MEDEVAC
15th MED\15th FSB
Mike Bodnar
26748 N 187th Avenue
Wittmann, AZ 85361-9413
(623)388-9150
e-mail: mbodnar27@juno.com
Web site: http://15thmedassociation.org
Forum:
http://communities.msn.com/15thMEDASSOCIATION/_whatsnew.msnw
The passing of two notable 1st Cav veterans has occurred
since my last writing. LTG (Ret.) Elvy B. ROBERTS (1917-
2005), whom I and many others had served under as CG in '69-
'70, and who was with the Division Chief of Staff in '65.
Also passing was LTC (Ret.) J.D. COLEMAN who died on 4
October 05 after a battle with cancer, at his home in
Kalispell, MT. J.D. was a member of the President's Advisory
Council and served two tours with the division in Vietnam. He
was the Assistant PIO in '65, commanded B 2-8 Cavalry in '66,
and was the Division Public Information Officer in '69.
J.D.'s is the author of: Pleiku, The Dawn of
Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam and Incursion: From America's
Chokehold on the NVA Lifelines to the Sacking of the
Cambodian Sanctuaries. J.D. and several of the troopers who
served with him in Vietnam held a reunion in Montana this
past August. His funeral was scheduled for Monday, 10
October.
I had asked J.D. at the '88 1st Cav Reunion about being
interviewed by S.L.A. MARSHALL for the book: Battles in the
Monsoon which describes J.D.'s command of B 2-8 Cav when they
were surrounded on a hilltop where he earned a Silver Star.
J.D. clued me in on how S.L.A. MARSHALL put things into his
own words, as has been confirmed by other 1st Cav veterans
whom I have spoken to who were also written about by MARSHALL
in his many books. J.D.'s books are much more documentary and
do not take the same journalistic liberties. R.I.P. to both
distinguished 1st Cav veterans.
At the end of the last column I mentioned Medic Dale T.
MCGUFF's book: So That Others May Live. Shared Saber space
did not permit me to include the publisher's notes on it. The
book review is as follows: "D.T. MCGUFF has crafted a
deft account of his struggles as a Combat Medic in Vietnam
from 1969 to 1970. The powerful narration inserts you in the
middle of the complexities of the Vietnam War and life in the
boonies with the First Air Cavalry Division's [1-5 Cav] Bravo
Company, 2nd Platoon and later with harrowing MEDEVAC rescue
missions. You'll feel as if you're right alongside 'Doc'
MCGUFF whether walking the endless, mind numbing jungle
trails or falling from one hundred and fifty feet in a bullet
riddled MEDEVAC.
"So That Others May Live chronicles the strangely compelling
adventures and personal struggles of a nineteen year old
caught up in a battle to save human lives in a world bent on
destroying them. This painfully honest account of the mind-
blowing roll of a Combat Medic takes you on a terrifying,
confusing and sometimes humorous journey that depicts how one
American son evolves from naive nineteen year old to
disillusioned combat veteran.
"About the Author: In the years following his service Dale
was forced to fight another battle with depression,
nightmares and a feeling of being disconnected from the
world. It took years to realize that he was in the grip of
Post Traumatic Stress [Disorder] from his experience in
Vietnam. Dale floundered through a number of jobs but
eventually time began to heal the painful memories and
eventually he was able to pull his life together.
"Dale found his way to Flagstaff, Arizona where he attended
Northern Arizona University on the G.I bill. It was here, in
this beautiful mountainside community, amongst teachers,
students and friends that he again, found himself. After
graduating he moved to Tampa, Florida to be near his family.
In Television, Dale finally found an outlet for his
creativity. Working for a local television station, he
received accolades as a producer/director and won several
Emmy awards. At the same time Dale acquired a master's degree
in communication from the University of South Florida and
since then has been a communication and marketing consultant
for major corporations. Dale currently lives with his wife
Debra and their two cats in St. Charles, Illinois.
"Free Preview: 'Next to me Dave [PARKS] leaned forward,
swinging his sixty back and forth, scanning the jungle. I
knelt by the hoist, leaning out the door. I put my left hand
on it to steady myself. In my right hand I held the hoist
control. I ran the cable down through the trees, making sure
that it didn't get tangled or snagged. The JP made it all the
way down. The moment it touched the ground all hell broke
loose. Everything happened at once. Reality went into slow
motion starting with machine gun fire. It was so loud it
sounded like it was right next to me. I looked up, assuming
Dave had opened up, but it wasn't him. As I glanced at him he
started firing. I turned and looked behind me. Right behind
my legs I saw a dozen small holes across the brand new
aluminum floor. We'd been hit! Mike [VINYARD] fired his gun
on the other side. In that instant, something hit me in the
back of the neck. I slapped my hand on the spot and when I
pulled it back, I could see small flecks of red covering my
hand.
"''Shit, I'm hit, I'm hit!' I hollered on the radio. I
turned
to look at the pilots and saw the windshield had a line of
bullet holes across it.
"''MAY DAY! MAY DAY! This is MEDEVAC One Niner, we're going
down.' When I heard Charlie [HOLMES], it was if an electric
shock swept through my body, panic and disbelief competing
for control.
"'The machine gun fire continued as the helicopter, which was
now shaking violently, began to slip down and to the left. As
my senses came back I realized that the cable was still out
with the JP dangling like a hook. If it got caught in a tree
it could pull us right out of the air. I grabbed the hoist
control and looked down while thumbing the trigger hard to
bring the JP back up. I could see it swinging wildly below us
as the ship continued its left-hand turn.'"
The ISBN is: 1420859315. Use that to check your favorite
online, or local bookstore. I did find it at
<BARNES&NOBLE.COM>for $10 less than the publisher's price,
when combined with other books for a $25 order which includes
free shipping with B&N.
I have received the book and started to read it. I don't read
books like I used to and so it is very slow going. After the
first two chapters I of course so far am finding Dale's
experiences similar to my own in the same M.O.S. and role,
but very uniquely different. Each infantry battalion, etc.
can be uniquely different although similar, and each develop
and vary it's own culture with the coming and going of
individuals. I'm sure many veterans have seen this.
I have never considered writing a combat book like this,
although I have read, and own stacks of them. I could never
elaborate like I see Dale, and others doing as I read his
book, because I think that these authors remember too well. I
can only remember a fraction as much and subscribe to the
maxim: believe half of what you hear, and all of what you
see-which equates to books. Notwithstanding; Dale's book is
very entertaining, a lot of work on his part, and excellently
done; what can be expected from an Emmy winner in the
broadcast industry, and a veteran who was there. It may all
be true, discern for yourself.
I will try to write a formal book review for the Saber
A.S.A.P.-which will probably be next year at my current rate
of reading. So, don't hesitate to obtain a copy; and if you
are so compelled, submit your own book review. All 1st Cav
Assn. members are encouraged.
Also, in the last issue I mentioned where you can buy a
MEDEVAC patch pin. While browsing the Crossed Sabers Chapter
Souvenir Shop Web site I found that they also sell this pin,
for even less money than the site that I had mentioned. So,
BE SURE AND BUY YOUR 1ST CAV MEDEVAC PIN FROM:
<CROSSEDSABERS-CHAPTER-GIFTSHOP.COM>.
I received a local phone call from 8th Cav veteran Billy
BRYAN, who was in the U.S. Navy in WWII, but later joined the
Army and was with the 1st Cav at Camp Omia, Japan in '46, and
before Korea. Billy is hanging in there, with new tubes to
aid the aging process. Contact the 1st Cav Assn. for his
contact information.
Bill STEWART <BOPDADDY@CHARTER.NET>Morganton, NC
signs in as being in A Co. 15th MED Bn. '65-'66.
Dominick MAURO <DOMMOM007@SBCGLOBAL.NET>of
Bridgeport, CT, also mentions he was a Medic with A Co. 15th.
MED Bn., Feb. '67 to Feb. '68.
Silver Wings Saber correspondent Hank LLEWELLYN e-mailed:
"Mike, I recently had an all day visit from someone who went
through basic training with me 40 years ago in Texas. John
ZWALINSKI, <ANKHEDISP@HOTMAIL.COM>and I went in different
directions after Basic to attend AIT, but both ended up in
the Cav.; John with the 15th MED, and I assigned to the 229th
Avn Bn. Although four decades have passed us by I found it
amazing his recollection of names and events from our time at
Ft. Jackson, Ft. Bliss, and the Cav.
"John spent most of his tour at the 15th MED Dispensary in
downtown An Khe treating the villagers and spreading goodwill
for the Cav. He mentioned, Sp4 BABCOCK; Sp4 SIMPSON; SSG
ROZZELL; SFC CARNEY; Sp4 KAMENS; DUC, PF Tech; SGT TINH,
Interpreter; A.J. CHMIEL, Capt MC., and VICTOR the mascot.
"He doesn't receive the SABER but I'm sure he would like to
hear from anyone from the 15th MED who may remember him and
the An Khe Dispensary. First Team!"
I noticed some new photos posted which I would like to
subsequently include and wrote to the photographer, Tom GROVE
<EPARK8@YAHOO.COM>, to find out more about him. He replied:
"Hi Mike, In MEDEVAC I was a WO-1 pilot just doing the job.
I've had about 10 jobs since then ('68-'69) and MEDEVAC
was the best one yet.
"I currently work for the FAA Aeronautical Charting
Office in Silver Spring, MD <WWW.FAA.NACO.GOV>and like
it a lot - regular hours, good pay & benefits. I had 3
corporate flying jobs flying Learjets from Niagara
Falls, NY; Lears, a Helio-Courier, and Falcon 50 in
Youngstown, OH, and a Falcon 50 and Challenger at
Dulles Int'l, Virginia. They were mostly fun jobs but
with little time for family life. Thanks for the e-mail."
A lot of commo has come through about members who have been
effected and affected by the recent hurricanes. With that, a
lot of support has gone out to them.
When rebuilding, I wanted to mention my own thoughts. Years
ago while living across the street from the 1st Cav Assn. in
Copperas Cove, TX, I used to sit through the many storms that
are common to Central TX. I would always be on the edge of my
seat watching the P.H.D. TV weathermen in Waco describing the
Doplar Radar which showed the dangerous rotations in each
storm cell.
I was aware of the F5 tornado that completely wasted Jarrell,
TX, on 27 May 97, just down the road south from Ft. Hood
going towards Austin. I also annually followed the
devastating results of many other tornados in the U.S. since
then and was on the visual tail end of the death black multi-
tornado cell which swept through Oklahoma. It was nothing new
to them but rarely that many at once, which bothered the most
hardened.
During this time I thought to myself of the geodesic dome
design of Buckminster FULLER as a way to protect against
these storms, which could deflect the uprooting wind, and its
debris as projectiles, like the turret of a tank. After a
couple of years of Internet searches I found a company called
Monolithic Dome Institute <MONOLITHICDOME.COM>, out of Italy,
TX, which matched my thinking and have perfected their
product a long time ago.
In the autumn of '04 I finally got around to signing up for
their hands-on workshop. I was told that the fall courses
were the least attended so there was opportunity for more
attention from the instructors.
By the time of the classes though, we were informed that
there were so many who would be attending that they were
full, and they even had to schedule another autumn workshop
for those who wanted to attend. This was because of the 2004
hurricane season which had overwhelmed Florida.
In fact, almost half of the class that I attended were those
who had survived Hurricane Ivan which wrecked the FL
Panhandle. One of the attendees whom I met was the son of a
Monolithic Dome owner which was featured on the NBC Nightly
News; before and after. It had survived with flying colors
while most dwellings around it were rendered splintered piles
of wood, save a few missed by chance and perhaps with the
best construction possible. Their only concern there was if
the land beneath them did not disappear.
I completed the week long course and earned a certificate.
Other people from around the U.S. and all over the world had
attended. We all learned how to construct the Monolithic Dome
which starts with an outside airform, is sprayed with
polyurethane foam inside, then latticed with rebar, and
sprayed with a final coat of shotcrete, all on a secured
foundation. This is the rock hard shelter that can withstand
the worst that nature can offer. It is easy to control the
inside climate because of the hemisphere shape and foam
insulation, and they are usually less expensive than
comparable, presently conventional houses. I now actually
shudder whenever I see square and rectangular buildings!
Monolithic builds multimillion dollar domes around the world,
as well as affordable single units. We visited local school
gymnasiums built by them, as well as they are contracted to
build churches, produce storage facilities, hospitals, civic
centers, etc., etc. They are only limited by your
imagination, and they will likely increase that. I just heard
discussed on television about how houses could be constructed
to float at anchor when in floods. Monolithic will probably
develop that concept, if they haven't already.
They have a staff team of experienced designers, engineers,
and construction workers. They are always available to help
and advise you. President, and lead mastermind, David B.
SOUTH, told us that they give away more technology than
anyone in industry. They do not fear competition, which
surprisingly does not seem to exist. They only stress that
their name is heavily copyrighted, and they retain the
rights. They are truly amazing people. This is my suggestion
to those thinking of rebuilding from natural disasters. The
future is what you make it.
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
