Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 5:31 PM
Subject: 1ST SQUADRON, 1ST CAVALRY REUNION
EVENTS:
THE NEXT NATIONAL 1/1 CAV REUNION WILL BE IN KANSAS CITY, MO ON JUNE 16-19, 2005 - THIS WILL BE A GOOD SPOT AS
CHEAP AIRFARES AND IN THE CENTER OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY. MORE DETAILS LATER.
ALSO, I WILL BE SETTING UP FOR THE KOKOMO REUNION IN THE MAIN TENT AGAIN ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FROM 11 A.M. TILL
2 P.M. EACH DAY. EVERYONE IS WELCOME AT MY CAMP SITE LATER AFTER I GET DONE WITH WORK. MAKE SURE YOU SIGN IN AND PUT YOUR LOCATION WHERE YOU WILL BE STAYING OR CAMPING SO OTHERS CAN FIND YOU. I WILL HAVE ALL THE PX ITEMS FOR SALE.
GROUP PICTURE OF ALL THE CAV WILL BE AT THE MAIN FLAG
AT 3:00 P.M. - THERE SHOULD BE GOOD ATTENDANCE SINCE
C TROOP WILL HAVE THEIR DEDICATION PLAQUE ON THE GROUNDS.
EVERY YEAR THERE IS ALWAYS GOOD ATTENDANCE FOR THE CAV.
NEW GLARUS 19TH ANNUAL WINTERFEST R & R ALL VETERANS REUNION IS ON:
JANUARY 13-14-15-16, 2005 -
1ST REUNION IN THE NATION EVERY YEAR.
TERRY BABLER, PRESIDENT 1/1 CAV SINCE 1992
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Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 4:21 PM
Subject: POW Cage Denied Parade Entry
Central Illinois has numerous fall festival celebrations.
The Heart of Ill. POW/MIA Assoc. tries to participate in as many as possible with our POW/MIA
information and merchandise booth and with our parade entry of the POW Bamboo Tiger Cage.
The Morton Pumpkin Festival (Libby's Pumpkin Factory is located in Morton) has denied us entry
into their parade.
We'd appreciate as many emails, letters, and phone calls of support as possible for the POW Tiger Cage
to the Morton Chamber of Commerce.
Morton Chamber of Commerce email: pumpkin@dpc.net
415 West Jefferson
Morton, IL 61550
(309) 263-2491
Also letters to the local editors would be appreciated - from Ill. & out-of-state:
Peoria Journal Star Pekin Daily Times
bdrake@pjs.com editor@pekintimes.com
The Peoria paper could be
much more supportive of the
POW/MIA issue.
THANKS! news article to follow.....
Sam Cretaro
Heart of Illinois POW/MIA
Pekin Daily Times Sept. 6, 2003
Pekin, Illinois
PARADE DENIES ENTRY (photo at bottom)
by Laura Turner
Times Correspondent
MORTON, IL -- The Morton Pumpkin Festival parade committee and Heart of Illinois Prisoner of
War/Missing In Action Association are in disagreement over what is an appropriate Pumpkin Festival
parade entry.
Members of the Pumpkin Fest parade committee recently denied the POW/MIA Association's
application, saying it is unsuitable for children.
The debate centers around the POW/MIA Association's "tiger cage," an actual bamboo tiger cage
American prisoners of war were kept in. Gerald McCullar of Washington, IL ,rides in the cage portraying
a prisoner of war; long haired and unkempt, to show what POWs are forced to endure.
"We feel it is an appropriate message for the public. It does depict a harsh reality. It may be a serious
note to a fun festival. This has been a most effective way to get our message across," said Sam Cretaro
of the Heart of Illinois POW/MIA Association.
Cretaro says the tiger cage is a reminder there are still American prisoners of war and others missing in
action from the W. W. II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, Desert Storm, and the current Iraqi conflict.
In a denial letter, Morton Chamber of Commerce Director Mike Badgerow says although the message of
the POW/MIA Association is important, its delivery is inappropriate in a parade geared toward families
and children.
"Its nothing personal to the POW/MIA Association. The parade committee felt (the entry) was not
appropriate for a festival that is trying to celebrate pumpkins." Badgerow said. It also violated parade
guidelines of decorating toward this year's Pumpkin Festival theme, "Pumpkins on Safari."
Cretaro said, however, families are on his mind when he enters the tiger cage in parades.
"When we are talking about families, I think about families of POW/MIAs who are still waiting for an answer
and the active people serving now. I think this insults veterans and POW/MIA families and men still missing."
Badgerow said about 10-15 years ago the tiger cage was allowed in the Pumpkin Festival parade.
Afterward, the Chamber of Commerce received letters 'from folks who said they had no objection to the
message but felt it was inappropriate for the festival." He also pointed out other parade entries were
denied this year.
The POW/MIA Association for years has had a space in the Pumpkn Festival Merchant's Tent. Despite the
parade refusal, the non-profit organization will again be back. With people currently serving in the Middle
East, however, the Association was hoping for a stronger presence, according to Cretaro.
He said the POW/MIA Association has never been denied entrance in a parade, participating in local
festivals in Pekin, Peoria, E. Peoria, Hopedale, Tremont, Henry, and Delavan. McCullar has won awards for
his depiction of a POW.
The Pumpkin Festival parade committee suggested that Cretaro consider a parade more suitable to the
tiger cage, such as a Memorial Day or Labor Day celebration. Cretaro said he felt there was an audience
he could reach during the Pumkin Festival parade.
"I'm not trying to bash the Pumpkin Festival, but I don't feel they are right in doing this," he said.
While you're writing & calling, contact your congressman to co-sponsor
House Resolution 103. Phone/fax numbers listed at
http://www.nationalalliance.org/leg/list.htm
***************************************************************************************************
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm
Awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States and its
Allies: for valorous achievement in combat during the Vietnam conflict,
March 1, 1961 through March 28, 1973.
Every American and every nation Allied with the United States who
served in Vietnam was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.
The Cross of Gallantry is recognized by the United States government
and all federal agencies.
Because the Cross of Gallantry does not appear on every U.S. Vietnam
veteran's DD-214 Vietnam veterans may receive government
acknowledgement of this medal by requesting a DD-215 from the National Records and Personnel Center in St. Louis, Mo using standard form
(SF) SF-180. To obtain an SF-180 please travel to URL:
For more information about the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, travel to URL:
Best,Brooke Rowe,Associate Librarian The American War Library
Military and Veteran Resource Guides
World's Largest Online Personnel Registry
************************************************************************************************** Can anyone help Frank ???
I am working with a community group that is about to put the finishing touches on a magnificant, multi-million dollar memorial, dedicated to the wars of the 20th century.
A Huey is included in the Viet Nam section. We would like to have 1st Cav nose art on the chopper. I have a couple hand sketches from recollections of a vet. Perhaps you might be able to help.
The nose art will be applied by cutting adhesive vinyl. This is a very common method in the commercial sign business; more durable than hand painting. While it is very durable, the drawback is the difficulty of application when highly detailed artwork is involved. The drawing that I have has a LOT of detail, including teeth, 50 cal, chopper control sticks. I would like to simplify the design, but of course, I want it to be as authentic as possible.
Do you have any examples of nose art that you can share for this memorial?
Thank you for your help
Frank Darrington
Galaxy Arts
frank@galaxyarts.com
233 Ridge Rd
Munster, IN 46321
877-304-2487
***********************************************************************************************************************
The National Alliance of Families is declaring
March 17th - March 23rd
"Bring Michael Scott Speicher Home Week"
They are asking everyone to call the White House and demand that POW Michael Speicher be brought home.
Our organization asks that our members support this initiative.
Please call, fax or email the Bush Administration and demand they bring Michael Speicher home by whatever means necessary.
Voice: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email: president@whitehouse.gov
You may also want to email Vice President Cheney as he is the one who declared Michael Speicher a KIA during the early hours of the Gulf War. He can now reverse his decision to declare Michael Speicher a KIA and support this initiative to bring him home.
Email: vice.president@whitehouse.gov They are asking everyone to call the White House and demand that POW Michael Speicher be brought home.
UPI Breaking News
Below is the latest (12 March 2002) news on Speicher from UPI... please read it as soon as you can. We can be thankful for Senators Pat Roberts and Bob Smith. They are trying to get the Bush DOD to reclassify Speicher to POW from MIA... it seems like a no-brainer in lieu of the recent intelligence. PLEASE write to your Senators and Congressmen to support reclassification and ask them to make Speicher an urgent priority. Remember Hal Moore's briefing to his troopers before the Ia Drang battles of '65 in Vietnam: " I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear... when we go into battle, I will be the first to step on the field and I will be the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind... dead or alive. We will all come home together." - LTC Hal Moore - 13 Nov 65 (Too bad that Hal Moore wasn't Chairman of the Joint Chiefs instead of John Shalikashvili in '94)
UPI Breaking News
Updated at 5:57 p.m. A member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said yesterday he suspects a Navy pilot shot down over Iraq in 1991 is alive and being held captive as the State Department said Baghdad has ignored U.S. requests for information about the pilot's fate.Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican, said in an interview that he has asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to classify Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher as a prisoner of war, instead of missing in action. The Pentagon changed Cmdr. Speicher's status last year from killed to missing in action."The bottom line is there is no evidence he was killed when his aircraft was shot down in 1991," Mr. Roberts said. "On the contrary, there are numerous reports that indicate he could be alive."State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Iraqi government has not replied to U.S. diplomatic appeals asking for information about the fate of Cmdr. Speicher.A formal diplomatic note was sent to Baghdad in January 2001 asking for information about the pilot. The issue also was raised in diplomatic meetings with Iraqi officials in Geneva, Mr. Boucher said.On Friday at a meeting of diplomats in Geneva known as the Tripartite Commission, U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait Richard Jones told Iraqi officials: "Iraq continues to shirk its responsibility to answer the many unresolved questions about Cmdr. Speicher's fate."Sen. Robert C. Smith, New Hampshire Republican and member of the Armed Services Committee, said he has been tracking reports on the Speicher case for more than five years."Unfortunately, we have not yet accounted for Commander Speicher, but I will continue to work with the administration to determine his fate," Mr. Smith said through a spokesman. "We must vigorously pursue every lead for the sake of Commander Speicher and his family. We owe him nothing less."Pentagon officials are expected to brief Congress on the case as early as today.The administration and congressional officials were responding to a report in yesterday's editions of The Washington Times that said new intelligence information was uncovered in the last several months indicating Cmdr. Speicher is being held prisoner in Iraq.Cmdr. Speicher was declared killed in action in 1991, but his status was changed last year to missing in action. It was an unprecedented action and put the Pentagon in the position of possibly having left behind an American at the end of the Gulf war.A spokesman for the Iraqi mission to the United Nations could not be reached for comment.Mr. Roberts, in a Feb. 14 letter to Mr. Rumsfeld, stated that a recent U.S. intelligence community assessment of the case concluded that Cdmr. Speicher "probably survived the loss of his aircraft and if he survived, he almost certainly was captured by the Iraqis.""This strongly suggests the more appropriate designator or status of POW," Mr. Roberts stated in the letter. "I believe the status of POW sends a symbolic message not only to the Iraqis, but to other adversaries, current and future" and most importantly to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and the American people."Mr. Roberts said in the interview he discussed the Speicher case with President Bush three weeks ago, and that the president assured him the case is "very high on his agenda."The possibility of an American POW in Baghdad also is complicating U.S. efforts to expand the war on terrorism to Iraq, U.S. officials said.Mr. Roberts said the Pentagon has put together a special team of officials to investigate the case.The senator also noted that various intelligence reports about an American pilot held in Iraq "tend to add up."Asked if he believes Cmdr. Speicher is alive, Mr. Roberts said: "I can't say conclusively that he's there, but that's not the point. They can't say conclusively he's not alive, and the presumption is they must aggressively pursue every avenue of this case."Intelligence officials said reports that Cmdr. Speicher is alive in Iraq have been surfacing since 1991, when two Iraqi nationals told the CIA that Iraq was holding an American pilot. The CIA dismissed the information as coming from unreliable sources.In 1995, Cmdr. Speicher's F-18 aircraft was found and an investigation team went to the site and determined that the pilot ejected before it crashed. Iraq also provided Cmdr. Speicher's flight suit at that time.Then in 1999, an Iraqi defector reported driving an American pilot to Baghdad six weeks after the war started. That report eventually led to the reclassification of Cmdr. Speicher as missing in action.Several months ago, the Defense Intelligence Agency and CIA obtained new information from a foreign intelligence service stating that a person who had been in Iraq had learned that an American pilot was held by the Iraqis. The source said the pilot's only visitors were Saddam's son Uday and the chief of Iraqi intelligence.Some intelligence officials yesterday sought to play down the new intelligence information by claiming that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would not have kept secret the fact that an American pilot was captured and would have used the pilot for propaganda purposes.Other intelligence officials said Saddam is just as likely to have kept secret its possession of a U.S. prisoner of war. These officials note that Saddam's government held one Iranian pilot as a prisoner of war for 17 years, all the while denying it held any Iranian prisoners of war.
****************************************************************************************************
Stuart is trying to get the history channel to do a story on our units history,
it has a long on honorable past, both Stuart and Frank were platoon leaders
in Vietnam. Mac, maybe you should put this on your web page...take care Murph
Stuart,
Here's some reaction on your article on the 1st Cav. You're doing a fine job
on trying to promote the 1/1 Cav.
Terry Babler, President
From:
Frank Mantua <frankm@witrefining.com>
Reply-To:
frankm@witrefining.com
To:
pointman1@mail.tds.net
Subject:
J. Stuart Kirby
Date:
Wed, 26 Apr 2000 10:15:35 -0700
Terry;
Regarding J. Stuart Kirby's article that appeared in the last newsletter,
he could have had a dozen pages of distinguished alumni from the 1st Cavalry Regiment.
Two of whom are General Chaffey, who organized the modern Armor Branch and armored
division as we know them and General John Abrams, currently the commander of TRADOC.
However, Theodore Roosevelt was not one of them. When he made his charge on San Juan
Hill, he commanded the First Volunteer Cavalry or First Cavalry Volunteers, essentially, a
regional militia much like our National Guard.
Secondly, The Queen of Battle is the Infantry, and the King of Battle is the Artillery. Armor,
The Combat Arm of Decision, brings dignity to the battlefield to what would otherwise be a
tawdry domestic spat.
Lastly, albeit too late, Les Aspin was fired for his actions/inactions;
an example of an asset manager being in a position that calls for command
and leadership. It is doubtful the US Army or Marines will be placed under
such a comprising situation as Somalia again. You only have to look to the
last so called "multinational peacekeeping operations" in Bosnia and Kosovo
in which the units were truly combined arms forces with infantry, armor, artillery,
and aviation under direct US Command. No more relying on allied "assets."
This is in keeping towards what the Army will eventually field as its new Medium
Brigade. And this new organization will most likely be a mounted force as well.
Frank M. Mantua
***********************************************************************************************
NASCAR and Perspective
Lest we forget...
I think this puts things in perspective as to where our priorities really
are as a nation.
On 18 February 2001, while racing for fame and fortune, Dale Earnhardt
died in the last lap of the Daytona 500. It was surely a tragedy for his
family, friends and fans. He was 49 years old with grown children, one,
which was in the race. I am new to the NASCAR culture so much of
what I know has come from the newspaper and TV. He was a winner
and earned everything he had. This included more than "$41 million in
winnings and ten times that from endorsements and souvenir sales".
He had a beautiful home and a private jet. He drove the most sophisticated
cars allowed and every part was inspected and replaced as soon as there
was any evidence of wear. This is normally fully funded by the car and
team sponsors. Today, there is no TV station that does not constantly
remind us of his tragic end and the radio already has a song of tribute
to this winning driver. Nothing should be taken away from this man, he
was a professional and the best in his profession. He was in a very
dangerous business but the rewards were great.
Two weeks ago seven U.S. Army soldiers died in a training accident when
two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters collided during night maneuvers in
Hawaii. The soldiers were all in their twenties, pilots, crewchiefs and
infantrymen. Most of them lived in sub-standard housing. If you add their
actual duty hours (in the field, deployed) they probably earn something
close to minimum wage. The aircraft they were in were between 15 and 20
years old. Many times parts were not available to keep them in good shape
due to funding. They were involved in the extremely dangerous business of
flying in the Kuhuku mountains at night. It only gets worse when the
weather moves in as it did that night. Most times no one is there with a
yellow or red flag to slow things down when it gets critical. Their
children were mostly toddlers who will lose all memory of who "Daddy" was
as they grow up. They died training to defend our freedom.
I take nothing away from Dale Earnhardt but ask you to perform this
simple test. Ask any of your friends if they know who was the NASCAR
driver killed on 18 February 2001. Then ask them if they can name one of
the seven soldiers who died in Hawaii two weeks ago.
18 February 2001, Dale Earnhardt died driving for fame and glory at the
Daytona 500. The nation mourns. Seven soldiers died training to protect
our freedom. No one can remember their names and most don't even
remember the incident.
... as forwarded to me by a career helo pilot, who's flown in the dark in
the rain, with distances between your blades and Mother Earth being
measured in feet ... a bit sobering if I do say so. Alas, tomorrow we
shall continue the mission and launch to meet the sortie count and the
training objectives...
.
For the record:
The six identified casualties were:
Maj. Robert L. Olson of Minnesota
Chief Warrant Officer George P. Perry of California
Chief Warrant Officer Gregory I. of California
Sgt. Thomas E. Barber of Champlin, Minn.
Specialist Bob D. MacDonald of Alta Loma, Calif.
Specialist Rafael Olvera-Rodriguez of El Paso.
