gathering 10 - gun trucks
TRANSCRIPT
Vol: 4Issue: 5
8 Sep 2012
Remember to always say what you mean.If you love someone, tell them.
Because when you decide that it is the right time it might be too late...Seize the day.
Never have regrets.And most importantly, stay close to your friends and family, for they have helped
make you the person that you are today.Submitted by Mike Jones (57th & 669th)
Gathering 10
Inside this issue: Gathering 10 RecapTruck NewsA Gathering StoryOther ReunionsGuess Who?New Planning Group
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Vets and Friends, It only gets better! We had a great time at Prince George, VA outside Fort Lee for our 10th Anniversary! Weather was wonderful, sights and activities were great, banquet and raffle were terrific. I hope you all have read Bill Parks’ blog on Multiply. I could never write as well as he does, but I can include lots of facts and photos! Go read Bill’s wonderful words at: http://guntrucks.multiply.com/journal/item/503 Just follow on for parts 2 through 6. Our headquarters hotel was The Baymont Inn, just outside of Fort Lee. Breakfasts were filling, the pool cool and the patio and hospitality room just right. Thanks! The group photo (by Deb Masonis) was taken at Fort Lee during the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam Conflict. Great photo!
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REGISTRATION:
WEDNESDAY MORNING, CITY POINT, VA:Steve Anders, historian for CASCOM (Combined Arms Support Command), led a spirited tour of City Point. While laying siege to Petersburg, Grant established his headquarters at City Point, a small port at the confluence of the James and Appomattox rivers. Overnight, the town and adjacent Appomattox Plantation became one of the busiest ports in the work as hundreds of ships delivered food, clothing and ammunition.
Steve Anders, Tour Guide
Appomattox Plantation General Grant’s Headquarters
Geese overlooking the Appomattox River
Registration was handled primarily by Dave Coward and Polly Carter (wife of Fred, 359th). Fem (wife of Dan, 64th) and their daughter Mary handled raffle tickets. Other volunteers included Butch and Rhonda Weston (88th). Kathy, Penny and I pitched in wherever/whenever needed. Thank you so much to our volunteers for their help!
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WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, BLANDFORD CHURCH CEMETERY:
Built in 1735 for colonial parishioners, the church was restored in the early 1900s as a memorial to Confederate soldiers. The windows were executed under the famous designer Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York. The 15 Tiffany stained-glass windows commemorate each of the Confederate states. It was used as a field hospital during
the Siege of Petersburg. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed inside the church. More than 30,000 Confederate soldiers are buried in Blandford Cemetery. It is the second largest cemetery in Virginia, the first being Arlington National Cemetery.
WEDNESDAY, MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT:
The Baymont Inn hosted a special Military Appreciation Night for the Gathering vets and active duty soldiers staying at the hotel. It included a free dinner and a special display in front of the hotel. There was a pace car from the Richmond Raceway, plus our four
guntrucks. And Ron Jones couldn’t wait to include his Mustang! Members of a local Rolling Thunder chapter arrived, awed by the trucks, and many locals also arrived to take a look.
Ted Ballard (left, 523rd) and his gun jeep Wild Honey; pace car in background
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(continued)...Wednesday, Military Appreciation Night:
The rear of Psychotic Reaction with Ron Jones’ (54th) blue Roush Edition Mustang behind it
Sarah Wilson, fearless reporter from The Hopewell News, dressed for action on the Ace of Spades
A member of the local chapter of Rolling Thunder arrived with his motorcycle and a few friends
THURSDAY, CONVOY TO FORT EUSTIS:
Nearly 40 vehicles plus the Ace of Spades gun truck convoyed to Fort Eustis early Thursday morning. There was a brief ceremony over the bricks purchased by veterans of the Gathering led by Col James
Rockey, president of the Army Transportation Museum Foundation. Following that, Calvin Bennett (523rd) led the Remembrance ceremony that honored fallen comrades in Vietnam and in recent years.
Greeting the Ace as she arrived; Ronnie Rogers (523rd),sitting on the running board, got to ride up front!
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(continued)...Thursday, Convoy to Fort Eustis:
Inspecting the 39 bricks purchased by Gathering veterans on the sidewalk. Twelve more bricks were purchased that day from the Foundation and will be installed at the top of the sidewalk, left and right, keeping all the Vietnam veterans together.
COL James Rockey, president of the Museum Foundation (right) welcomed the Gathering vets. Calvin Bennett (left, 523rd) led the Remembrance ceremony.
The 359th had a photo session with current 359th commander CPT Neil Stevenson and his soldiers.
The Ace of Spades replica gun truck drove to the rear of the museum for a photo op with the Iraqi Ace of Spades, now on display in the museum. A real piece of history here.(Great photo by James Lyles!)
Veterans of the 88th Trans Co in front of the Eve in the museum.
Vets crowding around the display cases in the Vietnam area.
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THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER, PETERSBURG:
Thursday Night Thunder is an event that happens each week in a downtown Petersburg parking lot. Classic cars and motorcycles display for the public, and this week, there were gun trucks!
Daughter of Darkness behind classic cars. Ace of Spades with new display boards.
FRIDAY, FT. LEE:
Three of our gun trucks arrived with a military police escort, and displayed in front of the Quartermaster and Women’s Museums.
The visit to Fort Lee was a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam Conflict.
A ceremony took place at noon with BG Stephen Farmen, Army Chief of Transportation. BG Farmen spoke of paral-lels between transporters that served during Vietnam and troops he commanded during Operation Iraqi Freedom; the similarities ending with the homecomings. (photo courtesy of Ft. Lee PAO)
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(continued)...Friday, Ft. Lee:
Retired Colonel Emmett Knight was the guest speaker, and a member of one of the first TC units to arrive in Vietnam in early 1962. He served as ops officer of the 57th Trans Co (Light Helicopter), and participated in the first air assault ops with South Vietnamese troops. (photo courtesy of Ft. Lee PAO)
BG Farmen presented three St. Christopher medallions to Larry Fiandt, James Lyles and Kathy Blackstone. Larry was honored for consulting with Lawrence Livermore National Laborato-ries in developing and testing a gun box kit for gun trucks in Iraq and for starting the Gatherings for TC Vietnam Vets. James was recognized for his consultant work with the armored gun box kits and for writing three books on Vietnam gun trucks. Kathy was acknowledged for establishing the raf-fle during the Gatherings; now a very pop-ular event, and for coordinating the activi-ties the Gatherings each year. (photo courtesy of Ft. Lee PAO)
BG Farmen presenting coins (through a handshake) to each gun truck owner/ operator. From top: Dan Rhame of Psychotic Reaction, Sammy Seay of Ace of Spades, and Scott Davis of Daughter of Darkness.
And Kathy made a presentation to BG Farmen with a 10th Anniversary Gathering t-shirt and mug.
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FRIDAY, BBQ AND RAFFLE:
Well, we had a banquet instead of a BBQ this year – wonderful meal – baked chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, etc, plus a bun and iced tea. Bill Parks (USCG) welcomed and gave directions for the servings and Jack Pin (359th TC) gave the prayer. The food was great, no complaints, and seconds were available! We adjourned back to the Baymont Inn and began the raffle. First we had an auction, with three wonderful quilts (Barbara’s, Teresa’s and one by Mrs. Bob Ritenour), a tribute truck model made by Dave Willett, and .50 cal MG replica from Ted Ballard. The auction itself made $1550.00! Wow! The raffle made, including donations by
John Dodd (585th, 359th), MG Fred Elam, Ron Voighritter (597th), Charles Sims (60th, 359th, 88th), Jack Cole (44th), Chapter 908 VVA (Marty Robichaud (512th) & Dean Triffitt (1098th)), John Krasnican (669th), Danny (523rd) & Teresa Cochran, Al Green (512th, 64th & 2nd), Melton (545th) and Trish Brown, and Jerry Gustin (387th), and including the auction totaled $4868.00! Wow, again! What a total! And this was divided among the four gun trucks! What a fabulous effort by our vets to support other vets and their gun trucks! I think everyone who attended the banquet also attended the raffle. What a great conclusion to the week!
SATURDAY, KEYSTONE VINTAGE TRACTOR MUSEUM:
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Hundreds of restored tractors, some worth over $200,000!
Open only since October 2011, all the tractors, trucks and vehicles inside are owned by Keith Jones, founder of the museum. Each tractor restoration, most done by Alan Jones, curator, takes about 200 hours of work.
The museum also included classic trucks and cars, fire engines and road trucks.
TRUCK NEWS:
Orland, Indiana: Randy Recht (Co B, 815 Eng) took Wild Thing and other Vietnam-era vehicles to a parade in Orland, Indiana in late July.
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OTHER REUNIONS:
The Oki-Thai Reunion 2012 will be held 24-28 October 2012 in Kissimmee, FL. POC: Roy Gettz, 3091 Blackbird Ct, Melbourne, FL 32935, 321-259-7039 [email protected]
By Maureen Warnock Julian Last February 3, the 42nd anniversary of the death of my brother, “Smiley” Robert Warnock, in Viet Nam, I found a new website that I had never seen before, called, togetherweserved.com. There I found a posting by Richard Cornell from August 10, 2006 saying he had traveled the roads with my brother and an email address for Richard. When my brother died, I was a senior in high school, and Robert had only been in Viet Nam for 7 months before he died in an accident, when his truck over turned going around a curve. Bob was with the 64th Trans Co. Richard’s email address was over 6 years old and my heart was so hopeful that it was still valid…..and it was!! Richard promptly emailed me back.
Over the last 42 years I have wanted to know that Robert’s life made a difference to someone; that he had friends in Viet Nam. Richard was able to answer all my questions, telling me some poignant stories and confirmed that Robert loved his job and he had friends that today, still remember and honor his short life. My husband and I attended the Gathering in August where I was able to meet Richard Cornell, Roger Holley and Al Greene, all who knew “Smiley”. The Gathering was a wonderful experience for me and I can see how important it is to the Veterans. I can finally finish the “last chapter” for my brother. There was always a “gap” for me of when my brother got to Viet Nam and his death; now I have wonderful stories, and an understanding of “Smiley’s” life in Viet Nam.
Robert “Smiley” Warnock, 1969-1970 Roger Holley, Al Greene, Richard Cornell with Smiley’s sister, Maureen Warnock Julian
A GATHERING STORY:
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GUESS WHO?
Want to guess? He attended this year’s Gathering. Photo taken 69-70.
We’llbein
touch!
A BIG THANK YOU:
A big thank you to all the veterans who traveled to attend the Gathering. It wouldn’t be complete without greeting new friends and meeting old friends. Another big thanks to our gun truck owners/operators – Sammy Seay, Dan Rhame, Ted Ballard and Scott Davis. It was great to see the new ¾ ton trucks – Wild Honey and Daughter of Darkness, and to greet once again the Ace of Spades and Psychotic Reaction.
We have a new planning/working group conducting future Gatherings. Mary Ann Deeks removed herself due to family obligations, so we asked Fem and Mary Kritzer to join us. Here’s the new group!
Penny, Fem, Barbara, Kathy, and Mary
Barbara Bower: [email protected] Kathy Blackstone: [email protected] Fem Kritzer: [email protected] Mary Kritzer: [email protected] Penny Throne: [email protected]