Georgia Vietnam Veterans Alliance

Presidents Message… April 2007, the nomination slate for officers and board members is in. The floor will be open for nominations at our scheduled meeting on April 19th. If you feel a need to serve in any capacity or would like to nominate an individual for a specific post, please feel free to do so.  If you do not like your current representatives for any reason, please stand up and be heard prior to the elections.  You can do this by contacting Al Rowe by phone or speaking to him prior to the meeting.  He will conduct the open floor nominations on the 19th. Moving right along!!!!!!  As I sit in my “cozy” home and think about the month of April and just absolutely look forward to “TAX” day and “EASTER”, I wonder how these two occurrences happen to fall in the same month.  I could go into the religious aspects about Easter or I could go into the wrongful use of my tax dollars and really get on a rant, but I would rather think about our troops in harms way and pray that their Easter will be a blessed one and in some small way my tax dollars are used to feed, shelter, and protect them.  I commit this message for April to our troops and all the Vets who have gone before. May you have a very blessed Easter and worship as your heart guides you.   “REMEMBER”: THAT IS ONE OF THE FREEDOM’S THAT THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR AND THAT WE FOUGHT FOR. ”HAIL THE PATRIOT“ Your President Jim Baskin Hillary Clinton said that her childhood dream was to be an Olympic athlete.  But she was not athletic enough. She said she wanted to be an astronaut, but at the time they didn't take women. She said she wanted to go into medicine, but hospitals made her woozy. Should she be telling people this story? I mean she's basically saying she wants to be president because she can't do anything else." --Jay Leno General Meeting  Thursday, April 19, 2007 6 pm Social, 7 pm Meeting Place American Legion Post 921 Gresham Road Marietta (770) 427-5900 North on Hwy 41, past the Big Chicken, turn left at next signal (Gresham Road), Legion is on the right Calendar May 10            Board Meeting May 17           General meeting May 19      Armed Forces Day May 28              Memorial day “V.P.s” Message… “Pop Smoke” I’m looking forward to seeing you at this months meeting. We are going to have a great time. Make it a point to bring a veteran guest with you this month. Our store is full of new shirts, hats, jackets and patches. See John Bevich to fit your needs. Memorial Day is rapidly approaching. Chapter One attends two celebrations, one at The National Cemetery in Marietta and the other is at the Roswell City Hall with “Moby” and Banks & Shane. Get your friends together and enjoy the day of respect for fallen Americans and remember those that serve today. Dues are continuing to come in for this year. Keep up the good work and send yours in if you have not already done so. Chapter one thanks you. We have all served with a division, squadron, fleet, brigade, battalion, etc. Today almost all have reunions around the country. Please take the time to look for your old unit and attend those activities to see what is there. I know that you will not be disappointed. Bob Humphries The Big Red One Co d 2nd Bn 16th Infantry “Rangers” Remember: The war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, finding Usama BinLaden are not being fought by President Bush as the media would like for you to believe. Fact is our American Soldiers are fighting on the many fronts. Let’s give credit to the many men and women that ARE doing the job. SGT Hump April Guest Speaker Sandra M. Beckley, Director, Atlanta Area National Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia Sandra M Beckley was named director of the new Atlanta area cemetery on March 9, 2003. She is responsible for all burial and maintenance operations at the cemeteries. She has served in a wide variety of positions since beginning her career with the department of Veterans Services in 1972. A major accomplishment was the doubling in size of two of the facilities where she served as Director. April is Election Month We need your vote!!! Plan to attend this months meeting.  We do need your vote. Plus everyone needs to attend and thank Gene Tatum & Gayle Tatum for their service on our Board of Directors and as Secretary.   Nominating Slate MARCH 15, 2007 President: Jim Baskin Vice President: Bob Humphries Secretary: Open Treasurer: Jack Moses Board of Directors John Bevich Dwight Cole Lou Costello Tom Foster Robert Ledee Dave Luttrell Wayne McKendree Jack Ollis Donna Rowe R.B. Scott Chuck Shephard Your name should be here We especially need a new Secretary. Please consider helping to fill this position.

Chapter One GVVA, Inc.
 Marietta, GA

TO ALL MEMBERS OF CHAPTER ONE:

Our President, Jim Baskin, has asked me to organize a Fund Raising Program so that we can do more of the things identified in our Mission and General Purpose. These are the top two paragraphs at the center of the last page of each Newsletter, The Sitrep.

 If you aren't already familiar with them, please read them and you'll be inspired. With current funds available we're only able to do a small portion of these activities.

There is much more that needs to be done! We want to do more and we need YOUR help!

Here's how you can help:

1. Pay your dues, if you haven't done so already.
2. Consider making a personal donation to our Fund Raising efforts, if you're able.
3. Think of who you know that either you or I can contact to request a donation, such as your employer, business acquaintance or your dentist, CPA, doctor and the like.

All donations are tax deductible. Make checks payable to the following:

G.V.V.A, CHAPTER ONE P.O. Box 669215 Marietta, GA 30066

Thanks for your support!

Welcome Home!

Al Rowe
Director of Fund Raising
GVV A, Chapter One
770-977-5458
P. O. Box 669215
Marietta, GA 30066

Navy seeks guidance of Vietnam ''river rats''
By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 23, 2006
After spending a year on river patrols in Vietnam, Petty Officer 3rd Class Bill Ferguson had a few memorable welcome-back-to-fleet moments. One happened at the front gate of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Ferguson and some fellow sailors drove to meet their new ship, the ammunition hauler Santa Barbara. The Marine guard looked at Ferguson's chest full of ribbons. The men exchanged words.

"No sailor deserves that many medals," the Marine smirked before yanking them off. The young sailor retorted with his fists. Ferguson, now living in Hertford, N.C., remembers several other scuffles with authority after returning from combat. "It was difficult making a transition from having life and death decision-making power," Ferguson said, "to becoming just another snipe down in the hole" aboard a ship.

The so-called "river rats" came back from Vietnam with shaggy hair, green uniforms and rows of decorations. Chain of command they had pushed overboard into the silted waters of the Mekong Delta. In a four-man boat, everyone had to perform. When the brown-water sailors rejoined the fleet, big Navy sometimes shunned them, they said. Superiors ground away their brashness or pushed them back toward civilian life.

Thirty years later - through marriages, families, careers and memories both bitter and warm - big Navy is calling for the river rats. The Navy needs them because it's creating a whole new generation of brown-water sailors. The Navy began rebuilding a riverine force late last year as part of a new, 40,000-troop command dedicated to sailors-on-the-ground combat and support. The riverine force comprises a small piece of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, about 900 sailors in three squadrons based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.
The force plans to deploy to Iraq next year, replacing a Marine unit on the Euphrates River. It initially will be just a sliver of the Vietnam-era brown-water fleet at its peak. But leaders in the new command quickly reached out to the old river veterans - scattered when the Navy dismantled their unit in the early 1970s.

The Navy began calling in the brown-water sailors, from petty officers to admirals, last fall. Capt. Michael Jordan, commodore of Riverine Group One, said the veterans have offered valuable advice. The new sailors boarding small, fast boats in foreign waters have no combat experience to draw from. The veterans have been eager to help. The command hopes to keep the veterans group together to continue to informally advise on new training, tactics and systems, Jordan said. Jim Reckner, director of the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University, said that during Vietnam the men on warships served a world away from the small-boat sailors. The close camaraderie formed on the small boats stuck with the men, and their combat experience set them apart in the fleet.

"We'd been there," said Reckner, a riverine veteran. "They hadn't." Larry Weatherall ran more than 200 patrol missions in Vietnam as an engineman and gunner. His crew fought dozens of battles under the triple canopies of the jungle, squeezing 30-foot, fiberglass-hulled craft along tight rivers and canals. With the riverine patrol boats clipping along at 25 knots, he had a couple of things to hold on to: the grips on his 50 caliber machine gun and faith in his boat mates. "You could control some things," Weatherall said, "but some things controlled you." Weatherall, who lives in Virginia Beach, rose from seaman to petty officer second class on the river. A copy of his service record tucked in a scrapbook declares : "Extremely effective and reliable. Works well on his own." After the war, though, he left the Navy. The fleet held a tight structure on its sailors. Weatherall wanted to get on with life, find a job back in his small California hometown. He felt he had made a relatively smooth transition back into civilian life. "A lot of guys had it a lot worse," he said. He quickly volunteered to share his experience with the new command. In some ways, the two generations can be considered shipmates, Weatherall said. "We can offer lessons learned," Weatherall said.

Ken Meek, a retired Navy captain living in Norfolk, said his river experience also changed him. He supervised a force of 90 patrol boats and advised the South Vietnamese river force as a commander in 1967. The brown- and blue-water sailors had more similarities than differences, Meek said. Combat experience made the brown-water men more intense, though. "They had to be willing to step up, take charge and confront the unknown," Meek said. Soon after the war, the river veterans began to form their own fraternal organizations. The Gamewardens of Vietnam was formed in August 1970 by returning members of the Navy's Task Force 116. The Mobile Riverine Force Association also holds regular reunions. With the rise of the Internet and a growing nostalgia, veterans say it has been easier to stay in closer touch with their comrades. Weatherall said he got together with his Navy friends every year or two for beers. He works for Ford and is president of the regional chapter of the Gamewardens.

Word of the graybeard conferences with the Navy burned up the Internet. Veterans groups sent delegations to meet active-duty leaders in Annapolis earlier this month. Weatherall jumped at the chance. At Annapolis, the men shared their insight on training and tactics. Some were disappointed to learn that the young force did not yet have dedicated air support or a fully defined mission. But dozens of veterans offered their support, advice and war stories. During a break at the conference, Weatherall and the other veterans crowded along the pier side to look at the new fast boats. Marines and special operations troops showed off the sleek camouflaged vessels. Weatherall gazed over the twin-engine 30-foot craft, painted to match a jungle environment. "What a fantastic boat," he thought. He wouldn't let himself climb aboard. "We have to be careful about pushing ourselves on them," he said. "We'll help in any way we can." Ferguson did not make the trip. He attends reunions and e-mails his fellow river rats from his new home in North Carolina.
Ferguson, now a retired senior chief, lives in a river front home.