New Memorial Pages work has begun

[Jim Sheppard]

Our New Memorial pages are finally becoming a reality! I have mulled over quite a few different formats...and decided to do these in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format...which will be easiest for folks to view and download/print. Trying to work out the sizing issues, etc for other formats was tedious, but this new format should work well for all interested in these pages. I will create each Memorial in Microsoft Word & then convert the file to Adobe Acrobat .pdf.

Each file will contain the vital statistics for the man...also his unit information and details of the action in which he was killed, including a small map of the location. Of course, Photos will be included and, finally, a row of awards and Decorations will round out each memorial profile.

I will try to do several of these each week...which will put a completion date sometime before the next reunion.

Eventually, I will be able to link to each of these memorial pages directly from our existing "In Memorium" list pages...so that folks browsing the KIA list will be able to click on an individual name and go to his Memorial Profile.

Thus far, I have completed pages for Aaron and Abernathy.

http://www.ichiban1.org/html/photography.htm#3

[don rainwater]

Jim the new page looks great! We appreciate the work you are doing for our guys ( yes they are still ours) who didn't make it back.The memory of these guys is always in our minds and their sacrifice will always be remembered.

[RJ_Smith]

Hey Jim, the new PDFs look really great. I think they'll be a lot easier to manage this way.

I'm keeping an eye on the server space, we're still great (only ~20% used, total). If I might make a small suggestion -- you could make a subfolder in the /pdf directory named "memorial" or something so these memorials aren't put in with the dozens of other pdf's. Makes it easier later if they have to be moved or copied somewhere .

[Jim Sheppard]

RJ...I thought of making a sub folder for the memorial pages. Maybe I should do it now so I don't have to go back in and change all those .htm pages later when I might want to do just as you hint. Guess I'm just lazy!

[Jim Sheppard]

Have now added memorial pages for: Aaron, Abernathy, Aguayo, Allen, and Arlentino. More to come in the coming months. Also worked out some "justification" errors on the "In Memoriam" pages on the website. Having just bought a new 22" "Letterbox" shaped monitor...i could see where errors had existed on those pages. If you were ahead of me and had a new monitor, you probably noticed some pages with everything on the right 2/3rds of the screen. Eventually I will find them all and correct them to appear "justified or evenly spaced...regardless of your monitor type.

[gladys]

jim, love it, can't wait till you get to g

[Jim Sheppard]

SInce October 25th (My last post here) I have put up new memorial pages for: Johnnie Ayers, Bruce Backes, Scott Bailey, Bernard Bailey, Clifton Baldwin, Ray Chenowich (Spoke to his cousin...photo is coming soon!!), Steve Grubb (Couldn't resist Gladys's hint!), Ken Johnson and Robert LIngle. Back to work on more soon....14 down about 200 to go!

[gladys]

jim, i love men who can take "hints" thanks

[Jim Sheppard]

Have added the following memorial pages: Barron, Barth, Belinge, Birmingham, Clayton, Manly and Stover. Work continues.

[Jim Sheppard]

Tonight, I added Memorial Pages for Jim Freidt, 3rd Platoon, Charlie Company, KIA 11 Oct 1967....and Jerry Riedlberger, Delta Company, KIA 2 Jan 1968.

We received great photos just this week from the families of these two men. I went ahead and created their Memorial Pages right away as my way of thanking them for helping us put faces with these names! I hope we can get many more in the future. Time is running out on being able to get these valuable photos. If you are family or friend of one of our KIAs and have been promising to send me a photo....and have not yet (you know who you are!) PLEASE do! I'm hoping we get better response once these folks start seeing the great tribute pages we are posting.

I'll be finishing up the remaining two casualties from the January 2rd Battle within the next week. Sadly, we do not have photos for either of the next two: Jose Silveira from "B" Company and Bill Stainer from "D" Company.

[bbontemps]

Jim, Outstanding job. What a perfect tribute to our guys. Keep up the good work.

[Jim Sheppard]

Thanks Bill....I am currently working on Willie Bradford, "D" Company...and this will take some extra time as I am also going to do the other men who were killed along with him in the LZ Litts firefight of March 9th, 1968. I'm using several accounts of the action to try to write an expanded...but short description of the attack. Rigo Ordaz and several others provided personal accounts of this battle...but if it were not for Rigo's efforts, we likely would have little detail. We have not heard from Rigo in over 2 years. I had his curremt address researched by Barbara, but received no response to a letter sent about a year ago. I fear the worst, but have no proof.

I've been getting some help from Barabra Anne here and there as requested...and recently, Gladys Grubb contributed quite a few details on Cemetery locations..which included a few new photos of men we previously did not have! We still have no photos for over half our KIAs....but I will be working on this in the coming years. One by one, all our men will have "faces" to go with their names "in memoriam".

[Jim Sheppard]

Posted New Memorial pages for Bradford, Leavell, Perez and Sternin. It took some time for these last 4...due to the holidays. Also...the battle of LZ Litts claimed another casualty!...my desktop computer of the last 5 years finally bit the dust as I worked on battle details 2 weeks ago! I have a new system and newer software in place and am "adapting" to the upgrades well.

[Randy Smith]

I shall fly my flag at half mast the rest of the day in remembrance of your old desktop. But at the rate you used the old computer in the last 5 years, it must have had 10 million miles on it and I'm not surprised.

[Jim Sheppard]

Tonight I finished and posted memorial pages for all 14 of our men killed in the Battle of Tam Quan. You can view the pages from links on the "Photo Gallery" page http://ichiban1.org/html/photography.htm#3 or I have also linked to their pages from their names on our "In Memoriam" pages....both the alphabetical list and the date order list.

They are:

"A" Company: Dudney Arlentino

"B" Company: Paul Branyan, Bohdan Peter Brydun, Sam Bulloch, Barry Feldmann, Donald Fleetwood, John Fullam, Manuel Gonzales, Michael Shapard, Drew Shipley and Walker Smith.

"D" Company:Bill Farrell, Melvin Sodowsky and James Earl Wright.

[Jim Sheppard]

Just finished the "B's"...added Burke, Burnette, Burns and Burton...on to the "C's"!

[Jim Sheppard]

I'm loosing track of who I have already listed in this blog as I bounce around to new memorial pages. Basically, I am going in Alphabetical order...and as I come to a group who all died together...I do them all at once...rather than revisit the same information several times down the line. I am also jumping out of order as something new comes across my desk...such as a new photo...or family contact. This past week I added Cagle, Cardenas, Campfield, Carpenter, Garcia and Strano....Winters, Ward...and I might have missed somebody. Also added a new name, Howard Bell. You can check the Photo Album page to see all the finished Memorial pages quickly. The new are interspersed with the old...for now...but they will all eventually be in the new format.

[gladys]

jim, got a great idea, as soon as you finish all the memorial info i send you the rubbings of all the names so you can add them too LOL (college is closed so i going house crazy) love ya

[Jim Sheppard]

Added David Cardinal and Anthony Simoes...both from the Flame Platoon, HQ Company and killed on April 1st, 1968 while operating with "B" Company. I took a double take when I noticed that these men were both from towns named "Hyde Park"...Cardinal in New York and Simoes in Massachusetts! If you knew either of these two, please read the accounts I have posted. I have one man who stated Cardinal was driving a flame APC that was hit by a B-40. The Battalion History says both men were in an APC that hit a pressure detonated mine. I tend to believe the B-40 account, but am looking for another to vouch for this.

Cardinal also drove the Radar Track for a period...and Mike Hartz supplied some great photos.

[Jim Sheppard]

This past week I have added: Cast, Clatfelter, Coggins, Love, Cokley, Collins, Hamilton and Owen. Considerable changes were also made to the SGT WInters memorial as his family has provided a wealth of infomation.

Also, it has finally happened. Those of you who were at the last reunion saw the new files I put together for our KIAs. As my work progresses, that plastic file storage case has become too small for these files. This week I ordered a Foot Locker style chest that will allow for the anticipated expansion of these files and make a nice presentation as well. They did not have Infantry Blue...so I had to settle for Navy Blue! Sorry! The case cost about a hundred bucks and was paid for by proceeds of my Document DIsk Sales to you all at our last Benning Gathering. Thank you for your support of all my efforts.