Oct / Nov / Dec 2009
Nov 22nd
See: Fox News Video of C 2/5Don Demchak sent this in: I was watching the Army game on Saturday and noticed that all the Army players were wearing a 1st Cav patches. Being a prior veteran of the CAV, I was very proud of those young men. What I don’t know is, does the Army’s team change the patches each time they play a game. I was very proud to see them beat North Texas State. Hope you had a great Veterans Day. I spent the day visiting 8 veterans at a Hospice Center. They were all from WW II. One participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded the Purple Heart. One of the others took some pictures and as soon as I get a copy, I will forward accordingly. The eight veterans were 7 men and 1 lady. I was very proud to cheer them up for a day. DON DEMCHAK Nov 13th I got a nice note wishing me a Happy Vets Day from Dan Koeing C 2/5 Nov 69 Dan lives in Kiel, WI needless to say a huge Green Bay packers fan. Two Grandpa's with their Grandson Leo  Grandpa Dan and his trusty Chicken Prior age 17 mo's  Dan's cousin has filled his hunting museum from places like Africa.  Nov 11th News story played on Nov 11th. Featuring C 2/5th in Araq Look for Doug Youngs logo towards the end of the story. As you guys know we (C 2/5) send out cards to people in need. Nick Bacon our guest speaker is battling terminal cancer. Below is his response to our card.  “Thank you for the nice Card. Time passes on this old world very quickly, but memories last forever.
The years we spent together in the Jungles of Vietnam will forever bring us together as Friends, No matter who we served with. We share what others will never know. You did not put your name on the card so THANK YOU Charlie 2/5th. CAV God Bless Nick Bacon  Oct 27th | Nov 16th New guy just checked in with us: BEN LOPEZ VALENCIA, "GRUNT" 215 LADDIE SAN ANTONIO, TX 78201 BENVAL48@YAHOO.COM W Phone: 1-210-342-4029 H Phone: 1-210-246-2889 Unit: C-2/5 Arrived: Jan 1969 Left: Apr 1969 LZ: L Z RITA JobHeld: Rifleman -11B 20 3rd Platoon 3rd Squad Rank: E-3 WIA Easter Sunday 1969 New guys to sign up for FACEBOOK Dennis DoranRuss Chaney Current list of C 2/5 People on Facebook Barbara AdamsDanny Adams Bill Wegner Bob Moore Brenda & Donnie Bulloch Byran Kaul Cheser Sey Chick Moore Doug & Cindy Young Dan Bongle Dan Koening Danny Mora Lonny & Deneice Branch Dennis Doran Vance “Doc” Gifford Ed Heitov Eddie Hancock Ellen Neuman James Menicucci Jim Stanford John & Lynnda McCorkle John Myers Bobby and June Hrncirik Kuzriel Meir Linda Kelly Miriam Bradshaw Hunter Gaylord & Patricia Russell Ralph West Don Williams Richard “Doc” Bovie Richard Ferguson Russ Chaney Shirley Dickison Tim Dube William Conner Nov 2nd Oct 29th TREE, thanks to work from Bob Moore ,Doug Young , and John McCorkle there is an addition to our KIA list Johnny
Mack Tinney was killed in a chopper crash during a Charlie Alpha. Bob
Moore was on that C A but on a different bird. There were also 3 men
injured in the crash. Bob can't remember their names, but maybe some of
our guys can. The info on Johnny Mack Tinney on the wall is as follows: CPL Johnny Mack Tinney KIA 8 Feb 71 Panel 05W Line 089Anyone know of the 3 other guys? Anyone have a photo of Johnny Mack Tinnely ? Oct 25th New guy just checked in Garris, Mark William "Snake" 1608 Aurora Avenue, North Seattle, WA 98109 markwgarris@yahoo.com W Phone: see locator page H Phone: see locator page Arrived: Feb 1968 Left: Mar 1969 LZ: Jane, Evans 1st platoon 3rd squad ( I think ) See locator page for More details Oct 20th Applebees wants to buy us vets dinner on Veterans Day Details Oct, 16th Most of you guys know that BOB MOORE our DJ brings what he calls the Bob Moore singers. If your like me I assumed that these people were a group of friends that liked to sing and the reunions gave them an opportunity. What I didn’t know is that one of the singers, TOM JORDAN (pictured below) is a Vet just like us. Better yet he was a Nam Vet, even better he was a 1st CAV Vet. He attended the Memphis Reunion, and I am told he cried along with all of us at the Welcome Home Overpass. He also attended the Marked Tree Picnic this year and told us, “ I really enjoyed the mini reunion in M.T. because I got to sit and talk with people.” Tom served with the 1st Cav 1st /21st Artillery (What I cant hear you) and was in Viet Nam '68 -'69. Not many of Tom’s Nan unit made it back. They don’t have any reunions, nor do they have a web site. He has quietly gotten lots of healing by attending our Reunions. Tom is one of the “Good” guys and I for one welcome him home and welcome him officially to C 2/5. Between Marked Tree and C 2/5 I hope that you have found a home filled with Brothers and Sisters.  Tom Sorry about the mouth open photo, it was all I could muster up. After all you are one of the singers, hee ehhe.. Photo of Tom add his wife Rita, taken at Marked Tree at Danny Adams tail gate party Oct 2nd Veterans return to "hometown" for a visitThursday, October 1, 2009By SAMANTHA MARTIN, Democrat Tribune Editor
Last fall, over 250 Vietnam veterans from Charlie and Echo Company, which consists of Vietnam veterans from the the BN 5th Cav, 1st Calvary Division, visited the wall along the banks of the St. Francis River. They took part in a special candlelight vigil and laid a wreath featuring their symbol at the wall. In a touching measure, they planted a tree to leave a lasting mark. Dirt from the Republic of Vietnam was mixed in with the tree as it was planted. Perhaps what the veterans remembered the most was a homecoming celebration like they had never experienced. When the men and their families reached Tyronza in their trip from Memphis on school buses, they were greeted by elementary school children on the overpass who were waving flags and holding signs that said "Welcome Home." The grand finale was their arrival in Marked Tree when they drove right into a homecoming parade where they were honored as the grand marshals. "There wasn't a dry eye on the bus," said Rosemary Nichols, one of the bus drivers who chauffeured the veterans. "They were overwhelmed by the outpouring from the town." "When these men came back from Vietnam, they didn't get a welcome," Danny Adams said. "They got sneered at, spit on and cussed at. We decided we were going to give them the type of welcome they deserved but never got." It was a welcome the men and their families never forgot. For weeks after the event, letters continue to pour in thanking Marked Tree citizens for their generous outpouring of love and support. The veterans adopted Barbara as their "Mom," and continued to keep in touch with her over the months. It was in a casual conversation that someone suggested a "picnic" in Marked Tree during the Jubilee. "I told them we wouldn't have the wall, but they were all welcome to come get together with us anyway," Barbara Adams said. "What started off as almost a joke about a picnic turned into an awesome weekend." Adams was thrilled to welcome the veterans to Marked Tree again this September. During their stay, the veterans visited the children of Tyronza Elementary School to thank them for their welcome home banner last fall. And they spent Saturday at the Jubilee visiting each other and their friends in Marked Tree, which they all now call their "home town." "I did what my country asked me to do, and all I got for protecting my country was people calling me 'baby killer,'" said 1st Cav. SGT Paul D. Sicca. "Back then, they avoided me. I really didn't feel welcomed home." Sicca said he was proud and honored to serve his country, something he did not for himself but to protect the freedom of others. But, nonetheless, it always hurt to feel the people of America had turned their backs on him and other veterans. "But then we found a placed called Marked Tree," said Sicca. "There just aren't people like them out there everywhere in the world. It's God's special place." Sicca was just one of many who shared their deep feelings about Marked Tree and its people. Adams said there are plans to make the "picnic" an annual event. |
