plt. That
sounds plausible.
15th Med Association Past President\Webmaster Murray GIBBS
MEDEVAC '67-'68 <gunnermadmur@neo.rr.com> notifies, "I
received an e-mail concerning our member Tom GROVE whose
wife, Elaine, has passed away." Tom is at <epark8@yahoo.com>
if you want to contact him.
12th Cav Ken HOWSER <AceHigh6India@ComCast.Net> first
contacted me and others, trying to find out which unit of the
1st Cav was involved with the 11th ACR on March 26, 1970, for
which Alpha Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment was awarded
the Presidential Unit Citation by President OBAMA on October
20, 2009, in the Rose Garden at the White House.
Later in the day I saw the various television network news
programs make mention of it. Charles GIBSON on ABC informed
properly, and displayed a black and white photo of the 11th
ACR in battle line out in the boonies. When I next watched
Katie COURIC, I started to fume, because she pronounced it,
11th Armored CALVARY!
Brian WILLIAMS then on NBC got around any faux pas that I
could cite. He mentioned them as the 11th Armored Combat
Regiment.
When I was living in Copperas Cove, TX, in the late 90's,
I used to watch the local news from Waco, TX. Their reporters
often went to Fort Hood to cover events. They would always
mispronounce the 1st Cav as 1st CALVARY! I quickly got tired
of hearing that, and e-mailed the station with the definition
of "cavalry," including etymology: "cavalry (kav' l re) n.
pl: ries [Fr. cavalarie <It. cavalleria <It. cavaliere
<LateLatin caballarius <Latin caballus-a horse] combat troops
mounted originally on horses but now often on motorized
armored vehicles, for greater mobility."
"CALVARY" is derived from "Calvarium" which is derived from
the Latin, Calvaria, "skulls," used to translate the Greek
"kranion," meaning "skull," whence "cranium." The associated
Aramaic word is, "Gulgulta," derived from the Hebrew
"gulgolet" meaning "skull," becoming the oft familiar,
Golgatha. All of these said from the hill that looked like a
skull, or was a "hill of skulls" where the Romans crucified
their outlaws.
The TV station in Waco, TX, e-mailed me, way back then, and
thanked me. After that I always heard them pronounce it
correctly. When they then got it right in comparison, it was
like a bell ringing; First CAVALRY!
I had contacted 1st Cav Div. Assn. Executive Director Dennis
WEBSTER trying to find out which unit in the 1st Cav was
involved. He got back to me quickly with a forward from
apparently C 227 AHB, Daniel E. TYLER <dan@tylerdigital.com>.
Dennis confirmed C 2-8 Cav.
I also mentioned to Dennis all of the mispronounciations-
which irks my gall, One article from <army.mil> which came up
on Google, by Nate D. HERRING, had it as the 11th Armored
Cavalry which came to aid of Charlie Company 1st CALVARY[!],
etc. I had to e-mail them, and they corrected it with:
Charlie Company, 2-8 Cavalry, 1st CAVALRY Division. We should
think that <army.mil> could understand a need for the
correction, and impliment it.
I had also e-mailed CBS News, but I got no reply. There was
no mention of it by Katie COURIC on her later broadcast.
I found the presentation ceremony on YouTube, and President
OBAMA says right at the start, "Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron,
11th Armored CALVARY Regiment!" The commander-in-chief of the
United States armed forces! A Harvard Law School graduate! A
Harvard Law School Professor!
I tried to e-mail the White House about this, but their
Website was down. I just got it through as I write this. I'll
write about it if I hear from them.
There is a book about this incident by the individual who
campaigned for the Presidential Unit Citation, Capt. John
POINDEXTER (ret.), which is entitled: The Anonymous Battle.
I could only find it available at the 11th ACR Quartermaster
Store online. I just started to read it.
I also got from them an in-their-own-words book on the 11th
ACR in Vietmam, and a DVD. On the DVD the narrator at the
start refers to the "CALVARY!" Some being interviewed who
were Desert Training Center OPFOR say, "CALVARY!" I have some
more work to do!
So, if you hear anyone say "CALVARY" when they mean
"CAVALRY" please, wake them up! That is also a form of stolen
valor.
Always remembering our 1st Cav troops on duty around the
world; over and out.
FIRST TEAM!
Garryowen,
Mike Bodnar C 2\7 Cav 1969
MEDEVAC 1-7\1970
SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE