Note from the Editor
 Greetings! This month's edition of "Dispatches" contains an assortment of stories from different eras in our history. From the post war death squads in Europe after WWII, to Pork Chop Hill in Korea, to remembering a POW from Vietnam. We also have a number of short story member submissions for you to enjoy. Keep sending them!
1/ Operation Judgement - Post War Death Squads - A story of secrets and retribution.
2/ Dangers at Sea - The Collision of the USS Belknap
3/ Army Nurse Return Trips to Vietnam - The story of one woman's journey to finding peace and healing for herself and other Vietnam vets.
4/ Faces Never Forgotten - Putting a face to the names on "The Wall".
5/ Profile in Courage: Five Years to Freedom - The amazing story of Vietnam POW James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe.
6/ Battlefield Chronicles - Pork Chop Hill - The bloodiest battle of the Korean War.
7/ TWS: Planning a TWS Event
8/ TWS Bulletin Board
9/ Letters to the Editor
10/ Book Review: "Lucky Hank - A WWII Air Force Navigator" and "The Good Soldier"
Please send any comments or member-written articles to mike.christy@togetherweserved.com. Bulletin Board Posts and Reunion Announcements to admin@togetherweserved.com.
LtCol Mike Christy, US Army (Ret)
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Operation Judgement - Post War Death Squads
Paul von Hindenburg, the ailing second president of the Weimar Republic (successor to the German Empire) died on Aug. 2, 1934. Following Hindenburg's death, Adolf Hitler, political leader of Germany and the head of the Federal Government,  declared himself dictatorial head of Germany and with that declaration, the last remnants of Germany's democratic government were dismantled. Adolf Hitler was now the sole master of a nation intent on war and genocide.
Shortly after coming to power, he ordered a bloody purge of his own political party, assassinating hundreds of Nazis whom he believed had the potential to become political enemies in the future. Another thousand perceived political opponents of the regime were sent to Dachau, a concentration camp opened in Bavaria in March 1933. But it wasn't long before other groups that the Nazis deemed "undesirable" were rounded up and sent away. Foremost among them were the Jews.
Hitler had hated the Jews since 1907, when his mother died of cancer while under the care of a Jewish doctor, whom he blamed for her death. His hatred grew during his service as a soldier in World War I. When the armistice was called, he assumed that Germany had lost the war because of a back room deal, and he blamed Jews for the capitulation. In his mind, Germany's humiliation was the fault of the Jews and he wanted them to pay for it.
At the time, Jews made up less than 1% of the German population, yet they controlled Germany's manufacturing, banking and a large share of small businesses. Since they wielded such economic clout, Hitler also blamed them for Germany's Great Depression following WW I. There was also the issue of race: Hitler believed that the "Aryan race" was the best and strongest race. Jews were considered to be of such an inferior race, that they were not even considered to be "people" by the Nazis and, for that reason, Europe had to be rid of this "threat to German racial purity."
After a decade of increasingly severe discriminatory measures against the Jews and other "undesirables," Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime came up with a plan to annihilate the European Jewish population and "solve" the so-called "Jewish Problem." They euphemistically called it the "Final Solution." Every arm of Germany's bureaucracy was involved in the planning and execution of the mass-killing centers constructed in the concentration camps of occupied Poland as part of the "solution."
Six million Jewish men, women, and children were killed during the Holocaust - fully two-thirds of the Jews living in Europe before World War II. Other victims of Nazi crimes included Romanis (gypsies), ethnic Poles and other Slavs, communists, homosexuals, priests, trade unionists,  Jehovah's Witnesses, anarchists, the mentally and physically disabled, and resistance fighters. If you add in the 3.3 million Soviet prisoners of war killed in German camps the total is 16.3 million. Some history books place the total as high as 19.3 million.
Although Adolf Hitler was the murderous madman responsible for the extermination of countless millions, he wasn't alone. In fact, Hitler's henchmen - his inner circle of fanatical and ruthless subordinates - were often just as evil as he was, and sometimes even more evil.
One of the most evil and sinister men in the world was Heinrich Himmler, the head of the cold-blooded SS and the madman in charge of the brutal Eastern death camps. After being captured by the Allies, Himmler committed suicide by biting a vial of cyanide that he had hidden in his mouth.
Other cold-blooded "exterminators" responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent victims were the high ranking SS officers shown in this rare photograph. From left to right are Richard Baer  (Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau), Dr Josef Mengele (the Angel of Death), Josef Kramer (Commandant of Bergen-Belsen), Rudolf Hoess (Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau) and Anton Thumann (Commandant of Majdanek). Kramer, Hoess and Thumann were hanged. Baer escaped but was caught later and died in prison awaiting execution. Dr. Mengele escaped to South America, where he died in Brazil on February 7, 1979.
Although these men and others like them ordered the killings, German soldiers were more directly involved in the extermination that Hitler set into motion. In retaliation for sabotage, German soldiers would round up and execute all the men in a village, burn it to the ground, and send all the women and children off to concentration camps. They routinely shot dozens and even hundreds of hostages.
With the defeat of Hitler and his Nazi regime, a series of military tribunals, known as the Nuremberg Trials, were held by the Allied forces. The first tribunal was given the task of trying 23 of the most important political and military leaders of the Third Reich who had planned, carried out, or otherwise participated in the Holocaust and other war crimes.
 The second set of trials was for the lesser war criminals and included the Doctors' Trial and the Judges' Trial. The Doctors' Trial was for the 20 medical doctors and 3 Nazi officials accused of involvement in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia, while the Judges' Trial was for the 16 German jurists and lawyers accused of implementing and furthering the Nazi "racial purity" program through eugenic and racial laws.
Many of the war criminals that were tried were found guilty and sentenced to death either by hanging or by firing squads. For one reason or another, selected Nazi war criminals were tried and acquitted. Others managed to get away with murder, but most of those were minor members of the Nazi party whose roles weren't as significant. Since they were less important and less involved, it was easier to find ways to completely deny their involvement.
Although the Allied forces considered the trials over, and the most deserving were executed or imprisoned, the Jewish people now living in Israel felt strongly that justice had not been served. They pointed to the many Nazi war criminals who were allowed to go unpunished or were never hunted down by authorities. These were the Gestapo agents and SS guards who'd broken into homes, dragged terrified citizens into the streets,  crammed them into cattle cars, and carried them off to concentration camps to be slaughtered or starved to death. As a result, the Israelis formed death or revenge squads to track down and kill these former SS and Wehrmacht officers who had participated in the atrocities and eluded serious punishment.
Working under the code name "Operation Judgment," those who volunteered for the killings had lost their families and communities in the Holocaust and were burning with hatred. Others were previously members of the Jewish Brigade, part of the British Eighth Army, which fought with distinction in northern Italy in the latter stages of the war. Most members of the death squads believed their people would never forgive them if they did not exploit the opportunity to kill the Nazis who were guilty of crimes against humanity.
Among themselves, they were referred to as "Din" squads, a Hebrew word meaning "revenge." They operated in teams of three or four. One "Din" unit, acting on intelligence, raided a house in Austria where it was thought a Nazi Party official was living. The team of three found the house littered  with jewelry and clothes. The lady of the house told the three revenge squad men that it had all once belonged to Jews. The "Din" men told the man and his wife that they would be executed on the spot for crimes against humanity. In a plea bargain, the former Nazi Party official gave a list of the current names and addresses of senior SS officers to the revenge squad.
Probably the most infamous person killed by the revenge squads was Dr. Ernst-Robert Grawitz. He was the chief medical officer of the SS and he is credited with creating the gas chambers used in the death camps. Surviving Nazis believed that he had committed suicide but a "Din" unit claimed responsibility, reporting that they had activated a grenade, killing Grawitz, his wife, and his children.
Other senior Nazis executed by the revenge squads included SS Colonel Dr. Hans Geschke and SS Lieutenant Kurt Mussfeld, who oversaw the ovens at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The last person killed by the revenge squads was Aleksander Laak, who had run the Jagala concentration camp in Estonia, where 100,000 were murdered under his rule. In 1960 Laak must have thought he was safe in Winnipeg, Canada but a revenge squad found him, confronted him with his crimes and talked him into hanging himself.
As well as the execution of 1,500 suspected SS and Gestapo war criminals, the Brigade also assisted tens of thousands of concentration camp survivors to reach Palestine, despite the fact that the British government was firmly opposed to Jewish immigration at the time and the country was the subject of a naval blockade.
While the Foreign Office, under the arch anti-Zionist Ernest Bevin, was hostile to the Jewish Brigade and wanted it to be stopped, the British military command refused to act and turned a blind eye to the brigade's clandestine activities.
When the death squads disbanded in 1960, its members went their separate ways, taking with them their stories - grisly tales that add a unique dimension to the Holocaust, a dimension which poses several complex questions: Were they right to be judge, jury and executioner? At what point had they become just as bad as the evil they wanted to destroy? Did they start out as righteous warriors only to prove that hatred isn't a quality exclusive to Nazis?
Many of the assassins became founders of Mossad, Israel's Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations. Within Mossad is Kidon, an elite group of expert assassins who operate under the Caesarea branch of the espionage organization. Not much is known about this mysterious unit, details of which are some of the most closely guarded secrets in the Israeli intelligence community, except that they are an anchoring part of the philosophy of the Jewish people in Israel that they will do whatever it takes to prevent another Holocaust.
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Dangers at Sea - The Collision of the USS Belknap
By Bill Richards U.S. Navy 1974-1978
In November, 1975, I was a nineteen year-old Operations Specialist seaman in the OI division on the USS Belknap (CG-26). We had just finished nearly three weeks of operational readiness training exercises in the Mediterranean.  As I recall, the Belknap had scored highest on Naval Gunfire Support, Anti-Aircraft Warfare and Anti-Submarine Warfare exercises. The mood was upbeat, and there were rumors that we would be rewarded with some R&R in Barcelona. Then the collision happened. Any student of history knows that November 22 is an auspicious date in US history. In 1963, that was the day that our 35th president, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. It is a cruel irony that it was 12 years later, to the day that we collided with the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
It was near 2200 hours, local time, and I was preparing to go on watch in CIC. I believe we were still on port/starboard working hours. We felt a shudder as I was on the ladder up from the OI Division berthing area. As a young Seaman, I looked to more experienced shipmates for reactions. They did not look unconcerned. We all hastened to the passageway under the main deck. Smoke began to fill the passageway and someone had sealed the hatch to the main deck. We all started putting our shirts over our faces in order to get some relief from the smoke. At that point, I knew that there was a major emergency underway.
 It wasn't very long before the hatch to the main deck was opened and we all scurried up to the main deck, were my eyes were opened to what looked like daylight. But it wasn't daylight. It was fire. Fire for as far and high as the eye could see. As a result of the collision with John F. Kennedy's overhanging deck, JP-5 fuel lines were ruptured spraying fuel over an adjacent catwalk, and fires ensued aboard both ships.
My group was on the forward part of the ship where we immediately put our damage control training to work. It became clear that there was a collision as we could see the Kennedy drifting away, dead in the water.
We immediately started the P-250 and P-500 pumps and trained seawater on the blazing inferno. Before long, the USS Claude V. Ricketts pulled alongside and transferred many of the injured, via Stokes litters, over to the Ricketts. The 3 inch and 5 inch magazines were exploding, but the Ricketts was undeterred and accepted our wounded.
We didn't know the fate of our shipmates that were aft of the superstructure and didn't find out until much later, what seemed like hours later, that the crew on the fantail was doing the same thing: fighting the fire toward the center.
After a long night of fighting the flames, and with the sun beginning to come up, we witnessed the smoking, burned out superstructure of the once majestic ship.
Now the really hard work began: finding the bodies of our dead shipmates. I remember being with a group that discovered the body of DS3 Gerald Ketcham,  a shipmate me enjoyed playing cards with during off time. I could tell other stories about other shipmates who lost their lives that night. FA David Messmer joined the crew the same day as I did in April of that year. STG3 Brent Lassen was a fellow Operations Department member. My other fallen shipmates, MM1 James Cass, EM2 Mike Kawola, MM2 Doug Freeman and DS2 Gordon St. Marie were all good men with whom I had the pleasure of serving. The name of the sailor that perished on the USS John F. Kennedy was PO 2nd Class Yeoman David A. Chivalette
The history books will tell the rest of the story. They will tell how we were towed to Palermo, Sicily to await orders; how we were flown back stateside a short time after the collision. What they may not tell is how ordinary sailors, put in a position of saving the ship that night, were up to the task.
I witnessed people, officers whom I looked up to, reduced to tears; and I saw some of my enlisted shipmates, perform heroic deeds, all night long. That night at sea, with the fires raging, and explosions rocking the ship, rank meant little. But actions spoke volumes about the character of the fine men I was proud to stand next to as we successfully doused the flames so that the Belknap could sail again.
 My next duty station was in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where my next ship, the USS Tattnall (DDG-19) was in dry dock. It was January, 1976 (I think), when I was chipping paint very high on the Tattnall's superstructure. That height offered a bird's-eye view of a very strange sight. It was a U.S. Navy destroyer, with a compact, sealed-up superstructure being towed up the Delaware River. Could it be? It was. The Belknap had just finished its long journey across the Atlantic to be repaired and refitted at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
These are my recollections, 35 years later. I'm sure others could tell other stories about the Belknap and about that night. As a nineteen year-old seaman, I felt like I grew up a lot and learned a lot about myself and about life, as a result of being involved in this incident. I finished my tour in 1978, but no other duty station ever came close to the experiences I had on the 'Bonnie B', as we used to call her. No other duty station ever compared with the great bunch of men with whom I was privileged to serve.
Before I finish, there is one more coincidence I will share. In October, 2003 (I think), I was camping at Hanna Park near Mayport, Florida. I looked out across the bay and saw a large '67' painted on what looked like a building.  After getting some binoculars, I realized it was the hull number of the USS John F. Kennedy. This was the first time I had seen that ship since the fateful night in '75. I took the ferry over to Mayport and talked my way into the berth where the Kennedy was. It was a strange experience for me, but I felt like I had now come full circle. I was able to talk to the ship's Public Information Officer and tell her the story of the Belknap and the Kennedy. I also told her that there was a Belknap reunion about to take place in a few weeks, and that it might be a nice gesture to send a letter and a flag to the men of Belknap. She and the CO of the Kennedy agreed. I arrived at the reunion just in time to see several grown men (much older now) in tears, as the letter was read and the flag presented. It seems, after the accident, the Kennedy permanently installed, what they called a 'Belknap pole' as a reminder and a remembrance of what happened so long ago in the Mediterranean.
I have attended three reunions, in Pensacola, Charleston and Norfolk. I have had a chance to speak with Capt. Shafer, our commanding officer at the time. And I am lucky to have been able to thank him for his leadership that night. Both the Belknap and the Kennedy have been de-commissioned now, but hopefully, the story will live on.
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Army Nurse Return Trips to Vietnam
By Lou Eisenbrandt
 I arrived in Vietnam on the November 1, 1969 and quickly realized that this was going to be the most extraordinary year of my life. I was assigned to the 91st Evac hospital in Chu Lai, just 75 kilometers south of Da Nang in I Corp. My uniform for the next elven and a half months was green fatigues and combat boots. I spent three months working on a medical ward treating malaria, hepatitis, jungle rot, and intestinal parasites. Twelve-hour shifts were the norm, with one day off each week. My personal space was a 9 x 12 room with a metal twin bed and locker, the footlocker that I had brought from home and a bare light bulb. Free time was spent at the officers club, on our tiny beach, waterskiing on the South China Sea or making trips to the PX to see what the latest shipment had brought. Beanie weenies and condoms were among the always-available items.
The remaining eight and a half months of my tour were spent in the emergency room at the hospital. We received the wounded, U.S. as well as Vietnamese, directly from the field. Amputees of one or more limbs, massive head wounds, multiple shrapnel injuries and gunshot victims were a nearly every day occurrence.  Many of my 12-hour days became 14 or 15-hour days. I very soon realized that I was doing nursing I would never have an opportunity to practice again.
When I returned to "the world" after serving as an Army nurse during the war, I continued to think about that country, its people and how my time there had changed my life. I also was convinced that the beauty of the land would return at warâs end. I knew that I wanted to visit the country during peacetime. I didnât know how or when but was thrilled when the opportunity came in 1994 while I was working as a travel agent.
Return Trip I
At that time, tour companies and airlines offered family trips, giving agents the opportunity to travel at a greatly reduced price to individual countries, cruise ships, specific hotels, etc.  Such an opportunity came along in 1994 and I joined a group of 15 other travel agents for my first return trip to the Far East. I was amazed at the attitude of the Vietnamese people. They simply loved having visitors. Because the United States had just lifted its embargo on Vietnam, things had not changed that dramatically since I left in 1970.
On this first visit, we did not get to Chu Lai where my hospital had been. I knew that there was almost nothing left to see as the Vietnamese had sold the property to a Singapore company to build an oil refinery on the site. I did however have time to reacquaint myself with places where I had been during the war. One area that I was particularly interested in was the Hai Van Pass, from Da Nang to Hue, through the mountains with  beautiful views of the fishing villages below. With the destructive effects of the herbicide Agent Orange having worn off a bit over the previous 24 years, the foliage was even lusher.
We also visited Saigon, Da Nang, Hoi An, Haiphong, Halong Bay and Hanoi. I paid my first visit to China Beach, now well known as a result of the TV show. The lengthy curve of pristine white sand lived up to my expectations. Haiphong was a dank, dirty city. I found Halong Bay, a peaceful cove with underwater mountains, hiding stunning caverns, to be one of the most beautiful places that I had ever been. Hanoi was chilly, gray and clearly more influenced by the French than Americans, a stark contrast to the colorful, lively Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). We also spent time in the Delta down south (very hot) as well as Cu Chi where we crawled through the tunnels. They were used by the VC to gather information and avoid being captured. Incredible!
Return Trip II
In January of 1996, a longtime girlfriend, who had not served in the war, accompanied me back to Vietnam in an effort to get to where my hospital had been during the war. We visited the places that I had been to in 1994 and added a visit to My Lai, site of the March 1968 massacre where dozens of innocent Vietnamese civilians were killed. A tombstone listing the dead was located in each of the housesâ foundations. It was a very sobering experience.
Making our way back north on Highway One, we turned onto a side lane, bouncing along until we reached a beach. We were about to get as close to the hospital site as possible. At the command of our guide,  I jumped out of the car and ran towards the water. I shot numerous photos, realizing that we were truly near the base of the cliff on which the hospital had set. It was the closest that I would ever get to re-living my year in the war.
The final stop on the 1996 trip was to the "Hanoi Hilton" (Hoa Lo prison) where many of the American POWs were incarcerated. During my 1994 trip, I was able to sneak into an area of the prison where I could still photograph cells that housed prisoners. However, by January 1996, all of that had been demolished to make room for a high-rise hotel. All that remained was a small museum, still present and open to visitors today.
Return Trip III
In September 2013, accompanied by my husband, we had an opportunity to visit Vietnam once more. With a group of lawyers and spouses, we toured Vietnam, Cambodia, Northern Thailand and Myanmar. The changes in the cities were dramatic. Numerous hotels had sprung up in Saigon, Hue, Da Nang and Hanoi. When we visited Halong Bay in 1996, my friend and I did not encounter another boat on the water. In 2013, numerous boats were taking tourists to the hidden caves, several of which had been fitted with stairs, walkways and brightly colored floodlights. We even spent the night on a boat that housed 100 people.
Tourism had definitely come to Vietnam. Compared to the places that I had stayed on my two trips in the 90s, our hotels for this trip were extremely lavish.  Most of the hotels were under five years old and the landscape, especially in the cities, had changed dramatically since 1996. While in the countryside rice is still planted by hand with the use of water buffalo, in the cities ATMs were plentiful, bars too numerous to count. Traffic congestion went from bicycles and motorbikes to full-size cars and even SUVs. I also was amazed at the number of foreign visitors. In 1996, my friend and I did not meet a single other American tourist during our 10 day stay. On the 2013 tour, we encountered travelers from many countries - shopping, biking, boating, hiking, and dining at fine restaurants. For the record, ti cho (dog) was not available on those menus!
Trip IV
I thought that I had made my last trip to Vietnam when, in September 2014, I was privileged to be included in a group of 12 veterans, 11 men and myself, through a program at the College of the Ozarks in southern Missouri, who would tour Vietnam.
Each of us veterans, partnered with students from the college, made the trip to Vietnam to locate, as best we could, where we had been stationed during the war. Our routes took us off the beaten path and took me to areas of Vietnam I had not yet been to. I had not experienced the Central Highlands and relished the cooler climate. Some of the men took our group not just to the cities but in search of specific buildings within the cities. Some were stationed along the river in the Mekong Delta area where the heat was most intense. Photo of Da Lat, a principal city in the Central Highlands.
 As we made our way across the country, the student that was assigned to a particular veteran, would write a blog at the end of the day about that vet and his/her visit. Two of the men in our group were former POWs having been imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton for six years apiece. Another member of our group was a Medal of Honor recipient. As fellow Vietnam vets, we easily bonded over the two-week trip. It truly was the adventure of a lifetime.
Vietnam has undergone many changes since I set foot in Long Binh in 1969. Despite the war, the embargo, and the numerous countries that have attempted to rule it, Vietnam has endured.
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Faces Never Forgotten
 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund works to preserve the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to promote healing and to educate about the impact of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was initially conceived with one overriding purpose - to bring long overdue honor and recognition to the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in Vietnam. Today, the Memorial has transcended its role as a national symbol of reconciliation and stands as a living history lesson.
To better honor those who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam, an Education Center at the Wall will be built in 2016. The purpose of the Education Center is to inform future generations of the honor and sacrifices made by those who served their country.
 It is a collaborative effort between the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The Center has been approved by Congress, and construction is planned for the National Mall site adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial and on the corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street. The two-story underground learning facility will be built in keeping with the design, tone, and mood of The Wall and so as not to detract from the historic vistas of the National Mall.
The core of the center will revolve around seven traits that embody the American service member throughout the generations: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Service, Honor, Integrity, and Courage. A prominent feature of the Education Center will be the larger-than-life pictures of service members whose names adorn the polished black panels of  The Wall. The pictures will be displayed on the service members birthdays and will add faces to the more than 58,000 names on The Wall and tell the stories of those who served. The Education Center will also feature displays of the more than 400,000 personal articles, letters, and gifts that have been left at the foot of the memorial since its dedication in 1982.
Like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Education Center at The Wall will be completely funded through private donations. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has embarked on a multi-year campaign to secure the nearly $115 million needed. The campaign leadership includes Gen. Colin Powell USA (Ret.) and Gen. Barry A. McCaffrey USA (Ret.). Actor Tom Selleck serves as the National Spokesman. Groundbreaking on the Education Center at The Wall is expected in 2016.
A three-minute online video with more information on the Education Center at the Wall and its importance to American history about the Vietnam War can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee786uNvkiI
Donations to building and maintain the Education Center at the Wall may be made at: http://www.vvmf.org/education-center
Perhaps one of the most poignant, heart felt online video about the Wall features UPI reporter Joe Galloway. Beginning in early 1965, he covered many stories during the Vietnam War beginning in early 1965 that placed him in squarely in the cross hairs of VC and NVA. Thirty-three years later, he was decorated with the Bronze Star for helping to rescue wounded American soldiers under fire during the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley - one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War. He is the only civilian to receive a combat medal from the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
 Along with Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, Galloway co-authored a detailed account of those experiences in the best-selling 1992 book, âWe Were Soldiers Once⦠And Young.' A sequel was released in 2008: âWe Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam.'
In 2002, Hollywood released "We Were Soldiers" based on the book by Moore and Galloway. It starred Mel Gibson in the leading role as Col. Moore. Like the book, the movie is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another.
For Vietnam veterans and others, please take the time to view this highly emotional nearly 8-minute video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA9Dp1S3Ez4
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Profile in Courage: Five Years to Freedom
James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe was born on February 8, 1938 in McAllen, Texas, to Lee Delavan and Florence [nee Survillo] Rowe, a Russian immigrant who had lived through the Bolshevik Revolution. His older brother, Richard, attended West Point in preparation for a military career. Tragically, Richard died just prior to graduation. Richard's classmates invited the family to attend the graduation in Richard's honor, and the ceremony so inspired six-year-old Nick that he vowed to fulfill Richard's unfinished military destiny.
Rowe kept his childhood promise. But shortly after his own graduation from West Point in 1960, he had an unnerving experience. For three consecutive nights, he dreamed he was captured during a firefight with Viet Cong guerrillas. True to his nightmare, two years later in 1963, while serving as an advisor in Southeast Asia, Nick was captured during a brutal firefight. Later, he would have a premonition of his own death.
Rowe qualified as a U.S. Special Forces officer and in July 1963 was sent to Vietnam as the executive and intelligence officer of a 12-man team assigned 6-monthâs temporary duty that would end in mid-December 1963. His teamâs camp, Detachment A-23, was built deep in the U Minh Forest on the site of a former French fort in Tan Phu, Thoi Binh District in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam.
Their primary mission was to work with their South Vietnamese Special Forces counterparts to organize and train Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) strikers to kill and capture VC in an area. The campâs isolated location in the midst of a known heavy enemy presence made it vulnerable to attack, and the close proximity came with a cost: when it was time to return stateside, all but two of the teamâs original 12 members had been wounded in combat, five of them from a single mortar airburst above their sleeping quarters during only their second night in-country.
On October 28, 1963, U.S. Army Military Assistance Advisory Group intelligence adviser Capt. Humbert R. "Rocky" Versace met with the Thoi Binh district chief and learned that an irregular platoon of VC (Viet Cong) had moved into the small hamlet of Le Coeur with the intent of establishing a VC command post there. The possibility that it would be used to direct attacks against the Tan Phu Special Forces Camp approximately eight kilometers southeast of the hamlet was unacceptable. After meeting with the district chief, Capt. Versace made a liaison visit to Special Forces Team A-23 stationed at Tan Phu Special Forces Camp.
Although unauthorized to accompany CIDG field operations, Versace joined a hastily planned operation at Tan Phu scheduled to leave before dawn the next morning on October 29, 1963 to attack the Le Coeur hamlet's VC outpost. Also accompanying the 129-man CIDG force, comprised of two mobile strike force (striker) companies from Tan Phu and one Thoi Binh district militia company, were Sgt. First Class Daniel "Dan" Pitzer, the detachment's medic, and Rowe, who had growing reservations about the finalized plan as it called for passing through a number of occupied hamlets in VC-controlled territory, increasing the risk of early detection and mission compromise.
Le Coeur was located in a VC-dominated area on one of the main canals leading into the dreaded U Minh Forest. It was also located approximately 17 miles due north of Quan Long, 22 miles east of the Gulf of Thailand, 55 miles west-southwest of Soc Trang, 59 miles southwest of Can Tho and 135 miles southwest of Saigon. The American and allied troops had never ventured into that area before, and the close proximity to the enemy's well-established sanctuary in the legendary "Forest of Darkness" (so-named because of the exceptionally dense triple-canopy jungle), made it a cinch that there would be a large scale fire fight.
The basic plan was to roust the small VC unit with the district militia's assault company, forcing them from the hamlet toward the U Minh Forest and into an ambush laid by the two striker companies. When the district militia's assault company led by Vietnamese Special Forces Lt. Lam Quang Tinh, with Versace as his mission advisor, reached the village, the enemy fled as expected. The CIDG troops swept the hamlet for intelligence, and Rowe picked up a Russian K-44 shell casing, signifying that instead of a small irregular VC unit, they had rousted a well-trained and well-armed regional or main force unit.
However, when the VC fled Le Coeur, instead of running toward the U Minh Forest and the ambush as expected, they went in the opposite direction.  The American advisors subsequently directed the assault company to return to camp while they joined the two ambush companies for the return trip which included following the retreating VC a short distance. At approximately 10 AM, the two ambush companies started back to Tan Phu camp, traveling along a canal. After a short and fruitless pursuit occasionally punctuated by ineffective VC sniper rounds, the two companies turned toward Tan Phu down an intersecting canal to return to camp. Roughly two kilometers down the canal, after discovering and destroying a VC arms factory, they spotted a line of black-clad figures rapidly moving into position from the northeast across an adjacent rice paddy that separated them from a nearby canal.
As it turned out, the VC had their own ambush plans, and were attempting to cut off their return route to camp. The enemy jammed radio communications, preventing immediate fire support from the mortars at Tan Phu or the 155mm howitzers at Thoi Binh. And the hastily planned operation lacked the dedicated air support or immediate helicopter reinforcements necessary to prevent the unfolding blood bath.
Once the enemy successfully closed to 900 meters, they opened fire with automatic weapons. While ineffective at that distance, the ground fire did pin the friendly forces in place long enough for the communists to begin firing 60mm mortars at them. A group of Vietnamese strikers broke for the bank of a rice paddy for easier and faster traveling, which was all the VC needed as they already had the correct range. The VC proceeded to fire a salvo of 12 mortar rounds that nearly wiped out all the strikers located along that bank.
 As the allied forces moved rapidly into a tree lined hamlet to set up a defensive perimeter, the VC immediately tried to lure them across an open rice field into a classic three-sided ambush: a blocking force from the direction of Tan Phu camp, a pressure force from a second side, and the main force of 3 platoons on the third side in the trees lining the open rice paddy waiting in ambush.
Enemy ground fire of all types continued coming in from both pressuring sides. Allied troops maintained an accurate and lethal return fire, stacking the enemy dead like cord wood a mere 10 to 15 meters away. Rowe believed that the assault company would return to give them a hand as they had previously been informed by radio prior to the jamming that the others were in trouble. Unfortunately, that company had also been ambushed and subsequently decimated by the VC while returning to help, and could not provide assistance.
For three hours the allies battled roughly 1,000 seasoned guerrilla fighters of the Main Force 306th VC Battalion, a unit the CIDG had whipped soundly in an all-night battle just three months prior, which had re-emerged re-energized and re-armed and re-manned. With dwindling ammunition supplies and endless waves of VC still attacking, Versace, Pitzer and Rowe told their troops to pull out and withdraw, saying that the Americans would cover them and then leap frog back. As a VC assault squad suddenly came through the trees at close range in front of them, Pitzer vaporized the point man with his M-79 grenade launcher, stopping the attackers dead in their tracks. Nearly two years before it was officially deployed to American troops in Vietnam, the 40mm weapon's unexpectedly destructive power also took down several adjacent attackers and gave the Americans time to escape.
 As the Americans caught up with the disorganized strikers, they moved together into a field of reeds with the three advisors continuing to cover the rear. The VC fired a captured BAR at the retreating column with three rounds striking Versace in the leg. As he fell to the ground, an enemy grenade exploded nearby, peppering him with shrapnel. Rowe was struck in the face and chest by grenade fragments as he reached to help Versace, and the concussion knocked him to the ground. As he attempted to get up, the wounded Versace put his arms around Rowe, and he tried to drag him off the trail to hide in the reeds until the enemy passed by. The Americans broke reeds back across their trail to camouflage it.
Versace's wounds were bleeding profusely. Rowe put a compress on one of the wounds and was putting another bandage on the second one when the  VC suddenly broke through the reeds yelling, "Do tay len!" ("Hands up!"), and they looked up to see dozens of weapons pointing down at them. Rowe continued bandaging the second wound. When he finished, the VC grabbed him by the arms, pulled him to his feet and tied him with a large VC flag that he had tucked into a pocket after one of the strikers gave it to him in the hamlet.
During the firefight, in addition to the wounds suffered by Rowe and Versace, Pitzer also suffered grenade fragmentation wounds and a severely sprained ankle. The CIDG suffered roughly 60 dead, a like number wounded, and 30 missing in action. The wounded CIDG strikers had their hands tied behind their backs by the VC and were forced to lay face down in rows, then each was shot once in the back of the head.
Spared from execution because the VC wanted American prisoners for their propaganda value, the three Americans were stripped of their boots before being led into the U Minh Forest - a dark maze of mangrove, canals and swamps. The prisoners were kept in small bamboo cages, deprived of food, and exposed to insects, heat and disease. In the early days of their captivity, the three Americans were photographed together in a staged setting in the U Minh Forest. It was evident from the beginning that Versace, who spoke fluent French and Vietnamese, was going to be a problem for the Viet Cong. In an attempt to break him, his captors kept him isolated, frequently gagged, and flat on his back in irons, in a dark hot box barely larger than a coffin. As the senior ranking officer in the prison camp, Versace frequently communicated with the others by singing messages to them to the tune of popular songs of the day.
 Increasingly the VC separated Versace from the other prisoners as he continued to strictly adhere to the Code of Conduct, the code all military personnel are required to follow should he or she become a Prisoner of War. He proved very uncooperative, a situation that infuriated the communists, and his actions drew more scrutiny onto himself and away from the others. The VC made it clear right from the start they had absolute power of life and death over the prisoners. They frequently stated, "Do not think that merely because the war ends that you will go home. You can rest here long after the war."
One day Versace was gone. The last time Rowe and Pitzer heard him, Versace was singing "God Bless America" at the top of his lungs from the isolation box. On Sunday, September 28, 1965, Hanoi "Liberation Radio" announced the execution of Capt. Rocky Versace and Special Forces Sgt. First Class Kenneth Roraback in retaliation for the deaths of three terrorists by South Vietnamese officials in Da Nang.
As opportunities presented themselves, Rowe and Pitzer also attempted escapes (3 by Rowe alone), but were quickly recaptured and punished. Rowe himself spent a total of five years confined to a small bamboo cage while being permitted to venture out to a distance of only 40 yards during the day. He fought disease and malnutrition (something that 2 fellow POWs fatally succumbed to while with Rowe), all while being submitted to continuous brainwashing and attempts to break his will and admit to his 'crimes.' He busied himself chopping firewood and setting traps to capture small animals to supplement his diet of rice and fish.
As his team's intelligence officer, Rowe retained valuable knowledge that could be exploited by the VC, so he fooled them for years by claiming to be an engineer, a claim they repeatedly and unsuccessfully tested. The VC eventually uncovered the truth and began trying to extract the info in earnest. Rowe remained unbroken, and became known to his captors as "Mr. Trouble" for his resistance. Fed up with his actions, they sentenced him to be executed in January of 1969. The execution was to take place in front of higher ranking VC officials. Knowing that would mean travel through the jungle, he planned another escape.
 During an ongoing U.S. Helicopter gunship sweep of their area that was intended to wipe out the pockets of VC camps, including several prisoner camps where Rowe had been rotated, Rowe and his guards went on the run through the swamp over a period of several days. A guard Rowe had nicknamed "Porky" was showing resistance to the bumbling tactics of the other guards. As everyone was tiring and running low on food and supplies, Rowe sought to influence Porky with tidbits of info about the gunship tactics that were proving true, and Porky began listening to him. Rowe explained that the entire group was cutting a wide swath walking abreast through the swampy reeds, which was sure to expose their presence to the helicopter gunships and endanger their lives. He explained that if Porky wanted to survive, all he had to do was to slowly move away from the group.
Despite the noise and confusion of nearby combat, the cadre continued to walk abreast through the reeds, drawing the attention of the gunships to them like a blazing neon sign. Rowe continued to guide Porky away from the killing zone, and in the process disorienting him to the point where he could not figure out exactly where the main group was since they were hidden by the reeds.
Porky was armed with a Korean War vintage PPSh-41 submachine gun slung across his back. When the guard got hung up in some brush, Rowe was able to silently reach up and release the magazine allowing it to drop into the muck below. After a while Porky realized that his magazine was gone and that there was no round in his weapon's chamber. At that point Rowe was able to drop the guard with a well-delivered blow to the back of his head with a tree branch along with two karate chops to the neck.
Although he was free of his guard, Rowe was barefoot, unarmed and dressed in black pajamas in a free-fire zone during an active combat operation against the VC in the area. Overhead were two Cobra and four Huey gunships, along with a command ship, all of whom were firing away at targets in his general vicinity. Rowe frantically waved his mosquito net as he tried to get the attention of the helicopter aircrews. Several of the helicopter gunners had him in their sites when the command ship radioed to hold their fire, and that the command helicopter was going down to get a prisoner.
The door gunner realized he had an American in his sights when he saw Rowe's black beard. The command ship landed and Rowe leaped on board yelling for the pilot to take off. After 62 months in captivity, on  Dec. 31, 1968, unshaven, gaunt, disease-riddled Nick Rowe was free once again. Twenty minutes later the helicopter landed at Ca Mau airfield with their unexpected passenger. Once on the ground, Rowe learned he had been promoted from first lieutenant to major while in captivity. He was immediately flown from Ca Mau to the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh for a brief medical examination before boarding an evacuation flight to San Antonio, Texas.
In 1971, Rowe published 'Five Years to Freedom,â in which he recounted his ordeal as a Viet Cong prisoner, his eventual escape, and his return home. The book was the result of the diary he wrote while a prisoner, writing it in German, Spanish, Chinese, and his own special code in order to deceive his captors. In 1974 he retired from the Army.
The Army recalled Rowe to active duty in 1981 as a lieutenant colonel to use his POW experience to create the SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) course, now taught at the Colonel James "Nick" Rowe Training compound at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. Variations of the SERE course are considered the most important advanced training for special operations personnel in every branch of service. In 1985, Lt. Col. Rowe was placed in command of Fort Bragg's First Special Warfare Training Battalion, a position he held until 1987, when he was promoted to colonel and made chief of the Army Division at the Joint U. S. Military Advisory Group (USMAG) headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines.
In February 1989, the 51-year-old Rowe had acquired intelligence information which indicated that the communists were planning a major terrorist act. He warned Washington that a high-profile figure was about to be assassinated and that he himself was second or third on the assassination list. At around 7 AM in the morning of April 21, 1989, as he was being driven to work, his armored limousine was hit by twenty-one bullets; one round entered through a an unarmored portion of the vehicle frame and struck Rowe in the head, killing him instantly. Rowe's driver, Joaquin Vinuya, was wounded.
 No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Philippine officials said they believed the killers were rebels from the Communist New People's Army. The rebels had threatened to attack American targets unless the United States closed its military bases in the Philippines and end its support of the Philippine military's fight against the insurgency.
The Special Forces community was stunned by Rowe's death. Green Berets cried openly on the streets of Fayetteville, N.C. Many who know of him continue to speak of Rowe with awe.
Rowe was survived by two daughters, Deborah and Christina, from his first marriage to Jane Caroline Benson on December 27, 1969, and his widow Mary from his second marriage along with their two sons, Stephen and Brian.
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Battlefield Chronicles - Pork Chop Hill
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On Sunday, June 25, 1950, just before as sunrise, South Korean soldiers and their American advisors awakened to what they expected to be just another routine day guarding the demarcation line separating South Korea from Communist North Korea. Instead, they woke up to North Korean artillery blowing apart their positions, followed by heavy tanks and thousands of screaming North Korean soldiers.  Outnumbered and outgunned, the UN forces were powerless to rout the invaders, forcing them into a disorderly withdrawal south.
Never able to get their footing, UN forces continued moving south down the Korean peninsula, fighting delaying actions in Seoul, Osan, Taegu, Masan, P'ohang, and the Naktong River. Their withdrawal took nine days, ending at the southeastern-most tip of South Korea near the port city of Pusan on the Sea of Japan. Exhausted and on the brink of defeat, they hurriedly setup the âPusan Perimeter' to make their final stand against the determined North Korean army.
Fighting was fierce and bloody all along the entire perimeter from August 4 to September 18, 1950. North Korean troops, although hampered by supply shortages and massive losses, continually staged attacks on UN forces in an attempt to penetrate the perimeter and collapse the line. UN forces held on while using the port to amass an overwhelming advantage in troops, equipment, and logistics from numerous UN combatants. After six weeks and fighting small skirmishes and large battles, North Korean force collapsed and retreated back north in chaos with UN forces in pursuit.
 Many historian considered the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter one of the most brutal fights of the Korean War where both sides endured major losses: U.S. forces suffered 4,599 dead, 12,058 wounded, 401 captured and 2,700 missing in action. North Koreas had a total of 63,590 casualties and 3,380 captured.
In September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, cutting off many of the North Koreans soldiers retreating north. Those that escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, or into the mountainous interior. At this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951. During this time, the front lines constantly changed as each side gained the upper hand over the other. Realizing that neither side would be able to overcome the other, the combatants met in July 1951 at the village of Kaesong to begin armistice negotiations. In October 1951, the meeting were moved to Panmunjom.
By 1953, while the leaders of the People's Republic of Korea and Communist China continued deliberating with UN delegates in peace talks at Panmunjom, their soldiers continued to fight in several costly stalemate battles along a series of hills running west to east just north of the 38th parallel were several small but intense and bloody battles took place.
One of the better-known battles fought at this time was the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, so named for the hill's topographical appearance. Pork Chop Hill, or Hill 255, was a 300-meter high exposed hill outpost in front of the main line of resistance and was rather insignificant in terms of military or tactical importance. However, U.S. media attention to the event gave it great propaganda value since it was an ongoing struggle that lasted longer than any other single battle going on at the time.
 The Battle of Pork Chop Hill was actually two skirmishes during the spring and summer of 1953. The first skirmish (Apr. 16-18) was victorious for the UN when the Communists broke contact and retreated after two days of battle.
In the second skirmish, beginning on July 6 and ending on July 10, both sides committed many more troops and the conflict lasted for five days. On the morning of July 11, the commander of the U.S. I Corps decided to abandon Pork Chop Hill to the Chinese and the 7th Infantry Division withdrew under fire.
UN forces first occupied Pork Chop Hill in October 1951 when the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment took over the hill. The hill was again occupied in May 1952 by Company I of the U.S. 180th Infantry Regiment. By November 1952, Pork Chop Hill was occupied and defended by the 21st Thai Battalion of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, which successfully repulsed an attack by the Chinese People's Volunteers. Beginning on December 29, 1952, the outpost became part of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division's defensive sector. Pork Chop Hill, itself, was one of several exposed hill outposts was defended by a single company or platoon positioned in sand-bagged bunkers connected with trenches.
Opposing the 7th Infantry Division were two divisions of the Chinese Communist Forces: the 141st Division of the 47th Army, and the 67th Division of the 23rd Army. These were veteran, well-trained units, expert in night infantry assaults, patrolling, ambushes, and mountain warfare. Both armies were part of the 13th Field Army.
 In a surprise night attack on March 23, 1953, a battalion of the Chinese 423rd regiment 141st Division attacked a hilltop outpost known as âOld Baldyâ not far from Pork Chop Hill. Defending the hill was B Company from the 31st Regiment's Colombian Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Alberto Ruiz Novoa. To relive the beleaguered defenders, the regimental commander, Col. William B. Kern, ordered C Company of the Colombian Battalion to relieve overwhelmed B Company, despite the Colombian commander's protest. The movement began at 3:00 PM under heavy fire, making it difficult for C Company to advance toward their new position. B Company had been under constant artillery fire since their arrival and were eager to rotate.
During the relief process, the enemy caught both companies exposed, enabling them to seize many of the defensive positions. For two days of stiff resistance, the badly beaten B and C Companies failed in retaking the hill since the 31st Regiment Command failed to send reinforcements. Rather than suffer more losses, the UN Command ordered âOld Baldyâ abandonment. This preliminary fight exposed Pork Chop to three-sided attack, and, for the next three weeks, Chinese patrols probed it nightly.
On the night of April 16, 1953, Company E, 31st Infantry commanded by 1st Lt. Thomas V. Harrold manned Pork Chop Hill. Shortly before midnight, an artillery barrage foreshadowed a sudden infantry  assault by a battalion of the Chinese 201st regiment; Pork Chop Hill was quickly overrun, although pockets of U.S. soldiers defended isolated bunkers. A counterattack to retake the hill was ordered by Maj. Gen. Arthur Trudeau, command general of the 7th Infantry Division.
The two rifle companies selected for the counterattack were Company's K and L, 31st Infantry. The tactical commander of the assault was 1st Lt. Joseph G. Clemons, Jr., company commander of K Company. L Company's commander was 1st Lt. Forrest J. Crittendon. At 04:30 AM on April 17, the two rifles companies began systematically maneuvering up the hillsides under the cover of a heavy preparatory artillery barrage on enemy positions.
Although the Chinese defenders fought hard with everything they had, Company K and half of Company L (the other half had not been able to leave the trenches of an adjacent outpost) pushed forward to the top of the hill and into the main enemy trenches, often engaging in hand-to-hand combat. By dawn  Pork Chop Hill belonged to the UN forces which had suffered almost 50 percent casualties. Concerned he did not have enough men to hold the hill should the Chinese return, Clemons called back for reinforcement. Since 2nd Battalion 17th Infantry was already attached to the 31st Infantry, G Company, commanded by 1st Lt. Walter B. Russell - Clemons's brother-in-law - was immediately sent forward, linking up with Company K at 08:30 AM. All three companies were subjected to almost continuous shelling by Chinese forces (CCF) artillery as they cleared bunkers and dug in again.
Through a series of miscommunications between command echelons, Division headquarters ordered Russell's company to withdraw at 3:00 PM after they too had suffered heavy losses, and did not realize the extent of casualties among the other two companies. By the time the situation was clarified, the companies of the 31st Infantry were down to a combined 25 survivors. Maj. Gen. Arthur Trudeau, by then on scene, authorized Col. Kern to send in a fresh company to relieve all elements on Hill 255 and placed him in tactical command with both the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 17th Infantry attached and at his direction.
Kern sent forward Capt. Monroe D. King's Company F, 17th Infantry which started up the hill at 9:30 PM under heavy artillery fire but reached the trenches at 10 PM suffering 19 killed in the process. At 11 PM, Col. Kern then ordered 1st Lt. Gorman C. Smith's E Company, 17th infantry, to move up to reinforce F Company. To avoid the bulk of the artillery fire, Smith moved his rifle company around the right flank of the hill and up the side facing the Chinese positions.
Clemons' Company K, had incurred 125 casualties, including 18 killed, of its original 135 men. After twenty hours of steady combat the remaining seven members started off the hill singly just after midnight of April 17-18 and withdrew without further losses.
During the early morning of April 18, the Chinese 201st Regiment renewed its attack at 1:30 AM and again inflicted heavy losses on the defenders, nearly overrunning F Company.  The timely counterattack by Lt. Smith's E Company caught the Chinese by surprise on their flank and ended the organized assault. The Chinese 141st Division renewed attacks in company strength at 03:20 and 04:20 but did not gain further ground.
At dawn on April 18, an additional U.S. rifle company (A Company, 17th Infantry) climbed the hill to reinforce the 2nd battalion companies. Together the three companies spent the bulk of the day clearing the trenches and bunkers of all hiding Chinese and securing the hilltop. The battle ended that afternoon.
UN artillery had fired over 77,000 rounds in support of the three outposts attacked, including nearly 40,000 on Pork Chop Hill alone on April 18; the Chinese expended a similar amount.
Both the Chinese and U.S. infantry assaulted the hill initially under cover of a moonless night. Each used a heavy preparatory artillery barrage to force the defenders to take cover in bunkers and to screen the approach of the attacking troops. Chinese forces used rapid movement and infiltration tactics to close quickly on the trenches and surprise the defenders, while the US forces used small arms fire placed approximately 1 - 2 feet above the ground surface to limit defensive small arms fire, then maneuvered systematically up the hillsides under shellfire. Neither side employed supporting fire from tanks or armored personnel carriers (APC) to protect attacking troops.
Once inside the trench line, troops of both forces were forced to eliminate bunkers individually, using hand grenades, explosive charges,  and occasionally flame throwers, resulting in heavy casualties to the attackers. For the UN forces, infiltration of cleared bunkers by bypassed Chinese was a problem throughout the battle and hand-to-hand combat was a frequent occurrence.
Evacuation of casualties was made hazardous by almost continuous artillery fires from both sides. The 7th Infantry Division made extensive use of tracked M-39 APCs to evacuate casualties and to protect troops involved in the resupply of water, rations, and ammunition, losing one during the battle. In addition, the UN forces employed on-call, pre-registered defensive fires called âflash fireâ to defend its outposts, in which artillery laid down an almost continuous box barrage in a horseshoe-shaped pattern around the outpost to cover all approaches from the Chinese side of the main line of resistance.
The 7th Infantry Division rebuilt its defenses on Pork Chop Hill in May and June 1953, during a lull in major combat. Final agreements for an armistice were being hammered out and the UN continued its defensive posture all along the MLR, anticipating a cease-fire in place.
On the night of July 6, in the second skirmish, using tactics identical to those in the April assault, the Chinese again attacked Pork Chop. The hill was now held by Company A, 17th Infantry, under the temporary command of 1st Lt. Alton Jr. McElfresh, its executive officer. B Company of the same regiment, in ready reserve behind the adjacent Hill 200, was immediately ordered to assist, but within an hour, A Company reported hand-to-hand combat in the trenches. A major battle was brewing and division headquarters ordered a third company to move up. The battle was fought in a persistent monsoon rain for the first three days, making both resupply and evacuation of casualties difficult. The battle is notable for its extensive use of armored personnel carriers in both these missions.
 On the second night, the Chinese made a new push to take the hill, forcing the 7th Division to again reinforce. Parts of four companies defended Pork Chop under a storm of artillery fire from both sides. At dawn of July 8, the rain temporarily ended and the initial defenders were withdrawn. A fresh battalion, the 2nd Battalion of the 17th, counter-attacked and re-took the hill, setting up a night defensive perimeter.
On both July 9 and July 10, the two sides attacked and counter-attacked. A large part of both Chinese divisions were committed to the battle, and ultimately five battalions of the 17th and 32nd Infantry Regiments were engaged, making nine counter-attacks over four days. On the morning of July 11, the commander of the U.S. I Corps decided to abandon Pork Chop Hill to the Chinese and the 7th Infantry Division withdrew under fire.
Four of the thirteen U.S. company commanders were killed. Total U.S. casualties were 243 killed, 916 wounded, and nine captured. 163 of the dead were never recovered.  Of the Republic of Korea troops ("KATUSA") attached to the 7th, approximately 15 were killed and 120 wounded. Chinese casualties were estimated at 1,500 dead and 4,000 wounded.
Less than three weeks after the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed by the United Nations Command (Korea), Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army, and North Korean Peoples' Army, ending the hostilities.
In 1959 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios released the film âPork Chop Hill' starring Gregory Peck as 1st Lt. Joseph G. Clemons, Jr, Rip Torn as Lt. Walter Russel, and George Peppard as Cpl. Chuck Fedderson. The film is based upon the book by U.S. military historian Brig. Gen. S. L. A. Marshall.
Below is a short piece featuring Peck talking about A.L. Marshall's book as well as clips from the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPaEECzwUxI
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Plan a TWS Event
 Would you like to meet fellow Together We Served members? Our Air Force members have a group that plans a reunion every year at various locations throughout the country. TWS itself has a yearly reunion for all service branches.
Have you ever thought of having a local TWS event? You would be surprised at how many members live in your area. Many of our members get together for lunch or coffee at least once a month.
Whether it's just for coffee or a big get together for the year, planning is the the key.
Big Events
1. Pick the place - When planning a big event, the place is your starting point. You want somewhere with interesting things to do and see. If possible, have at least one event on your calendar that involves history and/or the military. (A tour of a museum, or local historic place.)
2. Find the hotel - Many hotels offer group rates for military functions. Here is where you have to be careful. Before signing any contract with a hotel, understand their booking and cancellation policies. Look for one that will allow you to drop the rooms on hold if they are not filled by a certain time without penalty. Put on hold the least amount you can get away with and still get a good rate. Keep in mind that booking and filling a certain number of rooms will get you free access to a meeting room. If you don't book your quota, you may have to rent the room. Be sure you put on hold at least one handicap accessible room.
When looking for a hotel, it's best to do some recon. If you can't do it yourself, send someone local to talk to the Group Sales Manager and get a tour of the facilities. Take pictures so you can compare. Does it have a nice restaurant or banquet facilities? Ask to see them. If they are open, have lunch. Test the waters. Does it provide a secure parking garage or lot? Do you have to pay for parking? Does it have free Wi-fi? Are the rooms clean and in good condition? Do you smell mold? Are the grounds easily accessible to someone who may be in a wheelchair or have trouble walking?
3. Something to do - Most TWS events are at least two days long with a group event planned. Look around for something interesting that you think a group of military people would enjoy doing. Historic sites, museums, tours are always a good thing to do but make sure you consider transportation costs and tickets. Check with the location and see if they have group rates. Most museums will provide a guided tour if you go as a group.
4. Banquet or meal - if it's a small group, it's usually easier and less expensive to find a local restaurant that has a nice room for larger groups. If it's a larger group, get the price of the meal set so you can let the members know.
5. Extras- Name tags and souvenirs. Let Admin know how many are going to be in your group and we can get name tags for you. We've also done pens, coffee mugs and challenge coins at past events.
 6. Registration Fee - It is up to you if you want to charge a fee to register for the event. It is one way to make sure that any penalties for cancellations doesn't come out of your pocket.
Small Events
Choose a central location for lunch. Ask members to confirm attendance so you know how many to expect. Make a reservation. Remind members a few days before of the event. Make some new friends and have some fun.
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TWS Bulletin Board
If you wish to make a post to our new Bulletin Board - People Sought, Assistance Needed, Jobs Available in Your Company, Reunions Pending, Items for Sale or Wanted, Services Available or Wanted, Product or Service Recommendations, Discounts for Vets, Announcements, Death Notices - email it to us at admin@togetherweserved.com.
Announcements
Have Your Membership Sponsored!
If you are a "free" member of Together We Served and would like to contact those you served with but can't afford to pay for it this time of year, simply log back in and accept membership from one of our partners.
Volunteer of the Month
 CMSgt Don Skinner
US Air Force (Ret)
(Served 1949-1974)
Shadow Box: http://airforce.togetherweserved.com/bio/Don.Skinner
CMSgt Don Skinner has been a member of Air Force Together We Served since Jan 29, 2009.
In 2010, TWS formed the "Memorial Team". The team is made up of members who have taken on the task of completing Fallen profiles for those that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. To date, Don has 1,589 profiles that he has meticiously researched.
Thank you Don, for your dedication to honoring our Fallen. Your efforts make TWS a unique archive and a place of peace for the families of those we lost.
VA and Other News
DoD Proposes a 1.6% Pay Increase for 2017
A 1.6-percent pay raise for military members proposed as part of the president's fiscal 2017 budget is "ridiculous," says one lawmaker who oversees the House subcommittee responsible for personnel issues, including pay.
 "I think it's ridiculous that we're not giving the full pay raise as calculated by law to our men and women in uniform, especially during a time that the Department of Defense is, in my opinion, nickel and diming troops in every area," said Rep. Joe Heck, a Republican from Nevada.
By law troops are to receive a pay raise within 0.5 percent of the Employment Cost Index, which tracks civilian labor costs. The index for 2017 is projected to be 2.1 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Although the proposed 1.6 percent falls within the required window, Heck said he plans to seek a larger raise.
"I want to make sure that I'm extremely vocal about the fact that we need to fight for the full pay raise this year."
If passed into law, the 1.6 percent pay raise will mark the fourth year troop pay has not kept pace with the private sector. The pay proposal is part of a larger $582.7 billion Pentagon budget proposal for fiscal 2017, which begins Oct. 1, which includes more funding to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, Russia and China. The spending plans also calls for funding to develop an "arsenal plane" and swarming "microdrones" while keeping the A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft in the inventory.
VA Patients may soon receive Good News
 For more than 35 years, VA patients have been plagued by an extremely unfair VA program, namely, their Beneficiary Travel Reimbursement Program.
Past efforts to correct this VA program unfortunately fell on deaf ears! Hawaiian Senators Daniel Inouye (RIP) and Daniel Akaka made a gallant effort to have the requirement for the infamous "deductible" removed from that program.
Eligible VA patients, especially needy Disabled Veterans, will be pleased to learn that Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) and Congressman Timothy Walz (Minnesota) are working together on a bill which would correct the inequities contained in VA's travel reimbursement program. Also, Senator John Boozman (Arkansas) has responded favorably to this Veteran's request that he introduce a bill which would correct the inequities in VA's program.
This Veteran has requested that the new bill include deleting the requirement for a deductible; that it would give secretary of the VA blanket approval to periodically increase their travel reimbursement rate coinciding with GSA rate increases (without impacting funds earmarked for general health care); and it that it would exempt VA patients from the requirement to receive travel reimbursement via the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) system (a wait time for payments from 13 to 36 weeks), and that it would reinstate the practice of paying VA patients travel reimbursements, in cash, on the same day as their appointments.
It is the opinion of this Veteran, the only way this unfair VA program will get corrected will be if the Veterans themselves actively show full support for this effort. The Co-sponsors of this new bill need to hear from the Veterans. If everyone who reads this article will contact their congressional representatives in Congress (Senators and Representatives) declaring full support for such a bill, it will help create the necessary support needed in Congress.
It would also help if everyone will contact Senator Boozman, Congresswoman Gabbard, and Congressman Walz (emails, phone calls and/or letters) declaring your support for the bill and your appreciation of their efforts on our behalf.
Congressional contact info:
Senator John Boozman
141 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4843
(Legislative Aide - heba_abdelaal@boozman.senate.gov)
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
1609 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-4906
(Legal Assistant â christine.wagner@mail.house.gov)
Congressman Timothy Walz
1034 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2472
Without a tremendous show of support by the Veterans, the bill, quite frankly, won't have a chance for approval!
Together we can make it happen!
Veterans Crisis Line
Oscar-winning documentary highlights heroism of those who seek help and those who serve them.
On February 28, 2015, two excellent Veteran-themed films were up for Oscars. The box-office blockbuster 'American Sniper' graphically illustrates the difficult readjustments Veterans often have to make in transitioning to civilian life. Less well known was a short subject documentary. Developed by HBO in cooperation with the VA, Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 spotlights the moment-to-moment work of the 24/7 Veterans Crisis Line, a VA program in upstate New York. The industry leaders voted to give the Oscar to this powerful documentary.
During this intense 40-minute film, we see and overhear actual responders and counselors handling difficult conversations, exemplary of the some 22,000 calls the Center fields each month. In accepting the award to strong applause from the Hollywood audience, director Ellen Goosenberg Kent especially thanked the crisis line staff who, "â¦care for Veterans as if their own lives depended on it." She then said, "This incredible honor really goes to the Veterans and their families who are brave enough to ask for help."
Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year. For more information, visit https://www.veteranscrisisline.net.
If you're interested in a job on the Veterans Crisis Line or supporting Veterans in many other ways, please visit VA Careers. http://www.vacareers.va.gov/
Women Should Have to Register for Draft
The top U.S. Marine Corps and Army generals said on Tuesday that women should be required to register for the military draft, along with men, as the armed forces move toward integrating them fully into combat positions.
 "I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft," General Robert Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on women in combat.
General Mark Milley, the chief of staff of the Army, also backed registration for women, although two other witnesses, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Acting Army Secretary Patrick Murphy, said only that there should be a discussion of legislation requiring women to register for the Selective Service.
The U.S. military is currently an all-volunteer force, but young men are required to register in case the draft is reactivated.
The military leaders said it would take years for women to be fully integrated into combat units, although they generally voiced strong support for the plan to skeptical committee members.
Milley estimated full integration would take "no less than one to three years of deliberate effort."
Many Republicans said they fear the imposition of quotas mandating a specific number of women in some units, such as Marines in positions that might require hand-to-hand combat.
President Barack Obama's defense secretary, Ash Carter, announced in December that the military would let women serve in all combat roles. The historic announcement was greeted with intense skepticism by many Republican members of Congress, as well as expectations it would require women to register for the draft.
Many Republicans said they fear the imposition of quotas mandating a specific number of women in some units, such as Marines in positions that might require hand-to-hand combat.
Senator Jack Reed, the top committee Democrat, said physical abilities alone do not determine whether a military unit is effective.
"Fighting and winning wars, as I'm sure our panelists know well, involves much more than that," Reed said.
Marines Could Cut Infantry Troops
The Marine Corps may be approaching a steady-state end strength of 182,000 troops, but that doesn't necessarily mean personnel cutbacks are over.
Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said Thursday that the Corps may consider scaling back its infantry population or operational forces --  with an emphasis on cutting from the most junior ranks -- in order to create space for an increase in its cyberwarfare community.
Speaking at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, D.C., Neller said he was looking hard at tradeoffs as the Marine Corps sought to develop well-trained, mature cyber warriors.
"I'm willing to take risks in the units we have now," he said. "Once we determine what the capabilities we need are and what are the types of Marines we need to do that, you know, those are not going to be [privates first class] and lance corporals over time."
The Corps, he said, had two options: to ask for an end strength increase after several years of drawing down, or restructure existing forces for a new mission. Neller said he would probably know how many cyber Marines the Corps needed by this summer, and then it would take an unspecified period of time to realize that growth.
In a fragmentary order Neller published in January, he called for growth in information operations and electronic warfare as well as cyberwarfare, giving the Marine Corps a fall 2017 deadline to complete the expansion.
"It takes 22 years to grow a Colonel. So if we have to take structure, we'll probably take it from the more junior Marines, because those are the easier to ... we can replace them," he said. "To grow a cyber Marine is a two-year pipeline, and we're in the process of growing our cyber capability. And the course that they have to go through has got a high attrition rate, so we've got to remission those people. So that's part of this talent management."
Neller said he was also looking to take advantage of existing cyber talent in the Marine Corps Reserve community as a way to stretch resources and training dollars even further.
"The advantage in the Reserves is they have a civilian life and they do this for real," he said. "So now we're going out, trying to find out who they are, how to get them involved in this stuff, because now we've skipped 5, 10, 15 years of development because somebody owns a cyber protection company and we put them right in there."
Move to bar serious sex criminals from VA Burials
The Department of Veterans Affairs is asking Congress to pass legislation prohibiting veterans charged with the most serious category of sex crimes from interment in veterans' cemeteries.
The proposed ban would go further than current law prohibiting convicted and registered Tier III sex offenders from being buried in VA cemeteries by barring those who die before being convicted or who flee to avoid prosecution.
Tier III sex offenders are those convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, or sexual abuse or abusive sexual contact against a minor under age 13, according to federal statute.
In 2011, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Missouri, sponsored the Hallowed Grounds Act, which was signed by President Obama in January 2013.
The law put Tier III sex offenders in the same category as veterans convicted of capital crimes, who have been barred from veteran cemetery burials since 1997. That year, President Clinton signed legislation to ensure Army veteran Timothy McVeigh, convicted of blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma, would not be eligible for such interment.
Veterans groups backed the intent of Hartzler's bill.
Opinion
Torture
By General Charles C. Krulak, USMC (Ret.)
We thought the issue of torture was settled last year when an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to ban waterboarding and other so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques." But recent campaign rhetoric shows that some think that torture is still up for debate.
American values must not twist in the wind. Our nation was founded on sacred principles of honor, decency, and a love for the rule of law. If we, as Americans, walk away from our core values, our Constitution, than who are we?
I, along with forty-two of our nation's most respected retired generals and admirals, urged all presidential candidates to preserve American ideals and publicly reject torture.
"Based on our experience - and that of our nation's top interrogators, backed by countless studies - we know that lawful, rapport-based interrogation techniques are the most effective way to elicit actionable intelligence. But torture is actually worse than unnecessary; it is counterproductive and undermines our national security," we wrote. "Most importantly, torture violates our core values as a nation."
Torture is unquestionably illegal, but words matter. And we need to make sure our leaders know that torture is not a matter for debate.
History
Reflections on Pearl Harbor
On Sunday, December 7th, 1941, Admiral Chester Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington D.C. He was paged and told there was a phone call for him.  When he answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He told Admiral Nimitz that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor nearly destroying the Pacific Fleet and that he would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet and landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941.
There was such a spirit of despair, dejection and defeat - you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war.
On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by  the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters everywhere you looked.
As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, "Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?" Admiral Nimitz's reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice.
Admiral Nimitz said, "The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?" Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, "What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?" Nimitz explained:
Mistake number one: the Japanese attacked on Sunday morning.
 Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk--we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.
Mistake number two: when the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow every one of those ships to America to be repaired.
As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America. And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.
Mistake number three: Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in top of the ground storage tanks five miles away over that hill. One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply.
That's why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or God was taking care of America.
Admiral Nimitz was able to see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else saw only despair and defeatism.
Member Submissions
The Volunteer
By Mike Nielsen
U.S. Navy
I was a Corpsman with Delta Co., 3rd Recon from Jan 1966 through Oct 1966. We operated in Da Nang, Anh Hoa, Hue, Phu Bai, Ho Chi Min Trail, and God knows where else.
 In Oct. 1965 my four year Navy enlistment was up, but I couldn't leave until I saw the war that had just started up in Nam, so I signed on for a 'conditional' extension for FMF 3rd Marines. Spent 5 weeks in Del Mar, then on to Okinawa for transport to Nam, 5 days on a flat bottomed LST. When it was my turn for assignment I asked for Recon because I had heard it was top outfit in the Corps; I hadn't heard of Force Recon or SEALS. The Marine officer and Sgt.'s looked at me like I was crazy, then said, âNo problem, Doc.â A phrase I heard again and again during my tour with the Marine Corps. They gave me everything I asked for, M14 with selector, grenades, M72 LAW, C4, and oh yes, a medical bag. In this photo you can see that I had been crouching low in the water by the water marks on my pants which made it safer from booby traps, but not from the leaches. Next to me is Sgt. Dua an ARVN who was supposed to be our advisor, except he didn't speak much English.
After 6 months of running patrols 5 to 6 days a week my squad leader, Sgt. Richard Delorm gave me one of his metal Sgt. Chevrons and made me a Fire Team Leader. I still have those chevrons pinned on my old bush in a box with other treasured mementos. I'm more proud of that illegitimate badge than anything I can remember.
So, after 10 months in country I got out of Nam and spent the rest of my tour in Okinawa, Camp Schwab. Made it back to states and out of military in San Francisco, Jan. of 1967, just in time for the "Summer of Love." That's another story and movie.
Photographs
By James Tadlock
U.S. Air Force
I was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Airbase with U.S. Air Force from Sept. 1968 to Sept. 1969. Somehow I acquired some photo negatives which were in a folder from the Tan Son Nhut Base Exchange. I carried them around with me all these years thinking that they were some photos that one of my buddies had taken.  Finally, I took the negatives to Wal Mart to have them developed. I didn't hear anything back from the store until near the end on 2015 when they called and said that they had the developed photos and that I could pick them up or they would dispose of them.
I went and picked them up and found that they were pictures of a Vietnamese family that I had no idea of who they were. The pictures appear to be of a gathering, I think a wedding. There are lots of presents all wrapped with red paper. Some photos of a man a woman and children. Also one of a minister. How I came about them, I don't have a clue.
My guess would be that one of the ladies worked at the exchange on Tan Son Nhut and I was mistakenly given these negatives
Nightmares
By Sgt. Murray Smith
81mm Mortars Forward Observer 3-3-3 1966
U.S. Marine Corps (1963â1967)
 It's dark and windy, may be a half-moon. I can see the bridge in front of me that spans the stream. It's rocking up and down, a ramshackle piece of crap lashed down on empty oil drums, the only way through the jungle.
We're timing the jump as it rises. One two steps on it and a leap to the other side, landing on your stomach in wet muck. The guy ahead of me goes next, he has a dog. They just make it as this huge flat form leaps from the water and crashed half on, half off the bridge, it's tail trashing madly as it slides off the other side. I hear the dog yip in terror and them I'm running and the bridge rises up to meet me, almost causing my knees to buckle, but I push off and something smashes me on my pack board and sends me flying through the air to the other side. Two men grab and pull me of the muck. I smell the stink of the river bottom from the one who almost takes me with him as it slithers off the bridge. I stand up and watch them all swilling around in the dark water, must be the biggest cat-fish in the whole world.
Someone is calling me and I sit up out of the darkness of that night into the light and I'm staring around at the dogs sleeping, the TV is on and mom is coming through the doorway with a tray saying something like, "Tell me how this soup tastes will you?"
Jeez, it's good to be home!
Looking For
5th Motor Transport Squadron
Looking for anyone stationed with Francis Hendricks (Frank) at 5th Motor Transport Sq., (5th Mule Train) outside of Seoul Korea, from April 1960 to April 1961. I fell off a Duce and a half while refueling the Guard Tower. I injured my right heel.
Frank Hendricks
216 Roanoke Dr.
Kill Devil Hills,NC 27948.
E-Mail Adress: fhendricks27948@yahoo.com
Naval Air Station, Columbus Ohio Story
Looking for anyone and information associated with the Naval Air Station located in Columbus Ohio. The base was in operation for about 17 years when naval cutbacks closed it in June 1959. I was stationed there from 1957 to closing. I am compiling the story and history of NAS Columbus, to be posted on this website to honor the service personnel and base. If you have any information, photos or comment, please contact:
â
Bruce Ramsey at email â ramseyb123@gmail.com
Platoon 2078 MCRD San Diego 1967
Looking for anyone who was in Plt.# 2078 MCRD San Diego, Ca. from 9-1967 thru 12-20-1967 who has dress blue's graduation picture.
My e-mail address is: tommiec@ameritech.net.
Pacific Northwest Military Veterans
Bob Blank, is starting up a monthly lunch meeting for retired military pilots/crew who live around the Pacific Northwest â doesnât matter when they served, where they served or what they flew. Pilots/crew can stop by the Camano Center (606 Arrowhead Road) on Camano Island for a $6. meal and good conversation. The first meeting is Thurs., March 17th at 11:30am.
Since the group is brand-new, the first meeting will be lunch and a discussion about possibilities for the groupâs future.
Bob can be reached at 425-310-7109 or tougholdbirdbob@gmail.com
Photo of Stanley S. Shultz
I received SFC Stanley S Shultz's casket flag his uniform and his medals plus 2 newspaper clippings from an estate sale in Chesterfield Township, MI. He served in Wonsan, Korea and was awarded the silver star on Jan. 7 1951. He also was awarded the Purple Heart and Korea service medal. He was in the 2nd Infantry Division, 38th Regiment. That's all I know and I wanted to find a picture to complete his shadow box.
Alan Simpson
sima10332@student.trentonschools.com
 Dog Tag
Found these dog tags in with mine. Do not know where I had gotten them. The name does not ring a bell. I would like to return these to either the Marine or their descendants.
terrydurrance@msn.com
Captain Kirk USAF
I served at Ubon Air base in Thailand. 1970-1971. 16th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th Field Maint. Squadron, working on AC-130 Gunships. I served 8 years in the USAF. Chaplain Kirkâs rank was Captain. He was instrumental in my coming to Christ. I have been a Pastor for 42 years. i wish to thank him for his dedication as an AF Chaplain and to thank him for making a difference in my life. If he is alive i wish to connect with him again.
Ed Bedrosain
pastorbedrosian@gmail.com
Platoon 3014 MCRD Feb '72
Rick Kirchoff wants to hear from any recruit that was in his platoon 3014 at MCRD San Diego, Feb 72-May 72.
~Rick Kirchoff
rkirchoff@gmail.com
 USS Kalamazoo-1975 Christmas Gift
I'm trying to find the person's name that served on the USS Kalamazoo in and sent this zippo lighter to his dad for Christmas in 1975. His dad lived in the area of Blanchard, Oklahoma. I would like to return it to him, or his family.
The back said Xmas 1975.
Thanks!
Brad Patterson
bradpatterson@pldi.net
1st Battalion, 11th Airborne
Just wondering if you can help me find some of my friends that were in my unit, 511th Headquarters 1st Battalion, 11th Airborne. Don't know their last names for we all called each other by nickname or first name. Thanks.
~Robert "Willy" Wilhelmthe
(1953 -1955)
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Letters to the Editor
 General
Every time that I open TWS and that's not often enough, I am surprised at what you have accomplished with the program. Keep up the good work.
~William A. Roberts
CDR USN Ret.
Read your article about lost tags, and hoped to find a list of tags that have lost their home. My tags were lost some time in the 1970's in Missouri. No combat story, or adventure associated with the disappearance. I think some boys playing Army. They were gone months before I knew. But if found, I would be so appreciative to have them again.
~Charles J DeLapp Jr
AF 17288542
Type O Religion P
oldibmce@sbcglobal.net
OR
1114 Wiltshire Blvd
Raymore. MO 64083
Thanks for another fine edition of TWS Dispatches. I thoroughly enjoy reading each article and invariably learn something from each one. When I joined TWS several years ago I never anticipated I would enjoy the website as much as I do.
~Bob McCorkle
U.S. Army
1968-1979
I just finished the latest edition of "Dispatch's". Well done! You choice of articles is excellent. They are all very informative.
~Robert Dalton
U.S. Marine Corps
First, I want to express my appreciation to you, and your associates at TWS, for the outstanding work you do publishing Dispatches Newsletters, et al. I thoroughly enjoy reading them all cover-to-cover.
Second, I want to share with you the story of a man I was blessed to know for a short period of time in 1962, Capt. Euripides Rubio, Jr. (MOH). In early 2013, I searched for his name via Google and learned he was deceased, and was also awarded the Medal of Honor. Further research on my part produced only sparse details of the events surrounding his death, other than his MOH award citation. After joining TWS later in 2013, I shared what I knew about him with TWS volunteer SP6 Gary McJimsey (see below). Gary took it upon himself to do some research and his results produced an outstanding TWS profile to honor Capt. Rubio.
~James Windholz
U.S. Army
Editorâs Note: Spec6 Gary McJimseyâs profile of Capt. Euripides Rubio can be accessed at the following site:
http://army.togetherweserved.com/profile/66912
From Nazi Occupied Holland to the Jungles of Vietnam
All of the content was superb but Leo Deege's article hit home as my wife is of Dutch descent (Van Wyhe) from Northwest Iowa, a heavily Dutch-American area. Please extend my compliments to Leo and his late parents (& a little Dutch trivia: Wyatt Earp, famed lawman, born in Illinois but grew up in Pella, Iowa where ALL of his siblings were born & raised. Leo will probably know Earp is Dutch but in case he didn't....)
~Gerald A. Edgar
U.S. Air Force (1970-1974)
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Book Reviews
"Lucky Hank
A World War II Air Force Navigator"
By J.H. (Hank) Goldman
 Review
"Lucky Hank â A World War II Air Force Navigator" is not a long book. In fact it is only 79 pages in length yet Goldman's precise detail style covers a lot of ground. Like most memoirs, he starts with his enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Force when he was a 20 year old Pennsylvania college student. For more than a year, he received aviation, navigation and bombardier training. Upon graduation he pinned on two wings and the gold bars of a newly minted 2nd Lieutenant. He was then assignment as navigator of a six man B-25 medium bomber crew. After of six months extensive training exercises on operating a B-25, the crew flew across the Pacific to Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines where they joined the 499th Bombardment Squadron.
A few days after arriving, the crew was briefed on operations and shown a map of all the friendly bases in the area. They were also told to memorize the map as it was a court martial offense to make a copy. Goldman spent a lot of time becoming familiar with that map knowing it was up to him to guide the aircraft and its crew to the target and back home. Turns out, his keen recollection of the map features - and his extraordinary skills as a navigator - saved the lives of the crew more than once. On their second mission their starboard engine was hit by enemy ground fire near Bataan. Losing power and unable to return to base, Goldman, recalling the information he had memorized on the map, expertly shepherded the crippled aircraft to a friendly airstrip atop a mountain only he knew existed. The touchdown was difficult, resulting in a crash landing.
Two days later and on another mission, Goldman's aircraft again received enemy fire on their starboard engine and were forced to abandon the mission and return home. When the pilot requested to land, he was told to circle as another plane was already on approach. Certain his disabled plane could not stay in the air much longer and would crash, the concerned pilot headed for the ocean and ditched the plane. Goldman suffered a major back injury in the crash, earning a one month convalescence leave to a rest center in Sidney, Australia.
After recovering from his back injury, Goldman returned to combat to find his pilot and best friend had been killed on a mission in his absence, one reason he calls himself "Lucky Hank."
In July 1945, Goldman's squadron, along with three others from their bomber group, were moved to Shima Island just west of Okinawa where Goldman got hepatitis. He was evacuated to the general hospital on Saipan. When he returned to his unit six weeks later, he learned the squadron lost about twenty five percent of its combat personnel - including three aviators with whom he shared the same tent. Sadden by the devastating new, he realized once again just how luck he really had been.
With the war over and 25 missions completed, including targets in Bataan, Formosa, Indo-China, Philippines and Okinawa, Goldman returned home on leave. Only a week or so home, his sister introduced Goldman to Sonya "Sunny" Zabludoff. Several days later, Goldman travelled to Indiantown Gap and processed out of the Army. Ten months later Goldman and Sunny were married.
The very last line in his book, Goldman wrote, "I really feel that I have been, and still am, Lucky Hank."
The book is straight forward in its chronological story telling of Goldman's combat and human interest experiences. Unpretentious, Goldman's modest writing style makes reading the book a pleasure and in so doing, holds the reader's attention right straight to page 79.
Spend a couple of hours reading this book and you will be glad you did.
Reader Reviews
Thank you Hank for telling about ditching in the ocean and saving my father from the sinking B-25 Mitchel Plane.
~Barry
Facing enemy fire and bad weather, Goldman complete 25 missions over Japanese territory and icy oceans. Thanks to his careful record-keeping and the memories he shared, we can re-live each harrowing flight of he and his crew. A gripping read.
~Robert Deeds
 About the Author
Jacob Henry (Hank) Goldman was born in Philadelphia, Penn in 1922. He flew twenty-five combat missions in World War II as an Army Air Corps Navigator in a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. Twice his aircraft was hit by enemy fire and forced down.
In 1946 he was married to Sonya "Sunny" Zabludoff and they moved to New York. He was active in the textile industry until 1985 when he and Sunny moved to Boca Raton, Fla. Together they had a son and daughter.
In 2005 he lost his beloved Sunny to an incurable brain disorder after 59 years of marriage.
http://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Hank-World-Force-Navigator/dp/1452853967/ref=cm_cr_pr_pl_footer_top?ie=UTF8
"Good Soldier"
By Paul C. Steffy
 Review
Based on the author's own experience, 'The Good Soldier' features the fictional character Brad Thomas who served as an 18-year-old infantryman in Vietnam, resulting in four decades of disturbing memories that often wake him up in the middle of the nigh covered in sweat. When it is suggested he get psychological help, he refuses, believing he will find the answers on his own. In the meantime, he goes through four failed marriages.
In spite of his emotional and drinking-related health issues, Brad retired from two successful careers but knows if he ever hopes to rid his mind of emotional pain and the disastrous results, he must go back to Vietnam to wipe out as many of the bad memories as possible. In 2014, he signs up for a one-week Vietnam veterans' tour of battlefield.
Members of the tour group arrive and meet at the San Francisco airport. The last one to arrive is Wes Lane, Brad's platoon buddy during the war. Neither was aware the other would be on the tour. It was an exciting, wonderful reunion. During the long trip to Vietnam, with a fuel stop in Hong Kong, the two shared old memories of their one year combat tour together. Most were good memories but inevitably, the discussion came around to the guys that were killed.
Vietnam had changed dramatically in the past 40 years since Brad and Wes had been there. Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) was a modern metropolis with skyscrapers, ultra-modern hotels, millions of people, thousands of tourists, including many Russians. Restaurants were world-class serving the finest in cuisine in which the two indulged happily every night followed by drinks at the old hotels where journalist stayed during the war.
Each day, the tour bus took the veterans around to several battlefields, including one in which Brad and Wes had fought. That day Brad's unit was going through a small village expecting to capture VC known to be in the area. With them was a South Vietnamese lieutenant. In one small village, a wrinkled Vietnamese grandmother, barely able to walk, slowly approached Brad clutching something black and flat.
With the South Vietnamese lieutenant as translator, the old lady said, "Take these," as she handed two paintings to Brad depicting peaceful scenes of Vietnamese peasant life painted in vibrant color against the black background. "These paintings are all my family has to pass on from one generation to the next. Take them to America and let the people see how we are a kind, peaceful nation. Most of us do not want war." Before she shuffled back to her tiny hut, she lamented that the VC would return the next day, burn the village and kill many of the people because they helped Americans. Hearing her departing words, Brad experienced a new, troubling sense of the war and what it does to the people of Vietnam.
Later that day the tour bus stopped at what was left of a long-abandoned village. It was the village where the old lady gave him the paintings. He walked around the ruins for 10 minutes. When he returned to the bus, Brad felt better than he had in years from the memory of the old lady's precious gift.
After returning home, Brad resumed a romantic relationship with a lady he had been seeing. He also loaned both Vietnamese paintings to a veteran's convention in San Francisco. Others at the convention asked if they could display the paintings at their meeting facilities. Brad felt proud of the interests in the two painting and when he thought of the message of the old lady to the American people, he felt humbled and understood a new kind of liberation knowing he was finally going to find some relief from his nightmares.
An unforgettable and highly recommended work of military fiction, 'The Good Soldier' is a story of hope arising from the sights, sounds, trauma and ambiguities of war. Highly recommended for veterans and those they love.
Reader Reviews
A friend gave me this book and I finished it in two evenings. The story of Brad is, I imagine, the story of many returning vets and the author keeps the reader engaged, both emotionally and intellectually, throughout all 134 pages. Reading about Brad's experiences in Vietnam and the loss of so many friends in such horrific ways was heart-wrenching. Hearing about his flashbacks and nightmares and how they affected his personal life over the years was sad and equally heart-wrenching. The chapters that follow Brad and Wes, as they return to Vietnam and revisit the scenes of so much destruction and human loss were moving and encouraging. Mr. Steffy makes you feel for both men as they slowly come to terms with what happened and are able to banish some of the ghosts of their past . This is a book that I think should be read by the family and friends of any returning vet, as it provides valuable insight into the minds of men and women who have been through so much and continue to be affected by it.
~Reluctant Muse
For those who enjoy a journey in the shoes of another, Steffy offers the reader a thoughtful experience into the world of a vet who returns to Vietnam 50 years later. There are some memories that affect us and stay with us for the rest of our lives. The author is not alone and only one of many vets who return to Vietnam as therapy - hoping to dispel the ghosts of past memories and horrors of war. Although there are several graphic scenes recounted in memory, one of the most compelling aspects that draws the reader is the severe contrasts. Returning to a place, the small villages and the roads which fifty years ago were stained by the unspeakable that war brings, the men are now housed in comfortable hotels, drinking and eating elegantly as one on holiday. But this is not a holiday, it is a venture to heal the broken soul and come to terms with the undead past. There is less of the sensationalism of war-fare in this story, and more of a subtle richness just under the skins top layer. Steffy begins his book by reminding us of the facts: 58,000 Americans died during the Vietnam War.
~W.P. Taber
"The Good Soldier" is a Vietnam Veteran's catharsis, a healing journey, and labor of love. Providing insight into the mind of a Veteran and how war can ravage minds. The book mentions in brief options to heal from such tragedies, however it focuses mainly on a detailed description of the characters week-long journey back to Vietnam relieving his vivid memories and emotions up until the trip draws to a conclusion.
~Andrea S.
 About the Author
Paul C. Steffy is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. 9th Infantry Division from October 1967 to October 1968. An avid traveler for many years, he's been to twenty-seven countries and all fifty U.S. states.
He currently lives with his family in the Southwest, where he pursues writing. The author of several short fiction pieces, two novelettes, and one novel, Steffy enjoys flying, sailing, ocean cruises, landscape and wildlife photography, stimulating conversation, quiet sunsets, and achieving personal goals.
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declared himself dictatorial head of Germany and with that declaration, the last remnants of Germany's democratic government were dismantled. Adolf Hitler was now the sole master of a nation intent on war and genocide. 
Since they wielded such economic clout, Hitler also blamed them for Germany's Great Depression following WW I. There was also the issue of race: Hitler believed that the "Aryan race" was the best and strongest race. Jews were considered to be of such an inferior race, that they were not even considered to be "people" by the Nazis and, for that reason, Europe had to be rid of this "threat to German racial purity." 
Jehovah's Witnesses, anarchists, the mentally and physically disabled, and resistance fighters. If you add in the 3.3 million Soviet prisoners of war killed in German camps the total is 16.3 million. Some history books place the total as high as 19.3 million.
(Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau), Dr Josef Mengele (the Angel of Death), Josef Kramer (Commandant of Bergen-Belsen), Rudolf Hoess (Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau) and Anton Thumann (Commandant of Majdanek). Kramer, Hoess and Thumann were hanged. Baer escaped but was caught later and died in prison awaiting execution. Dr. Mengele escaped to South America, where he died in Brazil on February 7, 1979.
The second set of trials was for the lesser war criminals and included the Doctors' Trial and the Judges' Trial. The Doctors' Trial was for the 20 medical doctors and 3 Nazi officials accused of involvement in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia, while the Judges' Trial was for the 16 German jurists and lawyers accused of implementing and furthering the Nazi "racial purity" program through eugenic and racial laws.
crammed them into cattle cars, and carried them off to concentration camps to be slaughtered or starved to death. As a result, the Israelis formed death or revenge squads to track down and kill these former SS and Wehrmacht officers who had participated in the atrocities and eluded serious punishment. 
with jewelry and clothes. The lady of the house told the three revenge squad men that it had all once belonged to Jews. The "Din" men told the man and his wife that they would be executed on the spot for crimes against humanity. In a plea bargain, the former Nazi Party official gave a list of the current names and addresses of senior SS officers to the revenge squad. 
assisted tens of thousands of concentration camp survivors to reach Palestine, despite the fact that the British government was firmly opposed to Jewish immigration at the time and the country was the subject of a naval blockade.
As I recall, the Belknap had scored highest on Naval Gunfire Support, Anti-Aircraft Warfare and Anti-Submarine Warfare exercises. The mood was upbeat, and there were rumors that we would be rewarded with some R&R in Barcelona. Then the collision happened. Any student of history knows that November 22 is an auspicious date in US history. In 1963, that was the day that our 35th president, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. It is a cruel irony that it was 12 years later, to the day that we collided with the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
It wasn't very long before the hatch to the main deck was opened and we all scurried up to the main deck, were my eyes were opened to what looked like daylight. But it wasn't daylight. It was fire. Fire for as far and high as the eye could see. As a result of the collision with John F. Kennedy's overhanging deck, JP-5 fuel lines were ruptured spraying fuel over an adjacent catwalk, and fires ensued aboard both ships.
a shipmate me enjoyed playing cards with during off time. I could tell other stories about other shipmates who lost their lives that night. FA David Messmer joined the crew the same day as I did in April of that year. STG3 Brent Lassen was a fellow Operations Department member. My other fallen shipmates, MM1 James Cass, EM2 Mike Kawola, MM2 Doug Freeman and DS2 Gordon St. Marie were all good men with whom I had the pleasure of serving. The name of the sailor that perished on the USS John F. Kennedy was PO 2nd Class Yeoman David A. Chivalette
My next duty station was in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where my next ship, the USS Tattnall (DDG-19) was in dry dock. It was January, 1976 (I think), when I was chipping paint very high on the Tattnall's superstructure. That height offered a bird's-eye view of a very strange sight. It was a U.S. Navy destroyer, with a compact, sealed-up superstructure being towed up the Delaware River. Could it be? It was. The Belknap had just finished its long journey across the Atlantic to be repaired and refitted at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
After getting some binoculars, I realized it was the hull number of the USS John F. Kennedy. This was the first time I had seen that ship since the fateful night in '75. I took the ferry over to Mayport and talked my way into the berth where the Kennedy was. It was a strange experience for me, but I felt like I had now come full circle. I was able to talk to the ship's Public Information Officer and tell her the story of the Belknap and the Kennedy. I also told her that there was a Belknap reunion about to take place in a few weeks, and that it might be a nice gesture to send a letter and a flag to the men of Belknap. She and the CO of the Kennedy agreed. I arrived at the reunion just in time to see several grown men (much older now) in tears, as the letter was read and the flag presented. It seems, after the accident, the Kennedy permanently installed, what they called a 'Belknap pole' as a reminder and a remembrance of what happened so long ago in the Mediterranean.
I arrived in Vietnam on the November 1, 1969 and quickly realized that this was going to be the most extraordinary year of my life. I was assigned to the 91st Evac hospital in Chu Lai, just 75 kilometers south of Da Nang in I Corp. My uniform for the next elven and a half months was green fatigues and combat boots. I spent three months working on a medical ward treating malaria, hepatitis, jungle rot, and intestinal parasites. Twelve-hour shifts were the norm, with one day off each week. My personal space was a 9 x 12 room with a metal twin bed and locker, the footlocker that I had brought from home and a bare light bulb. Free time was spent at the officers club, on our tiny beach, waterskiing on the South China Sea or making trips to the PX to see what the latest shipment had brought. Beanie weenies and condoms were among the always-available items.
Such an opportunity came along in 1994 and I joined a group of 15 other travel agents for my first return trip to the Far East. I was amazed at the attitude of the Vietnamese people. They simply loved having visitors. Because the United States had just lifted its embargo on Vietnam, things had not changed that dramatically since I left in 1970. 
I jumped out of the car and ran towards the water. I shot numerous photos, realizing that we were truly near the base of the cliff on which the hospital had set. It was the closest that I would ever get to re-living my year in the war. 
Most of the hotels were under five years old and the landscape, especially in the cities, had changed dramatically since 1996. While in the countryside rice is still planted by hand with the use of water buffalo, in the cities ATMs were plentiful, bars too numerous to count. Traffic congestion went from bicycles and motorbikes to full-size cars and even SUVs. I also was amazed at the number of foreign visitors. In 1996, my friend and I did not meet a single other American tourist during our 10 day stay. On the 2013 tour, we encountered travelers from many countries - shopping, biking, boating, hiking, and dining at fine restaurants. For the record, ti cho (dog) was not available on those menus!
As we made our way across the country, the student that was assigned to a particular veteran, would write a blog at the end of the day about that vet and his/her visit. Two of the men in our group were former POWs having been imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton for six years apiece. Another member of our group was a Medal of Honor recipient. As fellow Vietnam vets, we easily bonded over the two-week trip. It truly was the adventure of a lifetime.
It is a collaborative effort between the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The Center has been approved by Congress, and construction is planned for the National Mall site adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial and on the corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street. The two-story underground learning facility will be built in keeping with the design, tone, and mood of The Wall and so as not to detract from the historic vistas of the National Mall.
The Wall. The pictures will be displayed on the service members birthdays and will add faces to the more than 58,000 names on The Wall and tell the stories of those who served. The Education Center will also feature displays of the more than 400,000 personal articles, letters, and gifts that have been left at the foot of the memorial since its dedication in 1982.
Along with Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, Galloway co-authored a detailed account of those experiences in the best-selling 1992 book, âWe Were Soldiers Once⦠And Young.' A sequel was released in 2008: âWe Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam.' 
he dreamed he was captured during a firefight with Viet Cong guerrillas. True to his nightmare, two years later in 1963, while serving as an advisor in Southeast Asia, Nick was captured during a brutal firefight. Later, he would have a premonition of his own death.
The possibility that it would be used to direct attacks against the Tan Phu Special Forces Camp approximately eight kilometers southeast of the hamlet was unacceptable. After meeting with the district chief, Capt. Versace made a liaison visit to Special Forces Team A-23 stationed at Tan Phu Special Forces Camp.
The American advisors subsequently directed the assault company to return to camp while they joined the two ambush companies for the return trip which included following the retreating VC a short distance. At approximately 10 AM, the two ambush companies started back to Tan Phu camp, traveling along a canal. After a short and fruitless pursuit occasionally punctuated by ineffective VC sniper rounds, the two companies turned toward Tan Phu down an intersecting canal to return to camp. Roughly two kilometers down the canal, after discovering and destroying a VC arms factory, they spotted a line of black-clad figures rapidly moving into position from the northeast across an adjacent rice paddy that separated them from a nearby canal. 
As the allied forces moved rapidly into a tree lined hamlet to set up a defensive perimeter, the VC immediately tried to lure them across an open rice field into a classic three-sided ambush: a blocking force from the direction of Tan Phu camp, a pressure force from a second side, and the main force of 3 platoons on the third side in the trees lining the open rice paddy waiting in ambush.
As the Americans caught up with the disorganized strikers, they moved together into a field of reeds with the three advisors continuing to cover the rear. The VC fired a captured BAR at the retreating column with three rounds striking Versace in the leg. As he fell to the ground, an enemy grenade exploded nearby, peppering him with shrapnel. Rowe was struck in the face and chest by grenade fragments as he reached to help Versace, and the concussion knocked him to the ground. As he attempted to get up, the wounded Versace put his arms around Rowe, and he tried to drag him off the trail to hide in the reeds until the enemy passed by. The Americans broke reeds back across their trail to camouflage it.
VC suddenly broke through the reeds yelling, "Do tay len!" ("Hands up!"), and they looked up to see dozens of weapons pointing down at them. Rowe continued bandaging the second wound. When he finished, the VC grabbed him by the arms, pulled him to his feet and tied him with a large VC flag that he had tucked into a pocket after one of the strikers gave it to him in the hamlet. 
Increasingly the VC separated Versace from the other prisoners as he continued to strictly adhere to the Code of Conduct, the code all military personnel are required to follow should he or she become a Prisoner of War. He proved very uncooperative, a situation that infuriated the communists, and his actions drew more scrutiny onto himself and away from the others. The VC made it clear right from the start they had absolute power of life and death over the prisoners. They frequently stated, "Do not think that merely because the war ends that you will go home. You can rest here long after the war."
During an ongoing U.S. Helicopter gunship sweep of their area that was intended to wipe out the pockets of VC camps, including several prisoner camps where Rowe had been rotated, Rowe and his guards went on the run through the swamp over a period of several days. A guard Rowe had nicknamed "Porky" was showing resistance to the bumbling tactics of the other guards. As everyone was tiring and running low on food and supplies, Rowe sought to influence Porky with tidbits of info about the gunship tactics that were proving true, and Porky began listening to him. Rowe explained that the entire group was cutting a wide swath walking abreast through the swampy reeds, which was sure to expose their presence to the helicopter gunships and endanger their lives. He explained that if Porky wanted to survive, all he had to do was to slowly move away from the group.
Dec. 31, 1968, unshaven, gaunt, disease-riddled Nick Rowe was free once again. Twenty minutes later the helicopter landed at Ca Mau airfield with their unexpected passenger. Once on the ground, Rowe learned he had been promoted from first lieutenant to major while in captivity. He was immediately flown from Ca Mau to the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh for a brief medical examination before boarding an evacuation flight to San Antonio, Texas.
"Nick" Rowe Training compound at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. Variations of the SERE course are considered the most important advanced training for special operations personnel in every branch of service. In 1985, Lt. Col. Rowe was placed in command of Fort Bragg's First Special Warfare Training Battalion, a position he held until 1987, when he was promoted to colonel and made chief of the Army Division at the Joint U. S. Military Advisory Group (USMAG) headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines. 
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Philippine officials said they believed the killers were rebels from the Communist New People's Army. The rebels had threatened to attack American targets unless the United States closed its military bases in the Philippines and end its support of the Philippine military's fight against the insurgency.
Outnumbered and outgunned, the UN forces were powerless to rout the invaders, forcing them into a disorderly withdrawal south.
Many historian considered the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter one of the most brutal fights of the Korean War where both sides endured major losses: U.S. forces suffered 4,599 dead, 12,058 wounded, 401 captured and 2,700 missing in action. North Koreas had a total of 63,590 casualties and 3,380 captured.
The Battle of Pork Chop Hill was actually two skirmishes during the spring and summer of 1953. The first skirmish (Apr. 16-18) was victorious for the UN when the Communists broke contact and retreated after two days of battle. 
In a surprise night attack on March 23, 1953, a battalion of the Chinese 423rd regiment 141st Division attacked a hilltop outpost known as âOld Baldyâ not far from Pork Chop Hill. Defending the hill was B Company from the 31st Regiment's Colombian Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Alberto Ruiz Novoa. To relive the beleaguered defenders, the regimental commander, Col. William B. Kern, ordered C Company of the Colombian Battalion to relieve overwhelmed B Company, despite the Colombian commander's protest. The movement began at 3:00 PM under heavy fire, making it difficult for C Company to advance toward their new position. B Company had been under constant artillery fire since their arrival and were eager to rotate.
assault by a battalion of the Chinese 201st regiment; Pork Chop Hill was quickly overrun, although pockets of U.S. soldiers defended isolated bunkers. A counterattack to retake the hill was ordered by Maj. Gen. Arthur Trudeau, command general of the 7th Infantry Division.
Pork Chop Hill belonged to the UN forces which had suffered almost 50 percent casualties. Concerned he did not have enough men to hold the hill should the Chinese return, Clemons called back for reinforcement. Since 2nd Battalion 17th Infantry was already attached to the 31st Infantry, G Company, commanded by 1st Lt. Walter B. Russell - Clemons's brother-in-law - was immediately sent forward, linking up with Company K at 08:30 AM. All three companies were subjected to almost continuous shelling by Chinese forces (CCF) artillery as they cleared bunkers and dug in again. 
The timely counterattack by Lt. Smith's E Company caught the Chinese by surprise on their flank and ended the organized assault. The Chinese 141st Division renewed attacks in company strength at 03:20 and 04:20 but did not gain further ground.
and occasionally flame throwers, resulting in heavy casualties to the attackers. For the UN forces, infiltration of cleared bunkers by bypassed Chinese was a problem throughout the battle and hand-to-hand combat was a frequent occurrence.
On the second night, the Chinese made a new push to take the hill, forcing the 7th Division to again reinforce. Parts of four companies defended Pork Chop under a storm of artillery fire from both sides. At dawn of July 8, the rain temporarily ended and the initial defenders were withdrawn. A fresh battalion, the 2nd Battalion of the 17th, counter-attacked and re-took the hill, setting up a night defensive perimeter.
Of the Republic of Korea troops ("KATUSA") attached to the 7th, approximately 15 were killed and 120 wounded. Chinese casualties were estimated at 1,500 dead and 4,000 wounded. 
Would you like to meet fellow Together We Served members? Our Air Force members have a group that plans a reunion every year at various locations throughout the country. TWS itself has a yearly reunion for all service branches.
6. Registration Fee - It is up to you if you want to charge a fee to register for the event. It is one way to make sure that any penalties for cancellations doesn't come out of your pocket.
CMSgt Don Skinner
"I think it's ridiculous that we're not giving the full pay raise as calculated by law to our men and women in uniform, especially during a time that the Department of Defense is, in my opinion, nickel and diming troops in every area," said Rep. Joe Heck, a Republican from Nevada.
For more than 35 years, VA patients have been plagued by an extremely unfair VA program, namely, their Beneficiary Travel Reimbursement Program.
"I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft," General Robert Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on women in combat.
with an emphasis on cutting from the most junior ranks -- in order to create space for an increase in its cyberwarfare community.
In Oct. 1965 my four year Navy enlistment was up, but I couldn't leave until I saw the war that had just started up in Nam, so I signed on for a 'conditional' extension for FMF 3rd Marines. Spent 5 weeks in Del Mar, then on to Okinawa for transport to Nam, 5 days on a flat bottomed LST. When it was my turn for assignment I asked for Recon because I had heard it was top outfit in the Corps; I hadn't heard of Force Recon or SEALS. The Marine officer and Sgt.'s looked at me like I was crazy, then said, âNo problem, Doc.â A phrase I heard again and again during my tour with the Marine Corps. They gave me everything I asked for, M14 with selector, grenades, M72 LAW, C4, and oh yes, a medical bag. In this photo you can see that I had been crouching low in the water by the water marks on my pants which made it safer from booby traps, but not from the leaches. Next to me is Sgt. Dua an ARVN who was supposed to be our advisor, except he didn't speak much English.
It's dark and windy, may be a half-moon. I can see the bridge in front of me that spans the stream. It's rocking up and down, a ramshackle piece of crap lashed down on empty oil drums, the only way through the jungle.
Dog Tag
USS Kalamazoo-1975 Christmas Gift
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About the Author
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About the Author