Honors and Awards, 50th Infantry Association

1st 50th Infantry Association

HONORS AND AWARDS

1. Association Honors and Awards Scheme
2. Association Founder
3. Life Members
4. Honors and Awards

50th Infantry Regimental Colors

The First Battalion, 50th Infantry Association

50th Infantry Regimental Colors

The 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Association Honors and Awards Program

The 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Association Honors and Awards Program was established as a way to publicly recognize the achievements of Association Members and others based upon service to the Association, service to Vietnam Veterans, service to the United States Military community, and/or other contributions worthy of note. In general, awards will be presented presented every two years at the Association Reunion: however, the Association may issue awards and/or honors at other times when circumstances warrant.

Association Founder, Ken Riley

In recognition of his extraordinary effort in forming the Association and seeing it through its formative years, often single-handedly, organizing reunions and helping so many of us in many ways, Kenneth G. Riley has been bestowed with the lifelong title of Chairman Emeritus of the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Association. Ken's vision, dedication, hard work and personal sacrifice are consistent with the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself, the Association and the battalion.

Ken was an original boat person, arriving in Vietnam with the battalion aboard the USS General Pope on 21 September 1967 to begin his year-long tour of duty as an infantryman with Charlie Company.

Thanks, Ken, for showing us through your actions how to "play the game".

Kenneth G. Riley
Chairman Emeritus

Life Members

Following is a list of Life Members in the Association of the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry.

NAME	MEMBER #	DATE AWARDED		NAME	MEMBER #	DATE AWARDED
John Albertson*	305	June 28, 2003		Larry Lewis	7	October 4, 2010
Noel Allen	203	June 4, 2008		Thomas E. Lewis	401	May 16, 2012
Herman Allmendinger	148	April 18, 2003		Fred Lohman	63	March 23, 2000
Dennis Apana	316	December 1, 2007		Francis B. Lynch	429	October 14, 2014
Edward Arispe*	164	April 29, 2002		William H. "Willie" Maklary	321	April 30, 2013
Charles R. Ball	360	May 1, 2009		Chuck McAleer	229	January 17, 2001
Franklin Baltazar	443	May 22, 2016		Michael J. McCardell	385	April 27, 2011
John Banales	325	March 8, 2005		Thomas D. McGovern	354	February 20, 2018
Brandon Bangsboll	463	May 8, 2025		Robert Melendez	245	February 27, 2015
Frederick C. Bantle	382	February 22, 2011		Jesse D. Michael	428	May 26, 2014
Kevin Begley	171	June 23, 2001		Ernest J. Milito	394	November 1, 2011
George E. Bell*	359	March 10, 2009		Gerald Miller	199	December 31, 2003
George R. Bell	330	January 20, 2008		Neil Miller	47	December 13, 2004
Richard Bell	461	September 19, 2023		Toby Milroy	109	July 20, 2002
Anthony L. Benitez	361	August 5, 2009		Billy L. Mims, Jr.	179	June 1, 2004
Cheney Bertholf*	40	December 31, 2003		Kim Mitchell	310	January 1, 2004
Bernard Biermann*	232	July 20, 2002		Joe Mlinac*	105	February 22, 2001
Walter Billups	54	February 1, 2001		Varlos Montano	465	May 8, 2025
Tom Blankenship	158	January 22, 2000		Matt Morrison*	81	January 24, 2000
Harry Bloomquist	70	April 20, 2000		Dennis P. Morton	464	May 8, 2025
Dwaine Blumenstock	384	April 5, 2011		Dan Neely	260	December 24, 2005
George A. Borges*	225	March 1, 2004		Thomas M. Nelson	411	May 1, 2013
Steve W. Bower	387	April 27, 2011		Claude D. Newby	388	April 27, 2011
Bruce Braun	79	December 31, 2003		Robert F. Newton	377	September 23, 2010
Wilber Breseman*	175	December 5, 1999		Glen L. Nicholls	329	February 23, 2006
John Brodigan*	209	December 21, 2002		John Nichols*	195	January 22, 2000
Marvin L. Brophy*	393	October 28, 2011		John Noble	67	April 7, 2001
Thomas Brown	352	June 4, 2008		Nate Nordin	161	December 31, 2003
Paul Buckholdt	292	April 18, 2003		Robert M. O'Connor	317	April 24, 2004
Roger Burch	60	June 26, 2000		Robert Odendahl	374	August 12, 2010
Francis B. Burns	322	May 7, 2005		Dan Odom*	206	April 6, 2002
James F. Bustin	448	May 2, 2017		Chuck Ogle	415	May 1, 2013
Talmadge M. Cain	235	May 16, 2012		Steve Oliphant*	238	February 13, 2002
Colonel Greg Camp	363	August 5, 2009		CLifford M. Olson	441	November 10, 2015
John Carlson	3	December 31, 2003		William Page	268	August 6, 2001
Michael Canavan	72	March 12, 2006		George C. Paine, III	314	April 6, 2012
Matt Chapman	4	April 19, 2002		David Parker	168	December 31, 2003
William B. Cheney, III	454	February 18, 2020		Bill Parkerson	345	August 18, 2007
Mike Chisam	271	October 2, 2001		John Parkinson	390	August 22, 2012
Thomas Clark*	270	April 18, 2003		Gary Parks*	97	October 16, 2000
Ronald Clements	43	October 10, 2001		David Payne	140	April 24, 2000
Jerry L. Cooper	338	April 7, 2007		William Payne	300	April 18, 2003
Jimmy W. Copeland	269	January 15, 2009		Parker Pierce	98	December 31, 2003
Jay C. Copley*	343	May 17, 2007		Thurman Pike*	155	April 18, 2003
Michael Craney	282	March 30, 2002		Norman Poage*	29	July 17, 2000
George Crist	295	December 31, 2003		Otis Ponds	218	April 18, 2003
James R. Croker	147	February 1, 2004		Sandy Pottinger*	124	February 9, 1998
Jaime Cruz	336	February 5, 2007		Duane M. Quello	372	May 24, 2010
Tim Culbertson	64	March 15, 2005		Bobby Quick	342	May 17, 2007
Lawrence Curtis	239	September 2, 2002		Gary Quint	83	August 5, 2009
Justin E. Daubert	455	April 17, 2020		Wilber Rahiser*	258	March 15, 2005
Ronald Davison	138	February 1, 2004		Don Rainwater	61	January 22, 2000
C. William Dean	191	March 1, 2004		Katie Ramey	459	March 10, 2023
James Delemeester	11	October 2, 2001		Craig Reed	410	May 1, 2013
Theodore H. Dennis	326	October 25, 2005		John Rhatigan	121	January 17, 2000
Stephen K. Dennis*	356	January 7, 2009		Peter Richardson	337	April 7, 2007
Larry Dossey	129	March 18, 1998		John W. Ricker	398	March 24, 2012
Elliott Dresher	55	December 10, 2001		Ken Riley	5	October 17, 1999
Dennis Driscol	234	December 31, 2003		Joe Rinaldi	101	December 31, 2003
Marshall Duer*	243	April 29, 2002		Warren Franklin Rockey*	90	January 24, 2000
Joseph Dulany	216	August 14, 2000		Ventura Rodriguez	253	October 10, 2003
Henry M. Dunn	370	February 21, 2010		Frank Romano	247	March 12, 2001
James Edwards	133	September 20, 2001		Richard L. Roschy*	344	May 17, 2007
Paul Ehrlich*	220	August 20, 2001	William Roskilly	038	July 6, 2008
Robert A. Elkowitz, Jr.	426	November 20, 2014	Russ Roth*	125	January 15, 2004
Gary Epperson	183	January 19, 2001	Guadalupe "Lupe" Saenz	379	December 30, 2010
Stephen Escott	36	December 31, 2003	Ray Sarlin	150	March 30, 2000
Gordon Fennell	296	April 18, 2003	Bob Schaller *	107	September 16, 2000
Edward Fischer	236	December 31, 2003	David Schillaci	185	April 24, 2000
James E. Fitzgerald*	59	April 1, 2005	Dan Schlecht	283	December 31, 2003
Eugene Foppe	39	November 29, 2001	Donald L. Schmidt	449	May 18, 2017
Louis Frisbie*	14	March 26, 2001	Edmund Scott	151	May 24, 2003
Aaron Gage*	244	December 31, 2003	Richard E. Scott	389	April 27, 2011
Vilnis Gailitis	222	January 15, 2004	James Segars	145	January 25, 2000
Leon S. Gallant	12	March 15, 2005	Steven Seid	421	October 23, 2014
Luciano M. Garza	350	March 13, 2008	James H. Sheppard	137	May 7, 2002
Terry P Gauthier	416	May 1, 2013	Lawrence E. Shipp	438	April 9, 2015
Joseph Gelarden*	71	December 31, 2003	Seth Sindel*	126	May 16, 2019
Walter V. Gilbreath, Jr.*	289	March 15, 2005	James Slattery	334	August 26, 2006
Robert Gold*	134	March 28, 2001	Albert C. Smith	24	July 22, 2014
Terry A. Goodwin	27	May 18, 2011	Bradley Smith	324	April 12, 2005
Gerald E. Gossett	440	November 5, 2015	Dennis Smith	362	August 5, 2009
William R Groebler*	425	September 13, 2014	John D. Smith	227	December 31, 2003
Gladys Grubb	45	October 6, 2002	Randolph J. "Randy" Smith, III*	166	November 12, 2000
Dick Guthrie	89	December 20, 2000	Randolph J. "RJ" Smith, IV	451	September 30, 2017
David Haag	6	December 31, 2003	Richard Smittle	141	January 26, 2000
Toby Hamon*	135	April 23, 2000	Darrell Sourwine	110	March 31, 2000
Billy F. Hampton	355	November 26, 2012	Darwin "Scotty" Stamper	349	February 7, 2008
Harley D. Harless*	399	May 26, 2012	William J. Stovall	414	May 1, 2013
Curtis Harper	248	April 27, 2011	Richard Tande	85	December 31, 2003
Michael D. Hastings	386	April 27, 2011	Jonathan W. Taylor	375	September 1, 2010
Marion R Hay	62	January 1, 2004	Jon Thelen	8	December 14, 1999
Billy Hayes*	88	January 27, 2000	Brian Thomas	120	April 15, 2000
Harley Mick Hawkins	208	June 18, 2007	Thomas Tierney	250	August 23, 2019
Donald Hoag	307	December 31, 2003	James A. Tilley, III	364	August 5, 2009
Carl Hollnagel	378	November 20, 2010	Charles Tilton	323	April 1, 2005
Richard Hooker*	280	April 29, 2002	John Topper	78	February 23, 2000
Russell Hope	84	April 22, 2000	Joe Torres*	213	July 12, 2000
John Hopp*	82	February 23, 2000	Pedro Tovar	205	January 15, 2004
Johnnie Hughes	348	January 29, 2008	Walter Tracey	57	May 10, 2002
Paul G. Humphreys	340	May 15, 2007	Mel Valasek*	113	August 24, 2002
Tim Hurley	194	October 11, 1999	John Vanden Heuvel*	103	February 4, 2000
Roger C, Irvin	223	June, 2003	Richard J. "Dick" Vanderloop	397	March 25, 2012
Edward A. Jackson	435	May 13, 2015	Jack Vann	42	December 31, 2003
Marvin L. James	462	May 13, 2015	Melvin Wadleigh	73	March 7, 2000
William C. Jefferson	436	April 16, 2015	Stan Walulek	100	December 16, 2000
Earl M. Johnson	450	June 13, 2017	Joseph Whitehorne	116	December 31, 2003
John W. Johnson*	303	March 12, 2010	Philip D. Whittington	432	April 29, 2015
Johnny Johnston*	99	December 31, 2003	Louis C. Wickham	444	August 22, 2016
Thomas A. Jones	447	March 3, 2017	W. R. "Tennessee" Williams	369	January 19, 2010
Toby Jordan	87	January 27, 2000	Pat Willson	402	July 6, 2012
William A. Kahmann	431	April 29, 2015	Harry Wilson	160	November 18, 1999
Peter F. Kane	439	August 31, 2015	Richard C. Wilson	353	October 24, 2014
Michael Kauffman	341	May 15, 2007	Gary M. Wolff*	339	April 30, 2015
Julian T. Kemper	360	April 20, 2023	James Wonsick*	119	January 14, 2000
Jack R. King*	306	June 1, 2004	James Woodall	202	January 16, 2001
David G. Knechtel	50		Curtis J. Woods, Sr	412	May 1, 2013
Tom Knepp*	48	October 1, 2009	Walter S. Wroblewski*	026	December 20, 2008
Robert Knightly	261	May 27, 2001	Robert Wuestenberg	319	March 27, 2008
Keith G. LaRue*	408	February 13, 2013	Duane E. Yarbrough	413	May 23, 2013
Ron Leraas	304	July 14, 2003	Joseph Zimmerman	311	January 23, 2004
Christopher Lewis	446	May 4, 2017	* Indicates Member is Deceased

Association Honors and Awards

Throughout the Association's history, appropriate honors are developed and presented on an individual basis at our bi-annual reunions. Our Association has a rich history of providing quality gifts and awards of lasting value.

This news article (right) from the "Fort Benning Bayonet" of 2 May 2003 shows the presentation of the bronze statue "A Tribute to a Fallen Comrade" by Wyoming artist Ben Foster to our Reunion 2003 hosts, the modern-day 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry. In addition, the Association presented statuettes to outstanding graduate and DS of the 1/50 OSUT (BCT + AIT), a signed original print of Lee Teters' painting "Reflections", a World War I photograph of the assembled 50th Infantry, and several Brunton's "Gentleman's Compasses".

The Association also has a Certificate of Appreciation available for presentation to those individuals or organizations who make a significant contribution to the welfare or services of our Association or our Members or to Vietnam Veterans and/or their families.

Any Member in good standing in the Association may make a nomination for the Certificate of Appreciation in writing to the President of the Association.

Award of the Certificate of Appreciation requires the formal approval of all elected Officers of the Association. The President shall arrange for a suitable presentation of each Certificate of Appreciation, and all awards shall be posted in the newsletter and on the website.

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