63 B Company men attended the 12th Annual Reunion in Albuquerque. Among the 63 men who gather in Albuquerque with wives and family members were ten 1st timers - Gary Albritton, Louis Brazil, Don Couvillion, Guy Hart, Terry Kolbuss, Miterio Moreno, Arthur Muller, Mike O'Banion, Leslie Raby and Hubert Waldo.
Al and Crystal Lake traveled the furthest this year with 2382 miles. Living only 18 miles from the hotel was Miterio Moreno. 28 states were represented.
Albuquerque proved to be the "Land of Enchantment" with many taking in the variety of the local attraction and sites. The Sandi Peak Tramway, which transports you above deep canyons and breathtaking terrain to 10,378 feet for a view of 11,000 square miles of the Cibola National Forest proved to be a favorite.
Historic Old Town has been the heart of Albuquerque since the city was founded here in 1706. Today, historic Old Town Albuquerque is the city's cultural center, with five museum and more than 100 shops, galleries and restaurants. For some of us that visited Old Town, we have the very special honor of meeting and talking with three WWII Navajo Code Talkers. These three very special men had great stories to share with the crowds that gathered.
At our Friday night banquet, it was our honor to have John Garcia, a New Mexico native, as well as a “Regular by God” as our quest speaker accompanied by his wife, Yolanda. John has spent the majority of his adult life in public service including being appointed by the White House as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans affairs. John is also the President and Owner of Garcia & Associates, a service-disable veterans owned company. While sharing his accomplishments, he expressed his deepest appreciation for being invited to speak at our reunion. John, who served in Vietnam from 1969-1970 spoke of how truly honored he was to be in the mist of such a wonderful gathering of Vietnam Veterans as it was his first experience to be at a reunion of “Brothers”. Moved to tears by such a humbling experience, he offered his deepest appreciation for the invitation.
Two short videos were shown before our Friday night auction. In the first video which is an installment of Faces Never Forgotten by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Joe Galloway, co-author of the award winning “We Were Soldiers” which was adapted into a major motion picture speaks of his experiences as an embedded photographer during the Vietnam War. In particular he tells of his experiences during the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965. His raw emotions reveal his true feelings of the importance of letting the world and especially the younger generations know the stories of all Vietnam Veterans. The second video narrated by Mr. Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam War Memorial reveals the ongoing campaign to build an Education Center at the Wall, an effort to build an educational and honorific component to one of the nation’s most powerful and moving memorials. The Education Center at the Wall will: (1) Put a face to every one of the more than 58,000 names listed on the Wall, (2) Share some of the hundreds of thousands of objects left at the Wall by families, military comrades, and others over more than three decades. (3) Provide a historical account of the events that took place on the battlefield and the homefront during the Vietnam Era. (4) Tell the story of the Wall.
Following the videos, Kathy Root, wife of Garry Root, spoke of how she too agrees with Mr. Scruggs and Mr. Galloway in the importance of letting our children, grandchildren and each succeeding generation hear the stories of our Vietnam Veterans. Kathy expressed that she is anxious for the Center to open and that when she visualizes what the new Education Center will look like with all the exhibits and technical effects that she is sure that somewhere in the building will be a large wall with a plaque in the Center listing all the contributors who have collectively made the Center a reality. She said “I want “B Company 1/22nd 4th Infantry Vietnam Veterans name to be on that wall. Millions of visitors from all over the world will be visiting the Center. B Company has brothers there and B Company needs to be there and “have their back”. To raise money to make a B Company donation, Kathy had contacted Joe L. Galloway asking him if he would autograph a copy of the book “We Were Soldiers, Young…Once” that he co-authored with Lt Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret) that we would auction off at our Friday night auction. The autograph book along with its sequel “We Are Soldiers Still” raised $1525 which was sent to the Vietnam Veterans Fund in honor of B Company 1/22nd 4 Infantry. It was agreed that we take a donation each year as an additional donation to the Center until the Center Opens. The Education Center is projected to open in 2019.
(The above mentioned videos are posted on the "Links & Poems" tab of this website. The Thank You letters sent to B Company for their donations are posted on the "Newsworthy" tab of this website.)
Following the videos, Kathy Root, wife of Garry Root, spoke of how she too agrees with Mr. Scruggs and Mr. Galloway in the importance of letting our children, grandchildren and each succeeding generation hear the stories of our Vietnam Veterans. Kathy expressed that she is anxious for the Center to open and that when she visualizes what the new Education Center will look like with all the exhibits and technical effects that she is sure that somewhere in the building will be a large wall with a plaque in the Center listing all the contributors who have collectively made the Center a reality. She said “I want “B Company 1/22nd 4th Infantry Vietnam Veterans name to be on that wall. Millions of visitors from all over the world will be visiting the Center. B Company has brothers there and B Company needs to be there and “have their back”. To raise money to make a B Company donation, Kathy had contacted Joe L. Galloway asking him if he would autograph a copy of the book “We Were Soldiers, Young…Once” that he co-authored with Lt Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret) that we would auction off at our Friday night auction. The autograph book along with its sequel “We Are Soldiers Still” raised $1525 which was sent to the Vietnam Veterans Fund in honor of B Company 1/22nd 4 Infantry. It was agreed that we take a donation each year as an additional donation to the Center until the Center Opens. The Education Center is projected to open in 2019.
(The above mentioned videos are posted on the "Links & Poems" tab of this website. The Thank You letters sent to B Company for their donations are posted on the "Newsworthy" tab of this website.)
Saturday night's guest speaker was Quang Nguyen (win) from Prescott Valley, Arizona who came to the United States in 1975 at the age of 12, after the communist takeover of South Vietnam. He went on to finish his high school and college education and now owns a successful advertising agency in Prescott Valley. Quang donates much of his time to travel throughout the United States to speak to Vietnam veterans and other veteran groups. As guest speaker he talked about some of his memories and experiences growing up as a child in South Vietnam. Such as how his oldest brother, who served with the Vietnamese 2nd Airborne from 1968 to 1975, came home from war in the darkness of the night in his torn and tattered uniform. And how his father who joined the ARVN in 1955 to fight communism, was involved with the French war, Japanese, and North Vietnamese until his retirement in 1973. He also talked about seeing his first football game on television while still living in Viet Nam and his first package of chewing gum given to him by GI's. However the main focus of his talk was to thank the Vietnam veterans for him being able to enjoy the rights of living in the United States and making his life here possible, for without the veteran he might not be alive today to enjoy the freedom and opportunities that he now has.
"Chappy" (Chaplain Gover) was unable to be with us this year at the Reunion due to health issues. He sent a message via Fax to his Chaplin's Assistant, Jerry Benson.
"it breaks my heart that I could not be with you for the last two years. I always gain so much strength from being with you. I want to thank so many of you who sent me such wonderful cards. You mean the world to me. I know we have lost guys and some have health problems I am going to do everything in my power to be with you next year. If some of you have health problems, know that I pray for the Boys from Bravo every day. Put your trust in him who loves and watches you every day." Chappy
Jerry Benson also presented the following on Saturday evening:
On March 8 1965, President Johnson sent 3,500 Marines to Vietnam for the first books on the ground of the Viewnam War. By Christmas of 1965, there was over 200,000 American troops there. By the end of the War, on April 30, 1975, nearly 3 million of our fine young soldiers had servied in Vietnam. Over 58,000 of our Soldiers gave their lives during that time period and their names are engraved on the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. In 2007, our President and Congress ordered the Secretary of Defense to start planning for the 50th year commemoration of boots on the ground in Vietnam to honor all our veterans who served there. This year, 2015, marks the 50th year commemoration. Many comemorative pins and coins have been minted and are available but the official one from the Department of Defence is not yet available. We felt our Brothers in Company B deserved to be honored in a timely fashion unlike when we came home. At our Saturday night banquet we presented a pin for a lapel or hat commemorating those 50 years. This pin was specially crafted for B Company 1/22nd 4th Infantry Division.
"it breaks my heart that I could not be with you for the last two years. I always gain so much strength from being with you. I want to thank so many of you who sent me such wonderful cards. You mean the world to me. I know we have lost guys and some have health problems I am going to do everything in my power to be with you next year. If some of you have health problems, know that I pray for the Boys from Bravo every day. Put your trust in him who loves and watches you every day." Chappy
Jerry Benson also presented the following on Saturday evening:
On March 8 1965, President Johnson sent 3,500 Marines to Vietnam for the first books on the ground of the Viewnam War. By Christmas of 1965, there was over 200,000 American troops there. By the end of the War, on April 30, 1975, nearly 3 million of our fine young soldiers had servied in Vietnam. Over 58,000 of our Soldiers gave their lives during that time period and their names are engraved on the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. In 2007, our President and Congress ordered the Secretary of Defense to start planning for the 50th year commemoration of boots on the ground in Vietnam to honor all our veterans who served there. This year, 2015, marks the 50th year commemoration. Many comemorative pins and coins have been minted and are available but the official one from the Department of Defence is not yet available. We felt our Brothers in Company B deserved to be honored in a timely fashion unlike when we came home. At our Saturday night banquet we presented a pin for a lapel or hat commemorating those 50 years. This pin was specially crafted for B Company 1/22nd 4th Infantry Division.
