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Association of the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry (Mechanized) Site Updates - 2012

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This page is designed to be a "quick reference" page of work done on our Web Site. Visit this page often to check on the latest additions and corrections to the site. Please visit the Members Email page and check your email and unit  affiliation information. If changes, additions or deletions are warranted, please use the links provided there to request updates. Historian Jim Sheppard is handling updates.  Feel free to contact him with comments and/or suggestions.

Dec. 27, 2012

Added newest Life Member Pat Willson to the Life Member list on our Awards and Honors Page. Also added Dan Kendall's e-mail address on the E-mail Directory page.

Dec. 24, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Charles "Stormy" Connell (Added Silver Star and Bronze Star Citations and updated map of KIA Location) and Kenneth B Thomas (Added Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages. Added book review for "Six Years in Hell" by LTC. Jay R. Jensen on the Vietnam Books Review page.

Dec. 20, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Larry LeDonne and Tom Ramey (Added Platoon Information) on the In Memoriam pages.

Dec. 19, 2012

Added book review for "A Ranger Born" by Col. Robert W. Black on the Vietnam Books Review page.

Dec. 18, 2012

Added special photos page with photos of the recent Wreathe Laying at Arlington National Cemetery. Also added 2 photos of Wreathe Laying at our Memorial by the Battalion Staff (Bottom of Arlington page).

Dec. 17, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Ramon Grayson (Added photos and Bronze Star), and Charles Aaron (Added new photo) on the In Memoriam pages.

Dec. 12, 2012

Updated some detail on the Scouts page.

Dec. 11, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Jerome Collins (Added Grave photos, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal & remembrance by childhood friend) on the In Memoriam pages.

Dec. 10, 2012

Added 69 more photos from Bill Schussler, "C" Company, 1969-70, on the Photo Album page.

Dec. 2, 2012

Added new e-mail address for Don Hoag on the E-mail Directory page. Also added new e-mail address for Thelma Burch (Newsletter) on the Association Contacts page

Nov. 24, 2012

Added copy of December Newsletter to the Newsletters page.

Nov. 3, 2012

Added Hotel Reservation and Reunion Registration information for the 2013 reunion on the Reunions page.

Nov. 1, 2012

Added book review for "Strength & Honor" by Terry Garlock on the Vietnam Books Review page.

Oct. 19, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Dennis Moore (Added Poem by Ray Sarlin) on the In Memoriam pages.

Oct. 6, 2012

Added Obituary for former Bravo Company 1st Platoon Leader Jim Wonsick on the "Taps" page. Jim passed away on September 28th of 2012. Also changed e-mail address for Marion Hay, "A" Company on the E-mail Directory page.

Sept. 27, 2012

Added identity of Lloyd Dahlberg on Tom Clark's Photo #71 on his Photo Album Page. Also added e-mail address for Mike Bennett, "D" Company on the E-mail Directory page.

Sept. 6, 2012

Added identities on Harley Harless' Photo #24 on his Photo Album Page.

Aug. 2, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Joseph Perez (New Photo and Silver Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages. Also updated new e-mail addresses for Oren Culpepper and Al Smith on the E-mail Directory page.

Aug. 2, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Richard Holloway (New KIA Site Map & Bronze Star Citation) and Tommy Mitchell (Cemetery Information and KIA Site Map) on the In Memoriam pages. Added copy of August Newsletter to the Newsletters page.

Aug. 1, 2012

Added identities on Danny Walters' Photo #7 on his Photo Album Page.

July 29, 2012

Added book review for "Bird" by S.L.A. Marshall on the Vietnam Books Review page.

July 28, 2012

Rearranged the Alphabetical KIA page. It is now set up according to assignment. Eventually, the 33 men listed who turned out not to be ours will be segregated in several memorial places on the site....and the men from "E" and "F" Companies will be added.

July 23, 2012

Added new e-mail address for Lou Frisbie on the E-mail Directory page.

July 18, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Richard Hayes (New Grave photo, Bronze Star Citation & firefight incident documentation) on the In Memoriam pages.

July 17, 2012

Added dates for the next reunion at Fort Benning on the Reunion and Home pages. Also added new e-mail address for Darrel Sourwine on the E-mail Directory page.

July 16, 2012

Added personal account of the Battle of Song Mao, April 1st, 1970, by Steve Belcher, "C" Troop, 2/1st Cavalry on the Battle of Song Mao page.

July 14, 2012

Updated e-mail address for Charles Calhoun on the E-mail Directory page. Added book review for "Soldier: A Sniper's Story of Vietnam" by James Gibbore on the Vietnam Books Review page.

July 9, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Joseph Franckowiak (New Incident Information & Bronze Star Citation), George Salema (Incident Information), Dennis Zambano (Incident Information and Broze Star Citation) and Thomas Cast (Incident details and Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages.

July 8, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Ron Heinecke (New Grave photo & Bronze Star Citation) And Jere Lowe (New Cemetery & Grave photos) on the In Memoriam pages.

July 4, 2012

Added Obituary for Rick Leland on the "Taps" page. Added description and photos of the recent Change of Command at Fort Benning on the Reunion page. Also added new e-mail address for Terry Goodwin on the E-mail Directory page.

June 22, 2012

Added new e-mail address for Bob O'Conner on the E-mail Directory page.

June 14, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for James Freidt (New Grave photo) on the In Memoriam pages.

June 5, 2012

Added newest Life Members Talmadge Cain, Harley Harless and Thomas Lewis to the Life Member list on our Awards and Honors Page. Also added Thomas Lewis' e-mail address and a new e-mail address for Al Smith on the E-mail Directory page. Added Ed Luppi to the "Taps" (Obituary) page.

May 29, 2012

Changed location from Duster Hill to LZ Lowboy on Dave Knechtel's Photo #24 on the Photo Album page.

May 28, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Thomas Pipkin (Date of death correction), James Freidt (Corrected to read 2nd man KIA for 50th Inf.) and John Welch (KIA Grid Coordinates found...added map) on the In Memoriam pages.

May 27, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Donald Fleetwood (New portrait photo & Valorous Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages.

May 13, 2012

Added book review for "...and a hard rain fell" by John Ketwig on the Vietnam Books Review page.

May 7, 2012

Added book review for "Looking for a Hero: Staff Sergeant Joe Ronnie Hooper and the Vietnam War" by Peter Maslowski and Don Winslow to the Vietnam Books Review page.

May 4, 2012

Added Obituaries for Mark Gladson and Howard Goldstein on the "Taps" page.

May 3, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for SSG Esteban Tadena (New photo) on the In Memoriam pages. Identified some of the unknown men in Tom Clark and Chuck Spotts' photo albums ("A" Company, 1967-8), on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 30, 2012

Added 35 more photos from Chuck Spotts, "A" Company, 1967-8, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 28, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Frank Webb (New photo) and William Velilla (Changed Unit Affiliation to "A" Company) on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 27, 2012

Identified many of the men in the photos from Tom Clark, "A" Company, 1967-8, on the Photo Album page. Thanks to Gary Quint and Chuck Spotts for the help identifying these men.

Apr. 26, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Barry Feldmann (New portrait photo) on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 25, 2012

Added 106 photos from Tom Clark, "A" Company, 1967-8, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 24, 2012

Updated Memorial Page Information for Tommy Lee Carpenter (Updated awards and Cemetery Information) on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 22, 2012

Added copy of April Newsletter to the Newsletters page. Added some background information on the formation of fourth rifle companies in 1967 to the "D" Company Photo Page.

Apr. 21, 2012

Updated Various Memorial Page Information for Michael Alley, Richard Wells, Randy Cagle, Johnny Ward, Jere Lowe and Barry Feldmann on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 18, 2012

Added 16 photos of Chuck Spotts, "A" Company, 1967-8, on the Photo Album page. Thanks to Chuck, we now have photos of our KIA from "A" Company, John Mogan!

Apr. 16, 2012

Added book review for "Steinbeck in Vietnam" edited by Thomas E Barden to the Vietnam Books Review page. Added information on a downed helicopter to Bill Bontemps Photo #18 on the Photo Album page. Also added newest Life Members George Paine and John Ricker to the Life Member list on our Awards and Honors Page.

Apr. 15, 2012

Added 60 photos of Walt Podraza, "C" Company, 1967-8, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 11, 2012

Added 24 photos of Steve Black, 2nd Platoon of "A" Company, on the Photo Album page. Check out the live audio of an air strike recorded by Steve on photo #14....also audio from portion of Battle of Tam Quan in which "A" Company participated on photo #13. Updated Memorial Page for Thomas Pipkin (added photo) and Claude Roberts (Content Correction and added Cemetery Information) on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 10, 2012

Added 27 photos of Harley David Harless, "A" Company & SRAP, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 8, 2012

Added 19 photos of Robert Newton, "A" Company, 1969-70, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 7, 2012

Added 17 photos of Ed Alvey, "C" Company, 1968-9, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 6, 2012

Added 4 photos of Duane Quello, "B" Company, 1970, on the Photo Album page.

Apr. 5, 2012

Added 5 photos of Jerry Cooper, "A" Company, 1970, on the Photo Album page. Updated Memorial Page for James Ferguson (added Bronze Star) on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 4, 2012

Added about 50 photos to the photo album for Mick Hawkins, and updated description on one of Rigo Ordaz's photos on the Photo Album page. Also added newest Life Member Dick Vanderloop to the Life Member page. (Dick....your certificate will go out in the morning!)

Apr. 2, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Dennis Hinton (added photo) on the In Memoriam pages.

Apr. 1, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Johnny Lee Ward (added photo) on the In Memoriam pages. The Association is grateful to Cambridge, Idaho resident Gary Franklin for finding this photo! Also added Dick Vanderloop, "C" Company, 3rd Platoon 9/67 - 9/68 to the E-mail Directory page.

Mar. 31, 2012

Added Photo of John Albertson's grave on the "Taps" (Obituary) page. Mick Hawkins took this picture of John's Grave in 2010. Also added an Obituary/Memorial Page for Walt Landry, formerly of the 3rd Platoon of Charlie Company who passed away in June of last year.

Mar. 30, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Scott Thiry and Roger Hubbard (added platoon information) on the In Memoriam pages.

Mar. 28, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Russell Haas (added photo & Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages. The Association would like to thank Jennifer King, of the Westlake High School AP History class, for finding this photo of Haas for us. She contacted his home town Library and they had a photo from his high school yearbook!

Mar. 26, 2012

Created new photo album for Wendell Barnes on the Photo Album page. Also, Corrected faulty "return" link on the story about the "Leprechaun" Quad-50 on the "War Stories" page.

Mar. 22, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Allan Leroy Van Keuren (added Citations for 2 Valorous Bronze Stars, Good Conduct Medal, and KIA Site Map) and Gary Johnson(Added Citations and Battle Map) on the In Memoriam pages.

Mar. 19, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Richard Wells (added photo) on the In Memoriam pages.

Mar. 18, 2012

Added book review for "Blackhorse Riders" by Philip Keith to the Vietnam Books Review page.

Mar. 4, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Louis Wadlington (added Valorous Bronze Star Citation, Platoon Information and Battle Site Map) on the In Memoriam pages. Added Jim Turner, "A" Company, 5/68-69 to the E-mail Directory page.

Mar. 3, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Bruce Sims (added Silver Star Citation, photo provided by his cousin and cemetery information) on the In Memoriam pages

Mar. 1, 2012

Added name of last man to be identified in Norm Poage's Photo from the USS Pope...Dick Vanderloop of Charlie Company's 3rd Platoon called me today! He is going to come to the next reunion and will be joining the Association. Dick was with us when we went over on the troop ship and was wounded and sent back to the States in the action on December 14, 1967, when Wadlington, Van Keuren and Gary Johnson were killed.

Feb. 27, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Bernard Meinen (Added first hand battle account from the book "Boy Sergeant") on the In Memoriam pages. Also added book review for "Boy Sergeant" by Doug Warden to the Vietnam Books Review page.

Feb. 17, 2012

Added Photo of the Final Vietnam Battalion Staff, LZ Betty, 1970 to the Battalion Staff page. Picture contributed by Terry Carter, former "B" Company Executive Officer and last Vietnam Battalion S-4.

Feb. 16, 2012

Added New Association Members Chucksey Spotts and Robert Daniel to the E-mail Directory page. Added Lorene Burch as Newletter Editor on the Association Officers page.

Feb. 14, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Robert "Denny" Clatfelter (Added Photo, Cemetery Information, Bronze Star Citation, Platoon Information) on the In Memoriam pages.

Feb. 12, 2012

Added Obituary for former Charlie Company, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Squad Leader Larry Rosebrook on the "Taps" page. Larry passed away on December 24th of 2011...exactly 1 year after the death of fellow 3rd Platoon Squad Leader and friend Norm Poage.

Feb. 10, 2012

Updated Memorial Pages for Bobby Lee Gentry (KIA Information, Cemetery Information, Bronze Star Citation, etc) and Bobby Gasko (Updated Incident Information) on the In Memoriam pages. Added information on the 3rd Armored Rifle Battalion, 50th Infantry to the 50th Infantry Regimental History page.

Feb. 9, 2012

Updated Memorial Pages for James Stolinski (added Platoon Information and added Bronze Star Citation), Jerry Graves (Added picture received from George Myers), Roy Wiegand (Platoon Information), Richard Wells (Platoon Information), James Tilley (Battle Scene Photos) and John Love (Photos & Bronze Star Citation)  on the In Memoriam pages

Feb. 8, 2012

Updated Memorial Pages for William "Billy" Sims (Added Platoon & squad information and two group photos of poor resolution), Jerry Graves (Removed Photo....not him) and Thomas Pipkin (added Platoon Information and added Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages

Feb. 7, 2012

Updated Memorial Pages for Albert Gutierrez (Added Platoon information & Bronze Star Citation), Thomas Pipkin (Platoon Information), Ronald Hillman (Platoon Info & Cemetery Info.), Robert Leska (Platoon Info and Bronze Star Citation), Donald Lowe (Added Platoon Information and Bronze Star Citation) and Tom Herkins (Added Platoon Information and hometown Newspaper Article) on the In Memoriam pages

Feb. 6, 2012

Added e-mail addresses for Jimmie Williams, SGT, "D" Co, Fort Hood, 1961-1964 and Gary L Shade who was with the Battalion while it was attached to the 1st Cav... on the E-mail Directory page. Also updated Memorial Page for John D'Agostino (Added photos, Grave Information & Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages

Feb. 5, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Randy Cagle (Added Photos, KIA Map update and Bronze Star Citation), Tom Ramey (Added photo and Bronze Star Citation) and Johnny Ward (Added updated KIA Map and Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages. Also added a poem by Rigo Ordaz on the Poetry in War page.

Feb. 4, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Jerry Graves (Added Photo, Cemetery Information and Bronze Star) on the In Memoriam pages.

Jan. 29, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for John Mogan (Added Photo contributed by Chucksey Spotts, "A" Company) on the In Memoriam pages.

Jan. 26, 2012

Updated link to the 198th Infantry Brigade website on the links Page. The brigade's website is new...and many pages are not yet complete, but it is shaping up nicely...check it out.

Jan. 25, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Jim Hacek (Added Photo! His family has been found!) on the In Memoriam pages.

Jan. 22, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Rodney Crandall (Added photo and Meritorious Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages.

Jan. 21, 2012

Updated Memorial Page for Jim Hacek (Added Grave Information and Meritorious Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages.

Jan. 18, 2012

Updated Memorial Pages for Bruce Tabor (added Good Conduct Medal confirmed by family), and Manuel Gonzales (Added photos, Grave Information and Valorous Bronze Star Citation) on the In Memoriam pages.

Jan. 3, 2012

Updated Frank Huffman's e-mail address on the E-mail Directory page.

Jan. 2, 2012

At the prompting of Association Secretary Gary Quint, I loaded a recording of Jay Copley's Distinguished Service Cross Acceptance Speech at last years Reunion on the Reunions Page. Be advised, this may take a while to load on your computer before it plays. It took nearly 2 minutes to load on my system the first time...subsequent plays started immediately.

Jan. 1, 2012

Happy New Year to all! I have loaded a new "site updates" page for 2012 and archived the 2011 updates to the "Site Map" page. My "After Action Report" for 2011 can be found in the form of my "Historian Report in the December, 2011, Newsletter. The "Site Update" page for 2011 does not really reflect all the work done last year...as I often did not take the time to mention "the small stuff". Suffice to say that, aside from the lazy summer months....I was a busy Historian! I have "re-immersed" myself in a long list of 50th Infantry Archive and website chores and will continue with this work "full time" after a short vacation to Florida to visit with a few old Charlie Company buddies: Al Smith, Walt Podraza and possibly our Jim Tilley's son. After this trip, I will be getting a ton of work done before late spring when there will be a Change of Command ceremony to attend. (Details will be here on the website when known).

2011 Archive

Archive of the "Site Updates" from the year 2011

2010 Archive

Archive of the "Site Updates" from the year 2010

2009 Archive

Archive of the "Site Updates" from the year 2009

2008 Archive

Archive of the "Site Updates" from the year 2008

2007 Archive

Archive of the "Site Updates" from the year 2007

2006 Archive

Archive of the "Site Updates" from the year 2006