In 2011 Bill Pottgen sent me a hilariously funny video and his comment was "I can't wait for our 50th!"... Now it's upon us, and I just discovered the video lurking in my email cavern...but now I know how to share it. GO HERE to see how funny this is and Bill, thanks for entertaining us, even if I am a bit slow on the uptake!
Friday, September 5, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
LOOKING FOR VETERANS
Jim Waters (I know he died in October of 2004, and is buried at Jefferson Barracks. I THINK he died of agent orange exposure during his stint in Viet Nam (see post of 11 Jun 2015), but if you have more or better info, please advise), Frank West, USAF 65-69, John Winkler, the late Byron Vermillion, U S Navy, Linda Stevens, Viet Nam era nurse, Roberts (Ric) USN, Jerome Rawlings, MP killed in action, Bob O'Neill*, Gene Muir, Rusty Nelson, Rich Mills, Eric Johns, Steve Huber, Paul Silman, USN 66-70 Viet Nam 1968, Gary Schmidt Viet Nam, Ken McBride Viet Nam, Jeff Beardsley, non-combat death, Viet Nam, Russ Jaeger, Jack Toman, U S Army Band; Howard Boltz is the only KHS65 member who served in the Merchant Marine, but I don't know the time-frame; Jim Olson, KS Air Natl Guard; Jim Persons, USN; Phil Brown; Ervin (Scotty) Scott; Earl Herweck, USCG.
Well, I am embarrassed to say I forgot a few fellows who I know darned good and well are veterans, but several folks chimed in on Facebook to help me out to add even more to our list:
Ric Porte, Navy; Bob Baker, Army Viet Nam; John De Ruiter, 70-72 Army;Scott Heuer;
Dell Ferguson Air Force 66 - 70; Tom Justison Air Force 66-70; Doug McKelvy; Tom Webdell; Butch Goodrich Army Viet Nam 68-69; Jim Huddleston 67-70 US Army; Mike Caldwell USAF; Al Lawrence US Army, Viet Nam 68-69; Larry Allin, Combat Medic 1st Cavalry, Vietnam 68-69 and a current Kirkwood resident; Bill Watts, Army 10/69-5/72, MOS 55G; Don Stream USN; Mark Lawler, cousin of Bill Watts, Army I think; Mike Bosworth, USN; Art Leavens, USN; Dick Schmidt, USN; Jim Russell, US Army.
*Bob O'Neill sent this today, 5/5/15: "I enlisted in September of 67 and became a crew chief on a CH-47 Chinook. I also was stateside with the 82d airborne Div. at Ft. Bragg,NC. I joined the reserves when I got back and in 1986 went back to Ft. Eustis, VA. to go to UH-60 Blackhawk school. Well into "Retirement" mode when I found myself one of the first Hawks in beautiful downtown Kuwait international air port. Retired in 1997. I had a great time and wouldn't change a thing." When Bob and his beautiful bride CJ were married, Art Stout was the groomsman. All of Bob's pals were in service somewhere, many in Viet Nam, and so his dad was his Best Man and Art was the groomsman. Bob also told me that Fred Lyon, whose hobby was trains, was writing a book on the KATY line which was never finished; his research resides with the Historical Society. A fun project for someone to finish!
Feb., 2015 - A nice note from Tom Justison with further information on his Air Force stint, THANKS for sharing Tom and look forward to seeing you in October! "I was in the US Air Force from December 1966-May 1970. Basic training at Amarillo AFB, TX. Then went to Keesler AFB, MS for tech school training for Air Traffic Controller. I was at Kadena AFB, Okinawa for 18 months. Then finished service at Webb AFB, TX"
Thanks to Steve Fick for alerting me that John Evans and Art Leavens served in the U S Navy. Jim Russell also recently wrote to me with interesting information:
I served in the Army 1969 - 1971 with service in Viet Nam 1970 - 1971. I was assigned to military intelligence, post-basic training was sent to El Paso to learn the Vietnamese language, then to Baltimore for training in intelligence gathering, then to Viet Nam assigned to the First Cavalry Division in the central highlands. My MOS (military occupational specialty) was ‘interrogation specialist’ (…sounds terrible, doesn’t it?…but primarily involved interviewing captured viet cong and north Vietnamese soldiers and war refugees) (..no water-boarding!).
Richard Hodill did Naval ROTC at Northwestern followed by some time in service. Another thank you to Steve Fick for this addition!
Art Leavens sent me the following interesting recap of his service:
I was an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy Reserve from Jan 1970 through July 1972, during which I first went to Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI and then served on the USS Myles C. Fox (DD-829), first as Electronics Material Officer (as an Ensign) and then as Combat Information Center Officer (as a Lt. Junior Grade). The Fox was stationed in Newport, and while I was on it we deployed three times, first to South America (where we, along with two other American warships and an American submarine, operated with various South American navies), second to the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba (where we spent two months in training exercises after our ship had been refurbished in the Boston shipyard), and third to the Indian Ocean (where we operated alone, going to various west-African and Middle-Eastern countries, essentially showing the flag) and then to the Philippines and the Gulf of Tonkin (where we provided various kinds of naval support to ongoing combat operations). The Fox completed that deployment by sailing across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal back to Newport, making it an around-the-world cruise. But I separated from the ship in Japan and flew home, where I was discharged from active service before the ship got home. One KHS footnote: while on the South American deployment in 1970, the ship docked briefly in Comodoro Rivadavia, a wind-swept, god-forsaken port in southern Argentina. I went ashore to look around and ended up in a little restaurant for dinner. Who was sitting there, also by himself, but Dick Schmidt, our classmate. Unbeknownst to me, Dick was in the Navy and stationed aboard the USS Yarnell, the flagship of our little task force. So, we had a nice meal – Argentina has some seriously good steaks – and caught up. It was a very pleasant surprise.
Ron Persons has sent the following note about his Naval Service: SERVICE: I joined the Navy Reserves in 1967 while going to UMSL. I was called up for active duty in 1969 while attending University of Missouri at Rolla. Served one year and nine months on the USS St. Paul, a heavy cruiser as a fire control technician. We left San Diego for Vietnam with a stop in Hawaii and Subic Bay in the Philippines. Spent 40 days at a time on the gun line off the coast of Vietnam. Then the admiral would land his helicopter on the back deck and we would go to some good ports in Japan. Went to the World's Fair, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, etc
11/13/14 - Today I received a nice note from Alan (The Count) Yount which I hope you all find as interesting as did I:
"I served in the U.S. Air Force Band of the West, at Lackland, AFB, in San Antonio, TX. Also, with the Missouri Air National Guard, Band and Stageband, as a trumpet player, for six years, 1968 to 1974.
Scott Heuer, Bill Bay,
Rich McDonnell, and I were all from Kirkwood ... and in the band. There were five
trumpets in the stage band. Bill played first, and I played second. We had many
of the original charts from Maynard Fergusson, and Buddy Rich. Bill was really a
great trumpet player to sit next too. We played many of the “screamin' high
notes" together. Rich was a really good alto sax player, but Scott was even
better and he played lead alto sax."
THANKS Alan for sharing, we look forward to seeing you at our 50th reunion!
We are interested in honoring the Veterans among us at our 50th Reunion. If you want to send a missive about your time in service, don't hesitate, I think I see some entries into an anniversary book coming! Thank you!!! And thank you all for your service!
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